Downtown Vancouver Updates II

[jollyburger]

Well they did some upkeep

In 2019 I complained to 311 about the hazards of the awning on dunsmuir and the repairs were made within a week. Someone is doing the minimum.

https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comme...nternational_village_whats_the_story_in/

It's interesting even on Google Maps you can see the roof collapsing in those two areas. I wonder what impact the demolition will have on businesses and offices next to the site.

[Metro-One]

Nice to finally see a larger project on the peninsula proposed. And since it’s rental, I’m guessing it has an actual chance of moving forward.

All other taller proposed towers I essentially presume as dead at this point downtown.

The Curve being the only exception that seems to have a pulse.

[Jimbo604]

Did this get mentioned already? If not then FYI RecRoom Granville is finally open. Hurray!

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/event...opening-granville-vancouver-2024-9940212

Huge, three-storey entertainment hub opening on Vancouver's Granville Strip
Brendan Kergin Dec 11, 2024 10:45 AM

"A massive, multifaceted entertainment hub will open in downtown Vancouver this week.

The Rec Room is finally opening its doors on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, offering Vancouverites three storeys of games, food, and entertainment.

The 45,000 square foot space used to be the Cineplex Odeon Granville 7 theatre in the middle of Vancouver's Entertainment district, aka the Granville Strip.

Cineplex still runs the place, but instead of movie screens, it now has 75 different amusement games (including mini-golf, augmented reality darts, and axe throwing), three new food options, live entertainment, private party space, and more, according to a press release.

The Rec Room brand has a dozen locations across Canada, including at the Amazing Brentwood mall in Burnaby, but the huge new space in downtown Vancouver is the Western Canadian flagship.

"The space seamlessly blends the historic sites of the Palms Hotel and Coronet Theatre buildings with a newly constructed development," reads a press release about the new entertainment hub.

The Rec Room can be found at 855 Granville St."

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by Changing City

This building was part of almost the entire city block owned for redevelopment, so it's size isn't relevant. The facades could have been incorporated into a larger development, Westbank just retained the Stanley and New Fountain hotel frontages.

Body snatching. Skinsuiting.
They can't design a building of their own that would acceptably fit with what it's replacing, so they wear the face of another building and say "nah, it's still there. Look at all the heritage we left! :^) "
In comparison the Scotia tower across the street (which at least erased all traces of the Birks building) looks nicer and considerably more modern, even though it's almost 50 years old.
Holborn also can't be trusted given how they sat on Little Mountain until the city/gov bent over to their demands, then suddenly poof! It's profitable enough to start building!
Source cited: Concord Pacific.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Body snatching.
They can't design a building of their own that would acceptably fit with what it's replacing, so they wear the face of another building and say "nah, it's still there. Look at all the heritage we left! :^) "
In comparison the Scotia tower across the street (which at least erased all traces of the Birks building) looks nicer and considerably more modern, even though it's almost 50 years old.
Holborn also can't be trusted given how they sat on Little Mountain until the city/gov bent over to their demands, then suddenly poof! It's profitable enough to start building!

Facadism is truly one of the silliest cultural practices we have. You're legally not allowed to rebuild the facade because that would be a soulless simulacrum of true heritage but you're also legally required to have the same facade and nothing else. It's especially dumb to consider requiring 500 Dunsmuir to preserve the facade for any future tower, because the building footprint was a goddamn E. How do you preserve the facade of an E while building something viable?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Body snatching.
They can't design a building of their own that would acceptably fit with what it's replacing, so they wear the face of another building and say "nah, it's still there. Look at all the heritage we left! :^) "
In comparison the Scotia tower across the street (which at least erased all traces of the Birks building) looks nicer and considerably more modern.

Most of the buildings constructed in the early 1900s were very poorly constructed. A few collapsed before they were even completed. The only way to keep any heritage elements of most of them is to incorporate the facade into a new building.

Up to now most municipalities have tried to retain some of their heritage buildings, with varying degrees of success. Some have been lost, and some have been protected, (but maybe they shouldn't have bothered).

There's no consensus about whether something should be retained or replaced. One extreme suggests nothing is worth keeping, as we can read here in some comments. The other end of the spectrum wants everything that's old to be retained, irrespective of cost, or practicality.

