General Vancouver Development Updates II

[jollyburger]

GWL Realty Advisors (GWLRA) has submitted a rezoning application to the City of Vancouver to refocus its 1296 Station St. office development to construct two multifamily towers of up to 28 storeys over a podium containing retail and office space.

The mixed-use submission now focuses on a mix of approximately 400 secured market, below-market and furnished rental apartments. In addition to the lower-level retail space, the project also envisions office/commercial space for medical or lab uses due to its proximity to the new St. Paul’s Hospital site.

https://renx.ca/gwlra-plans-2-towers-at-vancouvers-1296-station-street

[mcj]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

\
https://renx.ca/gwlra-plans-2-towers-at-vancouvers-1296-station-street

Expected change in the development, good to see at least a smidge of the office space is retained. Would have been nice to see a hotel component though, give them another ~10 storeys to make that happen? One can dream...



From article linked, it seems like the retail component will be a much needed grocery store?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by mcj

From article linked, it seems like the retail component will be a much needed grocery store?

But it seems so far from enough residential to make a grocery work.

Also 1405 Main St (the parking lot next to the McDonalds) has to be one of COV's other development sites for market rental.

EDIT: From May 2025. 1405 Main Street & 1510 Quebec Street are up for future development. It's the same work they budgeted for site remediation for the recently announced Hornby/Pacific project. Listed under Confidential

https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2024-05-31-council-memo-refm-capital-project-delivery-update.pdf

[Migrant_Coconut]

Between the hospital district, the SkyTrain and OV two blocks down, that'll be a prime location for groceries, maybe a deli too.

[idunno]

Hotels next to the hospital would be a no-brainer! Hopefully something comes in amongst a future rezoning.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by idunno

Hotels next to the hospital would be a no-brainer! Hopefully something comes in amongst a future rezoning.

Better yet, there is a hotel planned for the health campus site it’s self under the current zoning.

[idunno]

Originally Posted by madog222

Better yet, there is a hotel planned for the health campus site it’s self under the current zoning.

Great!

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by mcj

From article linked, it seems like the retail component will be a much needed grocery store?

It's 'needs based retail, such as a grocery store'. So it could be a drugstore, which also sell groceries these days. There's no Shoppers Drug Mart in that part of the city for example, although I imagine there will be at least one drugstore as part of the campus (just as there is in VGH).

There was a grocery store included as part of the rezoning on Prior St for twin residential rental towers over offices and retail, approved to the north of the new hospital. Then, at the DP stage, the retail switched to mostly restaurant spaces, and the grocery store disappeared.

[logan5]

The density is disappointing, given it's a 30 second walk to Main Street Skytrain station. Ideally, you would want two 60 story rental towers, like they have at Brentwood in Burnaby, but overall this is a good development for the area, and particularly Chinatown, which is close by.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by logan5

The density is disappointing, given it's a 30 second walk to Main Street Skytrain station. Ideally, you would want two 60 story rental towers, like they have at Brentwood in Burnaby, but overall this is a good development for the area, and particularly Chinatown, which is close by.

Hopefully the McDonalds site comes back for more density. I could see the COV parking lot in the 40-50 storey range. Maybe with a pedestrian bridge.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Hopefully the McDonalds site comes back for more density. I could see the COV parking lot in the 40-50 storey range. Maybe with a pedestrian bridge.

Pedestrian bridge sounds nice, but there's no concourse level at Main Street station for that to connect to. It would have to be a surface level to surface level connection, would be better if they just improved the streetscape/public realm sufficiently.

[osirisboy]

Would be a great spot for taller towers. Why the low height limit

[officedweller]

It would have been nice if they paid some deference to the Pacific Central Station
(because the station is set back from the street) and placed a midrise in the front and a taller tower in the back (east).
This is like placing horse blinders on the station open space.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by logan5

The density is disappointing, given it's a 30 second walk to Main Street Skytrain station. Ideally, you would want two 60 story rental towers, like they have at Brentwood in Burnaby, but overall this is a good development for the area, and particularly Chinatown, which is close by.

The density doesn't look to be much lower than TAB, I'm guessing around 8-8.5.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by officedweller

It would have been nice if they paid some deference to the Pacific Central Station
(because the station is set back from the street) and placed a midrise in the front and a taller tower in the back (east).
This is like placing horse blinders on the station open space.

Maybe they were with the wrap around windows that allow more of a view of Pacific Central.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by logan5

The density is disappointing, given it's a 30 second walk to Main Street Skytrain station. Ideally, you would want two 60 story rental towers, like they have at Brentwood in Burnaby, but overall this is a good development for the area, and particularly Chinatown, which is close by.

You were expecting 60 storey towers in a site in that close vicinity to a hospital with a heliport?


It's possible that the future St. Paul's helicopter flight path protection zone might have played a role in restricting the how high these towers can go (?) - despite the relaxation of the Viewcone restrictions by the city.

VGH's helicopter flight path restriction zones are mostly to its northwest and northeast with most of the flight traffic coming north of it.

