[New Westminster] Northbank | 65 m | 18 floors | Completed

[Chadillaccc]

I know it's a small project in terms of other metro Vancouver developments, but it is pretty substantial for New West, and the architecture isn't bad at all.


Nice eh? I love the red accenting. Such a beautiful area of the city too, I live right down the block in one of the older towers... amazing views around here.

And here's the project details...



http://www.metrovancondo.com/125-col...ew-westminster

[geoff's two cents]

Thanks for posting!

Burnaby might have the office square footage, Coquitlam and Richmond their downtown residential, and Surrey its official designation as "metropolitan core," but my vote still goes to New West as being the area outside Vancouver proper that feels the most like a true city. Very nice to see!

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by geoff's two cents

Thanks for posting!

Burnaby might have the office square footage, Coquitlam and Richmond their downtown residential, and Surrey its official designation as "metropolitan core," but my vote still goes to New West as being the area outside Vancouver proper that feels the most like a true city. Very nice to see!

I totally agree. I like the New West downtown on Columbia, it's so historic and beautiful and just keeps getting more and more awesome. Uptown is great too, lots of office and residential surrounding Royal City Centre.


I know what you're saying about Coq and Rich with downtown residential... but I think New West has the most downtown high-rise residential per capita outside of Vancouver. New West is less than 100 000 people and surely around half of them live in towers in and around Downtown and Uptown.

[hollywoodnorth]

wow! just what that site needs ..... LIFE .... with retail to boot.

[Chadillaccc]

They have this picture on a small billboard at the project site. The design in this one looks significantly different. It's still very nice, but I really hope they choose the one in the first render I posted.

[vanman]

What? That first rendering is hideous. Blank walls facing Columbia? Odd canopies that jut out at irregular angles? The second rendering looks a little more streamlined. I'm hoping the red is actually real brick and not just painted concrete like the News towers on Royal. Either way it is good to see new density in that part of NW.

[Millennium2002]

Given the lack of grout lines, I think they'll just apply on red stucco like the News towers. And frankly I'm not a big fan of the weird colour scheme other... News towers might have had red stucco but at least they were placed in sensible symmetric spots.

As for the design... I like the first one as it interfaces nicely with the various corners that make up the lot that the building sits on. The second design on the other hand does look a bit more bland. And both designs seem to miss meeting up nicely with Elliott Street on the west side.

[officedweller]

Looks like the blank wall is primarily to face the SkyBridge approach
- and above ground parking since the site is directly over the M-Line tunnel entrance:

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

c/o >> http://www.globalairphotos.com/large...wn/2011/0027/2

[PaperTiger]

It is actually 21 storeys from the Columbia Street side. The title should read 21 not 18 There are four levels in the parking/ retail/townhouse podium and then 17 levels in the tower. ff

I am glad this got approved. The residents of 31 Elliot Street (the white seventies tower directly behind) were pissed. Nothing like 40 years of unobstructed view to bring out the NIMBY in anyone. I'm glad to see that New West Council has some guts.

[PaperTiger]

Here is the planning report:

http://www.newwestcity.ca/council_mi...ezoning%20.pdf

WRT finishes the tower is painted concrete, not brick. the townhouses at the base are stone masonry though, which will look great at the pedestrian level.

The retail is actually quiet small, only 740 sq ft, but the developer got permission to construct a patio in the Elliot Street right-of-way (where the switch back trail is) so I’m thinking coffee shop.

Also, the trail area will be re-landscaped.

[PaperTiger]

It looks like it will be the second rendering. Page 14 of the report shows the same rendering. I guess in order to mitigate the concerns of the neighbours they did a slight redesgne the increased the height(!!!).

This allowed a narrower tower that blocked less of the views. The neighbours still hated it, but hey, we got an extra 3 floors of height.

[Coldrsx]

podium is terrible

[SpongeG]

the site is terrible

[PaperTiger]

The final podium is better than what was orignally proposed, though I would agree not up to vancouver standards.

The site is what it is. Would it be better leave it as a vacant lot?

[flight_from_kamakura]

wow, great building for that site. thanks for posting the aerial photo too, really gives a sense of the potential for that area.

[Chadillaccc]

Still no work on the site.

Seems like the residential demand in metro vancouver is cooling down?

[PaperTiger]

Marketing site is now up:http://www.northbank.ca/

Check the tagline. Hilarious given the history with the neighbours up the hill...

Incidentally, I don't see how this is any different than the guy in the Shangri-La that pissed about Vancouver’s Turn. Here the neighbours bought in to a building that had views, and the OCP didn't allow high rises around it. After the fact the City updates the OCP to allow High rises, the neighbours are involved in the public process, but Council approves the height increase anyway.

It is Council’s right as elected officials to set and change policy as they see fit. If people don’t like the job they do, they don’t get re-elected.

[NewWester]

Incidently, there was a rather vocal (if ineffective) local uproar caused by council approving this building. Pretty staunch local opposition founded on a slew of pretty silly reasons to disguise the fact it was mostly about view blocking. The vote was evenly split among council and the mayor carried the tie breaker. It was pointed out that the developer for this project is one of the mayor's main contributors and that it was felt by some (the neighbour's with affected views) that he should have recused himself.

That said, the incumbent mayor and council won landslide victories so....

[NewWester]

It wasn't discretely mentioned: but this project is called "Northbank".

[MFB]

Floor plans now available:

https://www.mylasso.com/FileWarehous...%20Typical.pdf

Some of the better plans around - just don't like the location.

From email: "We're very excited about bringing Northbank to the market in the coming weeks as we believe it is, by far, the most complete real estate opportunity in New Westminster. With the amazing views up and down the Fraser River, the well thought out and comfortable floor plans and the high level of finishing detail Ballenas is well known for, we're very comfortable you will see the great long term value of Northbank.

As someone that has expressed early interest in Northbank we want to make sure that you have your questions answered as soon as possible. As mentioned on our call the homes at Northbank are planned with everyday living in mind. From the fact that the dining areas can comfortably fit a 6 person dining table to all bedrooms designed to fit a Queen size bed plus side table Northbank will be a comfortable place to call home. Home sizes range from 625 sqft for our 1 bedrooms and from 839 sqft for our 2 bedroom homes. I have included a set of our typical floor plans here for you to review.

Northbank is situated as the Eastern gateway to the historic Columbia Street corridor and on the edge of Albert Crescent Park. Offering unobstructed views in almost all directions we've been able to design the building so EVERY home has views up or down the river.

Northbank is located to SkyTrain just 2.5 blocks away as well as it is less than a 5 minute drive to Hwy #1 to the East as well as 5 minute drive to the Alex Fraser Bridge or SE Marine Drive. Northbank's location offers numerous commuting options.

With great value compared to other neighbouring communities and located in the geographic centre of the Lower Mainland, it's easy to see why New Westminster is fast becoming a great choice to call home.

At prices starting in the mid $260,000's & $360,000's* Northbank is sure to impress."