Building BELLA

New blog location, website & Burnaby condo show suite

2009-11-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give an update on the new home for our video blog. We have been hard at work on building BELLA, and now have our show suite open weekends 12-5pm. Feel free to come on by and check out the best value in Burnaby condos!

Our new blog and website is located at: www.bellaliving.ca/blog

Hope to see you there...

-The BELLA team

Building BELLA - fence fabric installed

2009-07-20T21:54:00.001-07:00

We just installed our fence fabric that you saw being made at PacBlue Printing from our last vlog. It turned out fantastic. The last picture shows the black hoarding next to where the fencing ends. Behind those big black walls is the Display Center that we have all been working hard at to complete for this weekend.

Everyone walking by today was stopping and asking the construction workers questions about the building.

All of these questions will be answered this Sunday during the Spirit of Edmonds Car Show. It runs from 10am to 4pm on Edmonds Street between Canada Way and Kingsway. Last year there were 120 cares entered and this year we are expecting 150. Plus, when you stop by BELLA you can enter the draw for the 7 DAY CRUISE FOR 2 TO ALASKA.

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Building Bella - PacBlue "fence mesh"

2009-07-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Today's blog was done on site at PacBlue Printing. Thanks to Greg Downes from PacBlue who did a quick vlog on the printing process while our "fence mesh" was going through the printer.

The fence fabric gets installed on the temporary fence panels that you see around construction sites. Drive by and tell us what you think.

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Don't forget - July 26 is the Spirit of Edmonds Car Show and our GRAND OPENING - where we will be giving away a 7 day cruise for 2 to Alaska!

Building BELLA - window installation

2009-07-07T08:29:00.001-07:00

Today's vlog is a short clip of the first window being installed in suite 201. There is obviously some prep work, but it's no more interesting than watching paint dry. The windows are Energy Star rated LowE graphite vinyl. Dan also explains to us that windows do expand up to a quarter inch due to temperate changes.

Next up....insulation and drywall

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Building Bella - 3 week countdown to launch

2009-07-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

Today we officially begin our countdown to the launch of our show suites during the Spirit of Edmonds car show on July 26

Stay tuned as we will be doing extensive vlog coverage of the completion of suites 201 and 202

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday July 26th

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Meet the Neighbours - Osaka Island Japanese Restaurant

2009-06-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

Located just around the corner from the BELLA is the Osaka Island Japanese Restaurant. From the moment you walk in you experience the tranquility associated with Japanese culture. Everything is thoughtfully laid out and balanced; starting with the background classical music that continuously plays right through to the traditional painted lantern displays hanging from the ceiling.

The Osaka Island is brand new and it shows because everything is spotless! To be honest that is just the beginning because the menu is truly enormous including: a huge appetizer section (try the stuffed eggplant with ground pork), sashimi, all kinds of tempura, yaksioba and yakiudon, bento boxes, oh and an absolutely massive selection of everything teriyaki. I do mean everything teriyaki, consisting of: tofu, scallops, chicken, beef, pork, seafood, steak, salmon and yes even oyster teriyaki.

Osaka Island can accommodate parties or even office parties as their party tray selection seems to cover anything anyone ever order. They currently have 20% off for their Grand Opening and I would really suggest having a meal there as the staff is very friendly and food is fresh and delicious.

Osaka Island address is 7615 – 7617 Edmonds Street in Burnaby and they are open Monday to Saturday from llam to 10pm and Sundays and holidays from 10am to 9pm. There are no reservations needed but there phone number to call ahead for pick up is 778-397-8884

FROM EDMONDS AND CANADA WAY, HAVE YOURSELVES A BELLA DAY!

Building Bella - update at the ground floor

2009-06-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

This week has been super busy yet smooth on site. Right now we have plumbing, insulation, sprinklers, electrical, and drywall going on. We are on schedule and on budget.

The main push now is to have our show suites ready for the Spirit of Edmonds Car Show.

Hope to see you all out on Sunday July.26!