Given that this hospital will be to the south of VGH, and given that according to BC Emergency Health Services statistics, about 90% of air ambulance transports are transfers between hospitals - it's not inconcievable that the presence of the heliport and the helicopter flight paths it will entail (statistically potentially mostly to be coming from south from VGH according to BCEHS), might have had a height restriction imposition on this development - just as it may also do sofor any future developments within its southerly proximity.

Just speculating though, as scant information was released about the potential helicopter flight path in the consultation materials for the hospital project's proposals.

The suggestion for more hotels around the area - whether at the hospital campus itself or in neighbouring developments like this one - actually makes sense since about 40% of hospital visitors to VGH, for example, are from outside Vancouver. And It would likely be similar in St. Paul's case as well.
But finding hotel brands to partner with for such components is not always as easy or straightforward as people assume.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

You were expecting 60 storey towers in a site in that close vicinity to a hospital with a heliport?

It's possible that the future St. Paul's helicopter flight path protection zone might have played a role in restricting the how high these towers can go (?) - despite the relaxation of the Viewcone restrictions by the city.

VGH's helicopter flight path restriction zones are mostly to its northwest and northeast with most of the flight traffic coming north of it.

Given that this hospital will be to the south of VGH, and given that according to BC Emergency Health Services statistics, about 90% of air ambulance transports are transfers between hospitals - it's not inconcievable that the presence of the heliport and the helicopter flight paths it will entail (statistically potentially mostly to be coming from south from VGH according to BCEHS), might have had a height restriction imposition on this development - just as it may also do sofor any future developments within its southerly proximity.

Just speculating though, as scant information was released about the potential helicopter flight path in the consultation materials for the hospital project's proposals.

The suggestion for more hotels around the area - whether at the hospital campus itself or in neighbouring developments like this one - actually makes sense since about 40% of hospital visitors to VGH, for example, are from outside Vancouver. And It would likely be similar in St. Paul's case as well.
But finding hotel brands to partner with for such components is not always as easy or straightforward as people assume.

A) I don't have the reference but the flight path I saw was from the NW over the viaducts and then exiting east over the playing fields.

B) The Jim Pattison Pavillion at VGH is 299 ft/19 floors and look at how close it is to the VGH Helipad.

C) I doubt helicopter trauma transfers from SPH to VGH is that huge of a number. Back in 2016 they transferred 20% from St Pauls to VGH for higher level of care but I don't think that necessarily means they are at a need level that would require a helicopter.

Didn't know they switched in 2023 to a new helicopter provider for the province. $544.4 million over 10 years.

https://verticalmag.com/news/ascent-helicopters-lands-544-4m-b-c-air-ambulance-contract/

Heliport consulting report for Terrace in 2020

https://www.northernhealth.ca/sites/nort...lls-heliport-assessment-January-2020.pdf

St Pauls wants an H1 heliport

An H1 heliport is defined as a heliport located within an obstacle rich environment where
there are no emergency landing areas within 625 m from the FATO. The multi-engine
helicopters using the heliport must have the performance capability to safely fly to an
appropriate landing area or land safely on the FATO or TLOF area if an engine fails.
This type of heliport is restricted to use by only about 5% of the total types of helicopters;

EDIT: Here's one of the reference to the flight path from the west

Feathered Friend: Since I'm not sure when I'll be able to write it up, I thought I should tease that St Paul's didn't have a good time at the UDP today, and not just because the meeting lasted for over four hours. That said, I can confirm that it will have a helipad and that the flight path for these emergency trips will come in from the west.

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9256896&postcount=645

[jollyburger]

Double the height.

The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled that a law passed by the provincial government to stave off opposition to a supportive housing development in the Vancouver neighbourhood of Kitsilano is unconstitutional.

The provincial government had adopted the law at the request of the City of Vancouver in 2023 to push through a 12-storey housing development at Arbutus Street, featuring units open to low‑income residents and users of support services.

But the Arbutus development was opposed by the Kitsilano Coalition for Children & Family Safety Society, which took the city to court over its in-principle approval of a rezoning to allow the project to go ahead.

Monday's ruling says the provincial government "evidently became concerned" that the litigation could delay the rezoning, so it passed the Municipal Enabling and Validating Act to facilitate the project.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c...housing-coalition-court-appeal-1.7418397

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

Given that this hospital will be to the south of VGH, and given that according to BC Emergency Health Services statistics, about 90% of air ambulance transports are transfers between hospitals - it's not inconcievable that the presence of the heliport and the helicopter flight paths it will entail (statistically potentially mostly to be coming from south from VGH according to BCEHS), might have had a height restriction imposition on this development - just as it may also do sofor any future developments within its southerly proximity.

I would expect they are from other lower acuity hospitals. Like up north, other smaller VCH hospitals, Whistler health centre, etc. I think they are setting up SPH to be a potential extra destination, but VGH would remain the primary for the foreseeable future.

Even in the rare potential VGH<-->SPH transfer, I'd be willing to bet those go by street ambulance.

[WarrenC12]

It looks like a home furniture store is moving into the old Robinson Lighting at Cambie and 7th. I guess there is no rush on that redevelopment application. Sigh.