The Mark | 123m | Completed
 

This project by Onni Group of companies is located at 1372 Seymour Street, at Pacific. It is a mixed-use highrise with 41 storeys of apartments, a seven-storey podium facing onto Seymour and five-storey podium on the lane, and a 37-space daycare centre to be operated by the City of Vancouver. The project will achieve LEED Gold and will feature green roofs and a photovoltaic array.

The site of the tower is currently in use as a community garden. It is bordered on Seymour by Karis Place, a BC Housing project that will provide supportive housing to urban singles in 100+ self-contained suites in an 11-storey mid-rise tower. Karis Place is now under construction and is one of the "14 sites" of social housing being developed by BC Housing in partnership with the city's leading non-profit social housing operators, who will be on-site 24 hours a day and provide controlled access to the building as well as supportive programming to help the "core-need" residents. Karis Place will achieve LEED Gold.

The Mark shares its Pacific Boulevard frontage with "501 Pacific", one of the first residential towers in the Downtown South annex of Yaletown. The 501 fronts onto both Pacific Blvd and Richards street and shares the lane with The Mark. At the base of the 501 is a two-storey podium, now considered low by Vancouver standards, and on the lane elevation the podium features a landscaped outdoor amenity space for residents that includes a sand volleyball court. The 501 has the unique distinction of being the only major project of the last decade to receive its development permit approval from the Development Permit Board after having failed to have received the support of the Urban Design Panel after its obligatory two attempts. The 501 shares its Richards frontage with the recently-completed Kindred Place social housing project. Kindred Place was not one of the "14 sites" set of social housing projects.

The Mark features a combination of curtain- and window-wall glazing schemes. High quality slab to slab curtain wall will make up the tower's western facade while floor to ceiling window wall will be used on the tower's north and east facades. The trianglar floorplate of the tower presents a faltiron elevation to the west and balconies have been positioned on this elevation to maximize the amenity of the outdoor space while minimizing the solar gain of the units. A combination of slab projections, shading devices and both spandrel and fritted glass treatments will address solar gain on the primarily vision-glass tower.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7576/themarksw.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/pu...merights20.png Taken by SFUVancouver, October 7th, 2009

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1868/themarkflatiron.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/pu...merights20.png Taken by SFUVancouver, October 7th, 2009

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/239...arkseymour.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/pu...merights20.png Taken by SFUVancouver, October 7th, 2009

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7861/...kcourtyard.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/pu...merights20.png Taken by SFUVancouver, October 7th, 2009

[Edit] Adding renders sourced from the project's website and first posted by vanman

Any update on the podium height for this building? They were aiming for 7 IIRC, but my fellow 501 owners are fighting the good fight to keep it down. :D

I don't live at the 501 and my suite doesn't face this site, but 7 is a little much.

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The Mark passed the UDP tonight.

The podium is 7 storeys on the Seymour side and 5 on the lane adjacent to the 501.

That's a nice location, some people should have some pretty good views. Always good to see 40 floors!

Although it maybe a great location to build a skyscraper and great that we can all see another tower rise downtown ...thats a horrid location to live, who wants to live on the same block as a niteclub thats had a history of gang violence, shootings and stabbings??

I suppose for investors who will probably never live there it maybe a great buy but to buy and live there?? ..i'd pass.

that club won't be there forever. that whole block is ripe for redevelopment...

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140 metres is proposed. It passed the UDP at that height. Now it's up to the DPB. The view cone at this location is at 140 metres.

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So this is one of those twin "gateway" towers that was talked about before?
140M = 462ft ... not bad, and it would really appear dominant as viewed from the south.

Thanks for the pics of the model :)

Nice, no criticismsm of the building, except ...... that it IS very "stereotyped.
That is, it looks so much like so many others it is giving Vancouver than homogenousely "bland" feeling to it. Perhaps this is something being striven for, but there is a monotonous blandness developing in the central city. It's not unpleasant in and of itself, but it would be nice to see the odd touch of class, like the Montgomery-Washington Tower in San Fran, or the Chateau Champlain in Montreal.

not to be contentious, because i'm always with the guy who pushes for the architectural audacity, but these are pretty bad examples. sf's montgomery washington is ugly or, worse, generic. and jesus, man, mtl's classy "rape à fromage" (that's what everyone calls it), the chateau champlain, is universally ridiculed and despised by residents of that city. people find it ugly and rundown, and the thing destroyed the southern end of what was once the city's grandest victorian square (then dominion, now dorchester), and permanently ruined that part of gauchetiere street. it represents something like the epitome of ill-advised modern architecture!