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Building BELLA - a glimpse at Burnaby & Edmonds/Highgate

2009-06-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

The City of Burnaby has quickly gained an international reputation as both a desirable place to live, and “the hotspot” for a variety of high technology and light industry companies. Burnaby’s business success highlights the quality of the community and civic infrastructure. Access to the universities and a highly trained labour force has allowed this municipality a distinct advantage over many others. The City of Burnaby has made a large commitment to protecting the natural environment and providing parks and open spaces for all to enjoy. In addition, providing high quality community services and facilities has made Burnaby a very desirable, safe, and healthy community to live, work, and play.

The Edmonds/Highgate areas within the City of Burnaby are experiencing a vibrant revival and are poised to become some of the most dynamic and forward thinking areas in Burnaby and the Greater Vancouver area. Many young single professionals and young families are now calling the Edmonds/Highgate areas home. The dominant age group in these areas is the 25 to 34 year old category which in itself speaks volumes to sense of rebirth of these up and coming neighbourhoods. However, diversity seems to be the word to best describe these areas as it almost a 50/50 split between people born in Canada and an immigrant population. The diversity extends further when one examines the breakdown of the place of birth of this immigrant population. Five different countries make up 50% of this population and over 20 other countries make up the balance. Truly these neighbourhoods seem to define the cultural diversity of which Canada has reason to be so proud!

Our show suites launch on July 26 during the Spirit of Edmonds street festival

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Meet the Neighbors - The Balkan House

2009-06-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Yet another locally famous neighbor of the BELLA development is the Balkan House restaurant located at 7530 Edmonds Street in Burnaby. Owned and operated by Vidomir and his wife, this “old school” European restaurant offers the new diner a completely unique dining experience. One enters the Balkan House and your eyes adjust to the muted lighting and you realize that you are in for a treat as you take in the authentic dark wood surroundings steeped in tradition.

Within moments extremely friendly staff greets you and take you to your table and you scan the menu which is strongly in favour of carnivores. Many specialty dishes catch your eye including the home made sausage (kobasice), smoked pork neck (vjesalica), meat patties (pljeskauica), and a variety of schnitzels. The choices are a little of overwhelming because so many of these items aren’t offered in any restaurant you have ever been in.

The choice is difficult and you select the platter for two but the surprises just keep coming as when it is delivered you realize that the portions are beyond generous and this platter for two is perhaps suited to six as it includes: specialty meats, meat patties, sausages, bacon, shish kebabs, smoked pork neck, and more sausages. The Balkan House truly offers completely satisfying meals for those with good appetites everyday including Sunday where a buffet is offered between 4pm and 8pm for $15.95 for adults and half price for children over 6.

The Balkan House is open for lunch Monday to Friday from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and then from Monday to Thursday from 4pm to 10pm. The weekend hours are extended with the hours being: Friday from 4pm to 1am, Saturday from 3pm to 1am, and Sunday from 12pm to 10pm. Call for reservations at 604.524.0404 or check out their website at www.balkanhouse.info.

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

**Show Suites opening on July.26 - hope to see you all there!**

Building BELLA - what are drop ceilings?

2009-06-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

This weather has done nothing but great things for the construction site. Gary gives us a quick update on the site as well as explaining how drop ceilings are done and what is "hidden" in these spaces.

June and July are going to be really busy as we prepare to launch our show suites on July 26 - hope to see you all there :)

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Building Bella - the roof is done

2009-05-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

BELLA's roof was just completed last Friday. The crew from Affiliated Roofers was just fantastic.

Bear is the foreman from Affiliated and he gives us a quick rundown on their work.

We surprised all the crews on site with some pizza and beverages to celebrate the roof completion. It was a great way start off the long weekend.

To learn more about Affiliated Roofers, please visit their site at http://www.affiliatedroofers.ca/

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Meet the Neighbours - Butcher Boy Deli

2009-05-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Located at 7542 Edmonds, just a few doors down from the BELLA, the Butcher Boy Deli is truly one of the Highgate/Edmonds areas not so well kept secrets! It represents one of the best examples of the multicultural flavour of the area, and in particular the kind of loyalty that excellence brings. Talk about variety, from elk and deer sausage, to Bulgarian and Macedonian feta cheese, the Butcher Boy has virtually every kind of meat and cheese delicacy that can be imagined.