Holborn could have made a valid case for demolishing the Dunsmuir hotel, based on the way it was constructed, and the limited value of the building as redeveloped non-market housing within the retained facade. They could have made a pretty compelling case, but they don't seem to have done that. Instead they chose to let the structure become unsafe by neglecting the most basic protection for many years. Council indicated yesterday that they don't appreciate that, and that there should be some consequences. Holborn have been having meetings with ABC council members for at least a year, but from the comments yesterday, it would seem that none of the politicians were aware of the state of the building until very recently.

The Scotia Tower? Really?

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

there needs to be a middle ground on saving heritage buildings. not all old buildings are worth saving, and some old buildings are.

the original Birks building was worth saving, and its sad it is gone. but its very subjective, so itll always been an argument to be had.

look at the BowMac sign on Broadway. was it worth saving? is it worth saving? i think so, but i am sure others will disagree.

[Zepfancouver]

Originally Posted by Zepfancouver

Monday morning Oct 21, 2024
VAHA Burrard 17-storey wood tower
[img]...jpeg[/img] ...

Yesterday morning - Dec 18, 2024 - Up to grade!









• Video Link

[MIPS]

Well considering Holborn opted to sit on it and do nothing while the value of downtown real estate shot to Mars, nothing. Technically, you leave it as-is and dump money into the decade you let it fall apart, as if the whole idea of that was intentional because the only people it violently offends is the shareholders.

Gotta keep those shareholders happy. :^)

[Vin]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Body snatching. Skinsuiting.
They can't design a building of their own that would acceptably fit with what it's replacing, so they wear the face of another building and say "nah, it's still there. Look at all the heritage we left! :^) "
In comparison the Scotia tower across the street (which at least erased all traces of the Birks building) looks nicer and considerably more modern, even though it's almost 50 years old.
Holborn also can't be trusted given how they sat on Little Mountain until the city/gov bent over to their demands, then suddenly poof! It's profitable enough to start building!
Source cited: Concord Pacific.

Interesting that you say that. However, imagine the City/Province buying up Scotia Bank tower and converting it to house SROs. Give it 10 years and it will turn into an ugly dilapidated structure. Another 10 years and people will call for the crumbling structure to be demolished. Fact is no one, including the government, wants to put money into maintaining non-profitable buildings. We are doing that to many of our heritage buildings in this town, and that makes me furious.

Along Granville Street, the former Youth Hostel (1025 Granville) and former Howard & Johnson Hotel (1176 Granville) are such examples. I don't think these will last another 15 years.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

look at the BowMac sign on Broadway. was it worth saving? is it worth saving? i think so, but i am sure others will disagree.

Worth saving? Sure. But the current solution is a crime against decency and normality.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by Vin

Interesting that you say that. However, imagine....

My opinions are strong, but I know bait when I see it.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Well considering Holborn opted to sit on it and do nothing while the value of downtown real estate shot to Mars, nothing. Technically, you leave it as-is and dump money into the decade you let it fall apart, as if the whole idea of that was intentional because the only people it violently offends is the shareholders.

Gotta keep those shareholders happy. :^)

This would be a perfect time for Council to get rid of the stupid "community garden" tax dodge as you can bet that's what Holborn has in mind.

Why the BC NDP hasn't outlawed that as part of their housing program is mystifying...

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by whatnext

This would be a perfect time for Council to get rid of the stupid "community garden" tax dodge as you can bet that's what Holborn has in mind.

but even vagrants and crackheads need a place to grow needles downtown .

but will they really wait? now with all these provincial zoning overrides, i imagine a large building must be able to go here, no?

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

but even vagrants and crackheads need a place to grow needles downtown .

but will they really wait? now with all these provincial zoning overrides, i imagine a large building must be able to go here, no?

Remember, we're talking about the genius developer who bought Little Mountain in 2008 and totally managed to miss the huge buying boom that accompanied the inflow of offshore money.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Worth saving? Sure. But the current solution is a crime against decency and normality.

true. i found these cool photos on flickr and i didnt know it had a giant arrow before the Toys R Us.

Originally Posted by whatnext

Remember, we're talking about the genius developer who bought Little Mountain in 2008 and totally managed to miss the huge buying boom that accompanied the inflow of offshore money.

true. that deal was ridiculous. just more government handouts to billionaires/very wealthy on the backs of regular people.

i cant believe they were allowed to demolish and evict everyone from a functioning family housing project before being forced to start construction.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

but even vagrants and crackheads need a place to grow needles downtown .

but will they really wait? now with all these provincial zoning overrides, i imagine a large building must be able to go here, no?

The Worksafe BC report for Dunsmuir House reported residents would regularly toss needles out of their rooms nearly missing workers trying to keep the lower roof clean.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

true. i found these cool photos on flickr and i didnt know it had a giant arrow before the Toys R Us.