Blah blah blah..... I got a buddy who lives in the 501 and the location isn't bad at all. For one thing your only a block away from the seawall. And what nightclub in Vancouver doesn't have a history of violence? It comes with the territory of being a big city.

No it is not, the two gateway towers discussed earlier would be located right within the current off and on ramps for the Granville Bridge.

SFU thanks for the pics, the tower looks ok, but nothing special imo. And its Onni so it will probably turn out worse than it looks in renderings.

At least its tall. :shrug:

!!

Umm...the gay ones. (Except when gay bashing occurs...)

There is no nightclub on the same block as this building. If you are referring to the old Club Atlantis, that is on the other side of the street block on Richards. You would not even be able to see the club from this building.

As far as location, it is an excellent one. One block from the seawall, one block to the Davie and Granville neighborhood and two blocks to the heart of Yaletown.

The building however looks a bit lackluster like most others in Van. Will wait for the 'final' renders before making a final opinion.

Yep I lived at the 501 for the first 4 years it was open. The nightclub wasn't great, but IMHO better than homeless/hookers right outside your door, like my buddy's place on Seymour. The proximity to Yaletown and the seawall is great.

to each their own, you obviously have a different opinion and completely entitled to it ...the condo maybe great for those who share your view but imo, for myself personally, it wouldnt be a place for me to live personally.

on a more positive note, i am happy that there's another building goin up downtown!

:previous: Then you should not live downtown, because usually the center of a healthy metro area is where clubs and other entertainment facilities should be located. Usually the more people in an area, the larger demand for such facilities. Also the club was there first, but it would be nice if the club cleaned up its image somewhat, but was not removed.

We are so sheltered here from reality, it is amazing...

Nice to see another building possibly hitting the 140m mark (Vancouver's new table top height, it use to be 90 to 110 meters, now it seems to be 130 to 150 meters).

Thanks for letting us all know!

I agree with you on this one. It always surprises me when people choose to live DT to be close to the action, transit etc, then complain about noise and bad traffic, congestion, etc Isn't that what creates a city's vibe?

You sound like more of a Coal Harbour person then.

Like the old lady interviewed on the news last night who lives in Yaletown? She was complaining about the 'fun zone' or whatever it's called, slated for David Lam Park during the Olympics then went on to whine about all the events that take place in park, like festivals and stuff. "And now we have to put up with this!" said she.
Oh my. Move to White Rock already lady!!

haha i saw that last night as well. WTF is wrong with people.

We really do have the strangest people here sometimes, making the weirdest remarks :S

I agree, if a person doesn't enjoy the experience of the downtown core, or city life in general. Then make a move and go to a place, or a neighborhood where it's quieter. If people are going to live in the city, they need to realize that it's not going to be "quieter" - look at places like HK, NYC, Chicago, etc. Those cities are major players globally, and I think Vancouver (one day) will get there as well, but when the city does grow to that point, more people will be out and about at night, just as much as they will be during the day. People here need to get a grip.

Anyways, I think the statement made by the lady is ridiculous.

I'm happy that another residential tower is going up in the downtown core. I'm still waiting for office tower projects coming to town! It's about time that we have some construction on office tower(s), right? Aren't there a few lining up for a few years now?

she even said that "we get soccer tournaments"! EEK! in a public park? god forbid. i was just shaking my head. it's really too bad the reporter didn't call her on it. IE. WHy the F did you decide to buy a unit facing a public park, downtown, if noise was a concern? david lam park was there before WestOne...

An office tower is still at least a couple years out. You can easily notice the huge number of office "for lease" signs all over downtown and the broadway corridor. While it would be nice to have a new tower, it just isn't needed right now.

I stand corrected
 

Everybody to his own. Yes, there is no dispute in taste, as the ancient proverb goes. But I'd still like to see something really sleek and elegant in the city. We DO HAVE nice buildings, yes. But they're a bit stereotyped, and rather bland, in my opinion.

I have to admit liking the Wall Centre very much, Park Place,
5 Bentall Centre, and the venerable old Marine Building. You might disagree, but there we go on the subject of "taste." !! :yes:

Nice, thanks for posting!

Not that keen on the solid surfaces facing 501 and facing Pacific but that could be for privacy.