The relatively small store is jam packed with old world goodies not seen at your typical deli, as many of them are home made. The shelves are lined with all different kinds of pastas and behind the glass counter, the special cheeses such as the Polish Gouda reveal themselves. Hanging above the hard working staff, cuts of smoked lamb and beef hang along with barbequed pig and lamb to entice the shopper. Best not to go to this store on an empty stomach!

The Butcher Boy Deli can be reached at 604.522.4941 or just drop by 7542 Edmonds St. in Burnaby. You will not be disappointed.

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

What happened in Burnaby last Saturday??

2009-05-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

A bunch of people got together to particapate in the Edmonds Clean Sweep event -that's what happened! Great turnout, lot's of garbage collected, great laughs and really good Hot Dogs from the Burnaby Fire Fighters.

I would like to thank all who came to help out! You guys were awesome!

The sponsors for the event, Griff Building Supplies (www.griff.ca) and Hazmasters (www.hazmasters.com) supplied us with hardhats, gloves, and safety gear.

Volunteers from Twitter:
@debruyndesign +1
@Rebecca_Bourque
@VancouverPhotos
@KyeGrace
@Shanegibson +1
@JeffBooth +2
@JaimeBardsley +3
@MarcMcpherson
@hshomestaging +1
@DarrellMorrison
@Marni_Wedin
@Lindabook
@TLChome +1
@Avionicsman +1
@Gregcolombo
@EthosDev +5

Other volunteers:

Jim Wong - www.studioonearchitecture.ca
Peter Panago - www.allaxissystems.com
Derek Dimartile - Vancouver Structured Mortgage Capital

THE EVENT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH A SUCCESS WITHOUT ALL OF YOU & YOUR AMAZING CONTRIBUTIONS!!!!

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Burnaby Event - Edmonds Clean Sweep

2009-04-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick interview with Mr. Paul Cipywnyk from the Edmonds Town Centre Business Association. Paul gives us a quick explanation of the upcoming Edmonds "Clean Sweep" event and invites everyone to help out.

At BELLA, our goal is to gather a team of 100 volunteers for the event as well as providing supplies required for the cleanup.
The event organizers are expecting between 300-400 volunteers in total. The Burnaby RCMP will also be there giving a hand. Should be a great time for all who come out. Please get in touch if you are willing to come out & support this great community event.

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Building Bella vLog - Flip Cam on the crane

2009-04-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

Hello friends. For today's vLog we wanted to get the camera on the crane and take it high above the site to get a birds eye view. First I had to convince Cowboy, our crane operator. Once I got him on board, we went for it. As it turns out, the movement of the crane along with the wind is not the best for video. That is the elevator shaft that the camera hits when it is being lowered back down.

From Edmonds and Canada Way, hope you have a BELLA day!

Meet the neighbours - African General Market

2009-04-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a fantastic Easter weekend. We will start this week with an intro to one or our neighbours and later in the week continue with our vLogs from BELLA.

A fine example of the unique and eclectic businesses situated in the Highgate/Edmonds area just under two blocks from the BELLA is the African General Market at 7487 Edmonds Street in Burnaby. This boutique market has been in business for four years and specializes in tropical, Caribbean, and West Indian foods, many of which you are unlikely to get anywhere else in Burnaby. “Business seems to get just keep getting better” the owner commented because “more and more people are moving into the neighbourhood”. The outlook for the future is even more promising as many more residents continue to arrive and call the Edmonds/Highgate area home!

Many of these new area homeowners like to sample the unique products offered at Conie’s such as: red and spicy oil used for cooking which gives the food the exquisite taste these regions of the world are known for, white yams direct from Africa, frozen Jamaican red snapper, and smoked dried cutfish. Many specialty non food items are also available including a variety of cream body lotions and unique hair extensions.

Given the large population increase in the Edmonds/Highgate area due to projects like the BELLA, current business owners like the ones at the African General Market are very optimistic about their future prospects. These owners have to good reason to smile as they think of the future. They are a perfect example of being on the ground floor of the vibrant ethnic diversity wave that seems to be sweeping the area. The African General Market is located at Suite J 7487 Edmonds Street in Burnaby and their contact number is 604.525.5465.

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a Bella day!

