General Vancouver Development Updates II

[RedArbutus]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Not sure of your age group but that's a pretty damning indictment on how Vancouver's property market has gone for first time buyers, isn't it?

Again, not sure what unit size you're looking for but every so often places come up nearby in that transitional "Armory District" zone north of Fourth between Fir and Burrard at good prices. Nice and quiet in the evening yet close to everything.

I would wholeheartedly agree.

And I'm firmly in middle of the Millennial cohort, so with significant help from relatives we are privileged to own a home big enough for a family (a fact I'm extremely conscious of), but not so much so that we could afford something necessary for that stage of life within the inner ring of CoV. This is why we moved from Kits to North Van.

I came into a relatively small but by no means insignificant amount of money into my early 20's (well before I met my wife). I often wonder how our family's finances would be different if I had bought into a 1BR in Yaletown or something back when they were coming off the doldrums of the global recession and still $250-300K. So yeah, an indictment of the market for young people indeed. The best time to get in, as it nearly always seems, was yesterday.

[jollyburger]

The bakery with the roof collapse got their demo permit issued back at the end of April.

Primary Location: 3432 LOUGHEED HIGHWAY, Vancouver, BC V5M 2A4


Specific Location:


Work Description: To demolish this industrial building to grade pursuant to City of Vancouver Unsafe order date Oct 24, 2023.

• This demolition permit also permits abatement work to be completed to WorkSafe standards.
• Demo to grade only. No soil disturbance or excavation of soil other than that which is incidental to the demolition is permitted under this permit.
• Hazardous Building Materials Report Form signed by the QP, WorkSafeBC compliant Hazardous Materials Inspection Report, and WorkSafeBC compliant Post-Abatement Inspection Report must be submitted prior to calling for the Notice of Demolition

Demolition contractor: Pacific Blasting & Demolition Ltd., Dan Gaudette ph#:604-205-6872

QP: VOHS Consulting Group Inc - Robin Van Driel ph#:778-879-8009



Type of Work: Demolition / Deconstruction

https://plposweb.vancouver.ca/Public/Default.aspx?PossePresentation=Guest&PosseObjectId=247960456

[whatnext]

Wow, the roof collapse was 4 years ago!

[Lexus]

• Video Link

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by Lexus

• Video Link

Incredible!


Been working in there a couple days this week, such a treat to finally explore it in person.

[jollyburger]

DP for PCI's project next to Kootenay Loop

3553-3563 E Hastings St (DP-2026-00333) development application

https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/3553-e-hastings-st-2

In the 3D massing studies they look at a possible tower over the transit loop.

[madog222]

Shaughnessy townhouse proposal.

3738 Granville Street & 1499 Balfour Avenue - Application recently submitted. Staff preparing notification - To rezone from FSD to CD-1 under the Heritage Conservation Area ODP to allow for the development of 24 three-storey strata townhouse units, conversion of a single detached house into a triplex, for a total of 27 strata units. An FSR of 1.03 and a building height of 10.8 m (36 ft.) are proposed.

[Glow Fun City]

10,000-capacity Freedom Mobile Arch amphitheatre opens, ushering a new era for PNE
Kenneth Chan, DailyHive
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/freedom-mobile-arch-pne-amphitheatre-completion-open-photos

Here's a first look inside the new Freedom Mobile Arch in Vancouver
Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun
https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/h...the-new-freedom-mobile-arch-in-vancouver

Photos: Check out the new Freedom Mobile Arch at the PNE in Vancouver
Elana Shepert, Vancouver Is Awesome
https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/freedom-mobile-arch-vancouver-pne-june-2026-12384478

PNE’s new Freedom Mobile Arch opens Friday night
Raynee Novak and Joe Sadowski, CityNews
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/06/05/freedom-mobile-arch-opens/

Vancouver’s Freedom Mobile Arch at the PNE opens on Friday
Amy Judd and Darya Zargar, Global News
https://globalnews.ca/news/11892218/vancouver-freedom-mobile-arch-pne-opens/

Freedom Mobile Arch set to open
Kraig Krause, CTV News
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/video/2026/06/05/freedom-mobile-arch-set-to-open/

New $183M amphitheatre at Vancouver's PNE officially opens
CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/new-pne-amphitheatre-opens-9.7226203

[whatnext]

Interesting one of the article refers to “60 times the normal amount of water” being found during construction. Was there an aquifer underneath?

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Interesting one of the article refers to “60 times the normal amount of water” being found during construction. Was there an aquifer underneath?

I think it was an underground stream running through the site? There were plans to daylight it nearby but I'm not sure when that's going to happen

[jollyburger]

Last year:

At the same time, he added, that he understood “the biggest factor” in increased costs and “hardest to determine” was the work required related to building the amphitheatre on challenging ground conditions.

“I gather that the ground at a certain level is completely fine and stable, but if you go down deep enough, you start to get into what I guess would amount to underground streams and the flow of water,” said Klassen, noting there was likely a traditional stream in the area at one point.

“My understanding is that was one of the driving factors in having to do a significant amount of additional construction work to shore that up.”

https://www.biv.com/news/economy-law-pol...theatre-triples-to-1837-million-11550664

[jollyburger]

Video of the opening event

• Video Link

[jollyburger]

Article about the design for Westbank's Raven. First time I noticed the pattern on the concrete panels.

For Leckie, one of the project’s greatest successes is the way the architecture uses standardization to support both design quality and construction efficiency.

“The architecture is designed with a rigorous approach to standardization as a means to maximize value in the construction process. The exterior cladding is a custom prefabricated concrete panel system that uses a standardized series of components,” says Leckie.

The result is a building that feels substantial without appearing overly heavy. Prefabricated concrete panels give the exterior a rugged, tactile quality, while the staggered form breaks down the overall scale of the tower.

Inside, Leckie Studio continued that durable architectural language.

“We intentionally used a robust and raw-feeling material palette aligned with the design brief for a rental building,” Leckie says.

https://vancouversun.com/homes/the-raven-rental-housing-broadway-and-alma

[Lexus]

Video coming out later this week...

DJI_0648 by Lexus LX 700, on Flickr

DJI_0650 by Lexus LX 700, on Flickr

[kikin]

Originally Posted by RedArbutus

I would wholeheartedly agree.

And I'm firmly in middle of the Millennial cohort, so with significant help from relatives we are privileged to own a home big enough for a family (a fact I'm extremely conscious of), but not so much so that we could afford something necessary for that stage of life within the inner ring of CoV. This is why we moved from Kits to North Van.

I came into a relatively small but by no means insignificant amount of money into my early 20's (well before I met my wife). I often wonder how our family's finances would be different if I had bought into a 1BR in Yaletown or something back when they were coming off the doldrums of the global recession and still $250-300K. So yeah, an indictment of the market for young people indeed. The best time to get in, as it nearly always seems, was yesterday.

it is a great time to get in now, not yesterday, all kinds of first home buyer perqs from the government and prices are at 2018 levels, it isn't going to stay this low for long I don't think

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Lexus

Video coming out later this week...

St Paul's has its own thread, when the video is ready. (Looking forward to seeing the progress - it's good to see the site cleaning up).

[madog222]

Originally Posted by Lexus

…

Nice to see excavation has finally started for Strand’s Prior site.

[Lexus]

• Video Link

North East of the hospital at 522 Malkin Ave

https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/522-malkin-ave



@ 3:36 I believe they are assembling a pedestrian bridge connecting two buildings.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by madog222

Nice to see excavation has finally started for Strand’s Prior site.

Was it two towers before?

[madog222]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Was it two towers before?

Still will be but now phased.