They will start selling the first phase of 26 floors (190 units) later this month and during the olympics.
Prices will be presented to the realtors open house next week on the 16th.
Floors 27 to 35 will be released at a future date and floors 36 to 41 pending zoning approval. These numbers include all 4's and 13.

The tower will be fully air conditioned and will include an outdoor pool, hot tub, wellness centre, dining halls, gym, sauna, spa treatment rooms, yoga studio, 4 guest suites and a concierge.

The V6A signage on site was replaced on friday with the Mark's. Looks good, will get a pic when the rain stops.

Oh I forgot they have updated their website themarkvancouver.com
it now includes 360 degree views from the first 26 floors. Saw them take these during the summer.

wow :) sounds like something we need MORE of. :cheers:

On the other hand maybe she moved downtown to be close to the theatre, the symphony, the opera, the art gallery etc. Twentysomethings may find it hard to believe, but there is more to "fun" than getting drunk and listening to loud music. If club culture is still your main entertianment past your mid-30's well.....

On another note: I hope nobody got too attached to their community garden there (or at any of the other empty lots downtown). What was the loophole rationale for those again?

But that is one of the main problems with Vancouver, good night culture should mean more then just getting drunk at clubs, Vancouver's night culture should include such things as night markets that go until 2 am, concerts that play far into the night, firework shows, holiday celebrations that last all night (Halloween and New Years are good examples), etc...

Generally, areas that have such venues as the symphony and art gallery also benefit from extended night life and atmopshere, a perfect example is the last time I was at the art gallery was when they had one of their late night wine galas where it did not close until 2am i believe.

this lady and others like her seem to be against city atmosphere in general, and I hate to say it, it most downtown areas i have been to in my life, midnight (especially on a weekend) is not a late time...

And how often does one go to the Opera or the art gallery? If this woman wants to ambiance of a sleepy town then she should move to the suburbs, or at the very least West Vancouver, and then she can simply commute for those special times she wants to be at the opera...

The amenities sound great. Bet it comes at a high price! :D

4 guess suites? How is that organized? I have never heard of that in any towers I have been in.

One condo tower in Calgary has one, that I am aware of. I believe my building does, too, through the L'Hermitage hotel.

Pretty much, if you have your mother in law coming in to town, you can book her a guest suite in the building through the concierge so she is out of your hair! :P

It is a nice option during the holidays, I'm sure :)

In general those suites are charged a fair rate, less then hotels, but enough that people don't take advantage of them, with the money going back into the strata.

The 501 has 2 guest suites, plus one of the apartments is owned by the strata (intended to be a caretaker suite but rented independently now).

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The website for The Mark is now up. Apparently the height increase is still pending approval.

http://www.themarkvancouver.com/

Some sweet new renderings:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8107117203.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8107227726.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8107210953.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8107183381.png

Call me grungy, but I'm quite the fan of metal Lattice (ref. pic #2) on the sides of buildings. It gives the sides of the building a neat 3-D hologram effect, and can serve a practical purpose. So aside from looking neat, what is their purpose here? I could see them being used on residential structures to cut down sunlight during the day in summer, and light pollution from street-level during night, while maintaining a persons views, but that doesn't look to be the case here.



My favorite example of a metal lattice would be the new NY Times building:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1258118823

photo by me

It's fugly! I have to say you got the world's best picture of that building. It looked terrible when I saw it in NYC myself. :cheers:

The building overall is pretty underwhelming. Thank goodness it's going to challenge the area heights.

But these renders are very nice indeed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...8107210953.png
Any idea if those are actual residential units there? They look like they could be pretty cool, sans views.

Looks good.
Not generally keen on breezeways though (i.e. bringing the groceries up from the car and having to contend with rain (and snow) on the breezeway?).
The wood in that rendering will bleach pretty quickly. i.e. check out the townhouses on 6th Ave near Ash St. I think their wood is aging quickly.

I think there's just on the west side of the podium facing the Granville Bridge ramp to Seymour Street. So presumably they would be for noise mitigation (and maybe to some extent to block the view?)
Personally, I would hate to have permanent screens blocking my view.

Being referred to public hearing for the space increase and height increase:

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/...cuments/p2.pdf

Oh my god but the architecture is beyond anything comparable in its class as far as modernist boxes are concerned. The interior and especially the news room has, dare I say, artistic merit. So much design compacted into the building thar.

However, In terms of recent midtown skyscrapers in New York, the Bank of America building is a contenter for my favourite

JUST SAYING, MANG.