I believe the arrow was gone prior to that. It was a car dealership just before Toys R Us AFAIK.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Jimbo604

Did this get mentioned already? If not then FYI RecRoom Granville is finally open. Hurray!

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/event...opening-granville-vancouver-2024-9940212

Huge, three-storey entertainment hub opening on Vancouver's Granville Strip
Brendan Kergin Dec 11, 2024 10:45 AM

"A massive, multifaceted entertainment hub will open in downtown Vancouver this week.

The Rec Room is finally opening its doors on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, offering Vancouverites three storeys of games, food, and entertainment.

The 45,000 square foot space used to be the Cineplex Odeon Granville 7 theatre in the middle of Vancouver's Entertainment district, aka the Granville Strip.

Cineplex still runs the place, but instead of movie screens, it now has 75 different amusement games (including mini-golf, augmented reality darts, and axe throwing), three new food options, live entertainment, private party space, and more, according to a press release.

The Rec Room brand has a dozen locations across Canada, including at the Amazing Brentwood mall in Burnaby, but the huge new space in downtown Vancouver is the Western Canadian flagship.

"The space seamlessly blends the historic sites of the Palms Hotel and Coronet Theatre buildings with a newly constructed development," reads a press release about the new entertainment hub.

The Rec Room can be found at 855 Granville St."

The Daily Hive had some photos from some of the interiors of the Rec Room's opening.

source:
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/rec-room-opens-granville-entertainment-district-revival





But of (more) interest (....to me, anyway) in that article was Kerry Bonnis of Bonnis Properties who are probably the largest landowners and landlords on the Granville strip - with their family owning most of the property you see in that section of Granville Street - talking about the revision and (possibly soon to be) resubmission of their mega office proposal project across the street from the Rec Room at 800 Granville St., and the key points from his remarks (no images at this point) was how it will likely be reconfigured from primarily office use into mainly hotel use and market rental - with the form going from extensive horizontally based office floorplates stretching across the entire block (Which city officials did not like due to potential shadowing on the street below) to more vertically distributed density in the form of possibly two towers that would likely be able to go much taller than the previous proposal thanks to the city's relaxation of some of the restrictive viewcones.

The podium form preserving some of the heritage features of the old Orpheum and the Commodore ballroom and Commodore Billiards are expected to be retained and to remain the same as the original proposal (presumably including the giant display screens for advertising and semiotics), as well as the restaurant and ballroom overlooking the strip below. But everything above that seems likely headed for a complete re-draw and re-design.

The switch from office to hotel/rental was to be expected in this post-pandemic/remote office work brutal office market climate. So no surprise there. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the new form of two towers and how tall they go with the eliminated viewcone restrictions.
Perkins and Will remain the architect in charge and are the ones currently re-doing the proposal which should be resubmitted sometime early in the new year.


Also from the Daily Hive :-

"Now into late 2024, his team and architectural firm Perkins&Will are getting close to completing a new draft detailed design. When ready, they are expected to submit a revised application that replaces their November 2022 formal rezoning application submission, which was never formally cancelled or withdrawn.

“We’ve been working collaboratively with the City. And so, we’ve updated and revised our proposal and we’re working through the process now,” he continued. “We’re excited to hopefully get that forward to City Council soon.”
.......
...While the original concept’s density was achieved horizontally, the forthcoming revised design redistributes some of that density vertically — now made possible for the 800 Granville Street site by Vancouver City Council’s July 2024 decision to relax some of the municipal government’s highly restrictive protected mountain view cone policies, which limited building heights.

“We’re excited with the direction the City is going with removing some of the onerous view cones. There’s going to be greater heights and density, and in the end, it all boils down to statistics and density. The more people we have down on the street level and above the street level, the greater ridership we get on public transit,” Bonnis told Daily Hive Urbanized.
.....
......This previous concept had 468,000 sq ft of office space within the upper levels. Instead, Bonnis says they are now looking to pivot most of this office density into secured purpose-built market rental housing and hotel uses. He says the emerging concepts for the forthcoming revised design should lead to the creation of over 500 rental homes and a hotel with approximately 12o to 150 guest rooms."

Previous proposal submittal for 800 Granville:-



Podium-top outdoor dining areas expected to be retained in the new proposal:-

[gaviscon]

Are we expecting these 2 hotels to start construction next year?

- 1300 Robson (Listel Hotel Redev)

- 848 Seymour