Building Bella vLog - roofing start and "richter" rods

2009-04-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

www.bellaliving.ca/blog What a beautiful day to start the roof and catch up with Gary. Today he talks to us about the 3/4 inch steel rods hidden in the walls of the building that no home owner ever gets to see.

The technical term for those rods is either all-thread rod, ready rod, or threaded drill rod. If you have any questions about them, please feel free to ask and I will forward it to our Structural Engineers - John Bryson & Partners.

Later in the week we will have our next "Meet the Neighbours" blog.

Until then, from Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Building Bella - straight from the horse's mouth

2009-04-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

In today's vLog we speak to Gary Anderson, the Site Superintendent at BELLA. We call him Wallaby because of his Australian heritage. He usually speaks very fast, so I'm very happy that he slowed it down for our "April update".

Notice something missing from this video?

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a Bella day!

Meet the Neighbours - SOUTH BURNABY VETERINARY HOSPITAL

2009-03-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

Located directly beside BELLA, the South Burnaby Veterinary Hospital is another fine example of the quality businesses being attracted to the Edmonds/Highgate area. The SBVH has been in business for 20 years and in the last three years they moved to 7665 Edmonds Street. They have been voted best Veterinary Hospital in all of Burnaby nine times.

When one examines the vast array of services offered for the care of your pets it is easy to see why the public has cast their vote for the SBVH. Their services include but are not limited to: surgery, laser surgery (the only clinic in Burnaby offering laser), digital x rays including dental, grooming, boarding, hospitalization, vaccinations, and full in house lab services. Basically anything one needs for the care of our pets is located under this one roof, with the assurance that they are in the best hands in the business.

The SBVH has enjoyed a steady increase in business since the move to their current location due to gentrification of the area as well as their phenomenal reputation within the community. All signs point favourably to this trend continuing as more and more people come to call the Edmonds/Highgate home.

The SBVH can be reached at 604.526.0334 and their website is
www.southburnabyvet.com

From Edmonds and Canada Way, have yourselves a BELLA day!

Building Bella Update

2009-03-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday to all of our followers!
Framing of the 4th floor at Bella starts today and should last 2 weeks.
The roof follows next and should be installed by mid-April.

On another note, we are going to start featuring the different businesses and services that are around Bella.

Our first feature will be the South Burnaby Animal Hospital. Look for their story later this week. Their website is: www.southburnabyvet.com

From Edmonds and Canada Way..........Have your yourselves a Bella day.

Building Bella - 3rd floor continued - 2 vLog special

2009-03-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Just wrapping up the 3rd floor today. Thought I would show you guys some footage of the framing in action. 4th floor starts next week, so still on schedule to get the roof on for mid-April.

Building Bella vLog - 3rd floor view with Intro to Cowboy

2009-03-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, hope you all had a great weekend.
This week I will be showing you footage of the 3rd floor framing.
Today's video shows the view from a 3rd floor patio with a walk through to the back where we meet Cowboy, our crane operator.

Building Bella vlog - 3rd floor frames ready to go up.

2009-03-09T00:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you for joining us. Framing on the 2nd floor is now complete and today (Monday) we are starting to the framing of the 3rd floor. In this vlog we went to the back of the building to show you all the frames that are stacked up and ready to be lifted up top. Later in the week I will attempt to show a crane point of view....stay tuned and enjoy!

Bella view from Edmonds Street - Building Bella Blog #2

2009-03-04T21:38:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I wanted to show you what stage Bella was currently at. Best way to do this? From across the street so you can see the whole front of the building. Hope you have a Bella day!

Burnaby's Boutique Condos - Building Bella Blog #1

2009-03-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

Thank you for joining us on this journey of building these boutique Burnaby condos. We will not only be showing you the construction of the building but also detailing the Burnaby Edmonds neighborhood. Welcome to Bella! Welcome Home!

Flip camcorder finally on site....

2009-03-01T01:24:00.000-08:00

Coming Soon....

2009-02-26T19:12:00.001-08:00

This will be the future place of the Building Bella video blog, with regular updates from Peter Kefalas, Project Manager & Director of Ethos Developments Ltd. This concept began with just wanting to give the public a behind the scenes look of a construction site. We believe it will provide a documented account of the build and provide unprecedented value to our purchasers. Welcome to Bella! Welcome home!