Condo owners moving into Bosa developments can soon plug into a whole new transportation trend, as well.
Burnaby-based development company Bosa Properties is including private electric charging stations in its current and future developments - about a dozen stations for each one - from now on, according to senior vicepresident Daryl Simpson.
This includes the Sovereign development in Burnaby and Viceroy in New Westminster, as well as three other projects currently being built in the Lower Mainland, he added.
The development company decided to include the option in its buildings to "improve the ownership experience," according to Simpson.
"We've had people inquire over the past few years," he said.
Simpson has test-driven an electric car himself, he added, and enjoyed the experience.
Many people who want to buy an apartment or a condo are interested in buying a zero-emission vehicle but unfortunately, there's nowhere to charge them in current buildings, he pointed out.
Bosa is the first development firm in North America that he's aware of that is offering the option of customizing their condo or apartment with a private electric charging station, Simpson said.
To modify a single-family home to add a charging station is a bit of a pain, but it is possible to do so by making changes to the wiring and retrofitting the garage, he said.
It is much more difficult with condo buildings, as adding a station would require strata approval, he said, and the station would likely feed off the main electrical metre, which all owners would pay for.
"It's highly unlikely you'd get the approval," he said.
Electric vehicles require a lot of electricity and put a significant draw on the system, Simpson said, but Bosa is installing private meters in each station so that the owner pays the cost of charging their vehicle.
The development company has done all the work on bylaws and jumping through the bureaucratic hoops necessary to get charging stations into its new buildings.
City officials have been supportive of the idea, he added.
And while Bosa plans to accommodate eco-minded new tenants who own or want to own an electric vehicle, Simpson said he hopes they aren't the only developers to do so in the future, and that other companies will begin to offer the option as well.
jfuller-evans@ burnabynow.com
