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Originally Posted by FarmerHaight
It is unquestionable that thousands of SFHs blocking 100s of thousands of new residential units across Vancouver are not "highest and best use". I don't think there is nearly the opportunity cost in Yaletown or Gastown.
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1000% this, don't get me wrong. I'm strongly in favour of stronger land use reform, but it's easier to point out and criticise direct bad policy in small areas, than society wide structural issues.
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I will be very sad when the Red Accordion is gone...
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Quick, try to force heritage status on that building! Then you can force it to stay!
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Originally Posted by Changing City
You seem to misunderstand Yaletown. There are no single storey buildings in Yaletown - the shortest is 2-storey (plus basement) and there are several that are 7-storey. (If they're 1-storey on one street face, they're 2-storey on the other side). It's a pretty dense set of buildings because they have zero-lot setbacks; The developed average density across all the warehouse district is 3.9 FSR, and there are a few unchanged warehouses that could still add floors that could increase the density in future to over 4.
It's surprisingly close in density to 'The Amazing Brentwood' which has a maximum overall density of 5.53 FAR, (but may be less as they chose to build to 53 storeys rather than the 70 that was permitted in the masterplan).
Densities can be deceptive; there are towers in Brentwood built at lower densities (Fulton House, 3.6 FAR, Tailor under construction on Alpha, 3.6 FAR) than residential projects in Yaletown, (The McMaster Building on Homer, 4.9 FSR, or the Del Pado on Mainland, for example, 5.3 FSR).
The character is what saved the buildings, and why there are so many office users looking for 'funky' space. Most buildings have been retrofitted to contemporary code. There are heavy timber woodframe warehouses in both Yaletown and Gastown that have had added bracing, and are now much more likely to perform well in an earthquake than many older residential towers both in Vancouver and other municipalities.
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If the argument now is "at least it's almost as dense as a suburban town centre", I feel like we've lost the plot. I used to work in Yaletown, they're not funky offices, they're very typical on the inside. The appeal to working there is the proximity to restaurants, services, and transit.