Vancouver’s “condo king,” Bob Rennie, wants the province to appoint a “real estate czar” to cut through red tape to help B.C.’s struggling development industry, which is facing a sales slowdown, stalled projects and accumulating unsold stock.

At a sold-out Urban Development Institute event with Premier David Eby on Friday, Rennie praised the appointment of Larry Campbell as provincial point person for the Downtown Eastside and said the floundering development and real estate industry could use a similar boss.

“We need an ombudsman, we need a czar of real estate that could relax things. Like, why do towers have to be 80 feet apart, why not 74 feet apart?” said Rennie. “Why, if it identifies voids in the market (or can offer affordable rents), can’t we build 10 storeys instead of six store

See Full Page