Landmark on Robson - U/C

[jollyburger]

Mid-construction they changed four of the retail to restaurant use with venting. Might be easier to lease out than general retail on that stretch.

[Zepfancouver]

Did my end of the month Downtown walkabout this afternoon.

Construction fencing looks ready to be removed soon.

[RedArbutus]

That looks nice actually, I quite like the beveled awning panels (or whatever they're called).

[LeftCoaster]

I loved the old Empire Landmark, but wow this one has really turned out well. The materials are top notch and from the pictures the execution looks good.

[Klazu]

That streetscape looks really nice. I hope they manage to lease all the retail space as well.

[officedweller]

From Lawrence Black twitter May 21st:


https://twitter.com/LawrenceBlackTV

[officedweller]

Rooftop edge lighting strips were on last night on both towers - lit yellow/amber/gold.

[Jimbo604]

Src: article mentioned

Daily Hive has a new article
Landmark on Robson signals retail strip continuity with completion
Kenneth Chan | Jun 10 2024, 7:27 pm

"At ground level, about 20,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses will activate a 330 ft-long span of Robson Street.

The continuous retail/restaurant uses — within 10 commercial units — will greatly enhance the retail strip and encourage westward foot traffic flow, which is also aided by a generous building setback that enables a much wider pedestrian sidewalk.

Currently, commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap is leasing these retail/restaurant units, which range in size from about 800 sq ft to up to 2,712 sq ft, with most of these units featuring a unique mezzanine level. These units are available as of this month.

In great contrast, the previous hotel building offered highly limited active streetfront uses, with blank walls, a hotel driveway, and ground-level office frontage dominating the block’s frontage — negatively interrupting the retail strip continuity between Robson Village and Lower Robson. The redevelopment bridges this previous gap in the retail strip."

Looks like sidewalk is almost ready to be opened. Maybe it is already open as DH's pics are noted as Jun 1st.

[NewfBC]

I wonder if any of the units have been leased at all. I'm thinking Vancouver has an over supply of this type of retail space.. every new building has small retail units.. there are only so many possible tenants.

Ron.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

I wonder if any of the units have been leased at all. I'm thinking Vancouver has an over supply of this type of retail space.. every new building has small retail units.. there are only so many possible tenants.

Ron.

At least one. It looked like five of the ten units had leasing posters, so at least half are still available.

[Repthe250]

Originally Posted by NewfBC

I wonder if any of the units have been leased at all. I'm thinking Vancouver has an over supply of this type of retail space.. every new building has small retail units.. there are only so many possible tenants.

Ron.

Dentist offices. Subway. Sushi. Repeat.

[connect2source]

Take a good look at it now because it's likely to become a cluttered mess of transient businesses and sandwich board signs. I regret the city not allowing this to be one or two large retail spaces, sorely needed for lower Robson.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by connect2source

Take a good look at it now because it's likely to become a cluttered mess transient businesses and sandwich board signs. I regret the city not allowing this to be one or two large retail spaces, sorely needed for lower Robson.

The current arrangement of smaller units cascading down the street is the design that was submitted. What evidence do you have that the developer intended anything different?

GWL are planning a similar sized building down the hill. If there's potential demand for larger retail units, they could include them there.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by Changing City

The current arrangement of smaller units cascading down the street is the design that was submitted. What evidence do you have that the developer intended anything different?

In the past I'd heard that the COV wanted to keep retail storefronts along this portion of Robson small, hence the reason for Safeway being on the second level and Whole Foods not being able to expand their Robson facing retail length when the did their modest expansion in the early 2000s.

This was already discussed, at length, on the previous page by many of us including you Changing City. Sorry, no hard 'evidence' regarding the developer's plans for the CRU sizes to provide to you.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by connect2source

In the past I'd heard that the COV wanted to keep retail storefronts along this portion of Robson small, hence the reason for Safeway being on the second level and Whole Foods not being able to expand their Robson facing retail length when the did their modest expansion in the early 2000s.

This was already discussed, at length, on the previous page by many of us including you Changing City. Sorry, no hard 'evidence' regarding the developer's plans for the CRU sizes to provide to you.

It's possible that there was some concern about larger floorplate stores, although I think back in 2009 Safeway wanted the second floor store with the uninterupted interior space, and some parking on the main floor (which is how they developed the building).

But the more recent West End Plan (which the Landmark was developed under) specifically says "Allow larger commercial floor plates, appropriate for hillsides" for this part of Robson. So there's no policy to limit commercial floorspace size - but there is a design issue in making that work on a hillside, which the architects here chose to solve by creating ten units down the hill, five on either side of a recessed residential entrance.

[connect2source]

Originally Posted by Changing City

It's possible that there was some concern about larger floorplate stores, although I think back in 2009 Safeway wanted the second floor store with the uninterupted interior space, and some parking on the main floor (which is how they developed the building).

But the more recent West End Plan (which the Landmark was developed under) specifically says "Allow larger commercial floor plates, appropriate for hillsides" for this part of Robson. So there's no policy to limit commercial floorspace size - but there is a design issue in making that work on a hillside, which the architects here chose to solve by creating ten units down the hill, five on either side of a recessed residential entrance.

Helpful and makes sense, thank you! Just was gunning for an anchor for lower Robson or even a relocation and expansion for the existing Whole Foods.

[whatnext]

When is the residential supposed to get occupancy?