Vancouver House (1400 Howe St) | 151.5m | 52Fl | Completed

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Lol nice. If you don't I think I'll need to write a response opinion piece to this Tyee garbage

Where the heck is this number then?

"Where did the $6-million valuation of Westbank’s promised amenity come from?"

My mistake that was for the Grosvenor rezoning.

Here's a 2010 report on the land sale to Westbank

https://council.vancouver.ca/20100720/do...e-REFM-AdministrativeReport_Redacted.pdf

[jollyburger]

Here's the document from earlier in this thread. Page 17

Public Realm Improvements: An in-kind CAC of $6 million is proposed to provide public realm
improvements on and adjacent to the sites. The proposed improvements include:
• an enhanced public realm treatment beyond the City standard including high quality
surface treatments, special lighting, kiosks and public seating, consistent with the
objectives of the Under the Granville Bridge Neighbourhood Commercial Centre
Policies and Guidelines;
• basic infrastructure to facilitate event programming, including electricity, water and
accessibility to public washrooms; and
• the Council-endorsed “Great Streets” treatment on the south side of Pacific Street.
Cash Contribution: Further, the applicant is offering a cash CAC of $4 million, which staff
recommend be allocated towards local and city-wide needs as follows:
• $1 million towards the Granville Bridge Greenway;
• $1 million towards Davie Street Village public realm improvements; and
• $2 million towards the completion of the theatre production space at 162 West 1st
Avenue, the ownership of which is scheduled to be transferred to the City in
September 2013.

https://council.vancouver.ca/20130924/documents/p2.pdf

Under the Granville Bridge Neighbourhood Commercial Centre Policies and Guidelines;

https://guidelines.vancouver.ca/policy-statement-under-granville-bridge-neighbourhood.pdf

They should have dumped the chandelier and done a better job of lighting up the bridge up-lighting.

[jollyburger]

Looks like they reused that old Gesamtkunstwerk neon sign from the old Vancouver House exhibit and installed it next to a walkway somewhere in the building.

https://www.instagram.com/franklinsigncompany/p/CJ7rpUnM11Z/?locale=en

[Coldrsx]

[officedweller]

Pics by me today of the bridge from the Granville Bridge to the west lowrise:

[domusile]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Pics by me today of the bridge from the Granville Bridge to the west lowrise:
]

Is this the first they have opened this since VH finished?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by domusile

Is this the first they have opened this since VH finished?

I think it's the same still closed off.

Whoever recommends using that kind of wood on a facade should be shown these photos.

[Capitol Hill]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

I think it's the same still closed off.

Whoever recommends using that kind of wood on a facade should be shown these photos.

Doesn’t the wood need to go through this phase before it gets to the greyed out stage?

[jollyburger]

I guess the sections in the back aren't getting weathered evenly which might explain why it's so blotchy.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Capitol Hill

Doesn’t the wood need to go through this phase before it gets to the greyed out stage?

Weathered grey look isn’t any better. This is horrible.

[Vantage]

It is well known that wood weathers and changes colour, you don't think the architects thought of that? It's no accident

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Walkways are open on both sides of the bridges.

Pic by me today.

I just noticed that the same graffitti is on the end of the wooden railing from Sept 15, 2023.

[C3YVR]

Granville bridge entry is open on the west side from 8 to 4:30.

[jollyburger]

Auditor casts doubt on $6M in promised public amenities for downtown Vancouver tower

However, the city and the developer agreed on $10 million—$4 million in cash and $6 million in in-kind CACs, which would be spent on “public realm improvements” in the area surrounding the development.

When members of the auditor general’s team visited Vancouver House in October 2025, they found that the complainant’s description of the public realm surrounding the development was generally accurate:

• The elevator from the development’s ground floor to the deck of the Granville Street Bridge was closed to the public. “We were told by a security guard from one of the private commercial tenants in the building that this had been the case for several months.”

• The same security guard told Macdonell’s team there was no public washroom at the development, only one inside a nearby grocery store.

• There was minimal landscaping between and around the Vancouver House development, except for a narrow strip of small plants near the entrance to the residential portion of the building on Howe Street, and street trees on Pacific Boulevard.

• Noticeably absent was any trees or other green spaces in the area around and under the Granville Street Bridge.

• There was limited seating, and no public patio spaces nor kiosks.

https://www.westerninvestor.com/economy-...es-for-downtown-vancouver-tower-11863173

Rezoning

https://council.vancouver.ca/20130924/documents/p2.pdf

Under the Bridge RFP

https://council.vancouver.ca/20070116/documents/tt4_bridge_withApp.pdf

[GenWhy?]

• There was minimal landscaping between and around the Vancouver House development, except for a narrow strip of small plants near the entrance to the residential portion of the building on Howe Street, and street trees on Pacific Boulevard.

Planning and Landscaping usually tell me "we want "X" in the planning stage then when construction drawings are prepared and a site meeting held Engineering tells me to pave it all over and get rid of planting. It's quite comical

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

The elevator from the development’s ground floor to the deck of the Granville Street Bridge was closed to the public. “We were told by a security guard from one of the private commercial tenants in the building that this had been the case for several months.”

Junkies ruin everything.

[C3YVR]

Your ignorance has no limits, junkies had nothing to do with the elevator. The elevator was closed while bridge construction took place and it has been open for months now.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by C3YVR

Your ignorance has no limits, junkies had nothing to do with the elevator. The elevator was closed while bridge construction took place and it has been open for months now.

The elevator was blocked off when there was no construction. But sure, it was Liam and Emily from Point Grey who scrawled FENTO on the siding.

[Zepfancouver]

Junkies have everything to do with that, I worked and used the parking here 64 W Cordova St for 2 years, the elevator is handy for getting all my tools up to street level but half the time it's out of order.
Saw one street person press the call button then he started to kick the elevator because it took too long. I can only imagine what they do in the elevator.
And speaking of what they do in elevators, we can not have nice things, like a clean public street washroom, those get busted up a day after install.

[C3YVR]

While that's a nice anecdote it has nothing to do with Vancouver House.
Before the elevator was closed a notice was posted that it would be closed while bridge construction took place.