Downtown Vancouver Updates

[officedweller]

Unless this one has the same interpretation of 24 hours.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Presumably on the 2nd floor only - i.e. not Tiffany & Co.
I wonder how the tenants would like that - Kamei Royale probably wouldn't care - it has the screens on the windows. Italian Kitchen would probably object.

You're right. Its everything above the existing glass awnings.

I cant imagine existing tenants would care too much. The reno wouldn't take too long, wouldn't be too intensive, and will substantially increase their building's stature.

[djh]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

City prefers fitness centre for Storyeum site


Instead, city staff is recommending council lease the 31,000-square-foot site to Eco Fitness Ltd. Partnership, which is expected to provide $750,000 revenue to the city each year for the first five years of the 10-year term.

DERA, by comparison, has cited the financial returns as "lessening the heavy financial demand on social and municipal services," while Xcalibur said its revenue would be about $600,000 a year.


As part of its proposal, Eco Fitness has said its 24-hour, seven-day-a-week facility will generate 25,000 member visits each month, increasing pedestrian traffic in the area.

The true reason the city went for the gym proposal was the higher income they would make.

There are 2 kinds of people living in Gastown: those living in relatively nice (i.e., self-contained) buildings and those living in low-end buildings. If you're in a nice building, you may well already have access to a gym, either in your building or at work, or you can probably afford a gym membership. Anyway, you are mere feet from the seawall so you can get some exercise there. The usage projection figures are outrageously optimistic, and they will be eating their words once they can't deliver that $750k/yr to council. And extra foot traffic? I bet all those people will drive there and drive home - there's a handy car park just upstairs, how about that!

One thing that Gastown, in fact all of downtown needs, are alternative entertainment options. A modern, full-size bowling alley would have done really well there - a well-lit entertainment complex with games and maybe a restaurant and a safe environment for tourists and young people to go to. But no, another gym. Count my words: it will be packed for opening month when they are offering free usage, but after that, when the "new toy" excitement wears off, it will die a slow and lonely death.

[mr.x]

How is that Steve Nash fitness gym doing?

[hollywoodnorth]

good call djh....I think this sucker will go down in flames in 1-2 years.

Nash seems to be slow but steady from what I have heard....with the Skytrain connection and the Hudson above they have a steady stream of people.....

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by djh

The true reason the city went for the gym proposal was the higher income they would make.

The usage projection figures are outrageously optimistic, and they will be eating their words once they can't deliver that $750k/yr to council. : it will be packed for opening month when they are offering free usage, but after that, when the "new toy" excitement wears off, it will die a slow and lonely death.

I agree, sounds like the City has bigger fish to fry at this time, and this is nothing more than a short term fix.

It would make a great Museum location

[Hed Kandi]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I beleive the Bentall tower has been thru the design panel but not the development board, not postive though, it might still be at the UDP level.

A couple of new tidbits, nothing major

701 Georgia St
To remove the existing rotunda structure and construct a two-storey addition to Pacific Centre Mall, encompassing the entire public plaza area now existing at the corner of Georgia and Howe Streets.

777 Thurlow St
To add 435 square feet of floor area on the upper level of this commercial building through a transfer of Heritage density and provide a roof deck area for the existing restaurant tenant (Joe Fortes)

Interesting, that would make for a good addition to the mall !

[djh]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

Interesting, that would make for a good addition to the mall !

In another thread it was deliberated upon if that will be Apple's base in the Pacific Centre...

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

I agree, sounds like the City has bigger fish to fry at this time, and this is nothing more than a short term fix.

It would make a great Museum location

Is the Storyeum site larger than the existing Vancouver Museum at Kits? It would be an ideal new home for the museum.

[deasine]

Good idea. They need a new home anyway. Unless the Downtown StreetCar gets built and gets expanded to Vanier Park, no one would know there is a museum... at Gastown however, everyone (and tourists) would know where it is.

And if they don't need the entire Storeyum site, they can use the other extra space for that fitness centre dream...

[TwoFace]

A quick goggle search shows the Storeyum site at 104,000 square feet.
On the other hand the existing museum is somewhat of a mystery to most. I think more people have gone to the Victoria museum than the Vancouver one.

[Canadian Mind]

104 000 square feet? what are the dimensions? o.O Thats a fat site for downtown.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

104 000 square feet? what are the dimensions? o.O Thats a fat site for downtown.

i believe they said it was bigger than six NHL ice rinks put together.

[jlousa]

It's possible the site could do both, the gym at 30Ksqft is small enough that it'll fit on the Cordova st side, maybe they could offer up a deal with SFU for the students that will be across the street.

That leaves the much larger Water St side and the underground that could be used for the museum, I like the idea, though I worry if we are concentrating too much of Vancouver D/T?
Might be better to make the existing Vancouver musuem more appealing.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by jlousa

It's possible the site could do both, the gym at 30Ksqft is small enough that it'll fit on the Cordova st side, maybe they could offer up a deal with SFU for the students that will be across the street.

That leaves the much larger Water St side and the underground that could be used for the museum, I like the idea, though I worry if we are concentrating too much of Vancouver D/T?
Might be better to make the existing Vancouver musuem more appealing.

Anykind of sprucing the existing museum wouldn't do it, putting effort into it would just be futile. Really, location is extremely important for such an attraction.

If it were all up to me, I'd move the space centre as well to an expanded and renovated Science World.

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

i believe they said it was bigger than six NHL ice rinks put together.

I know what 104 000 square feet is. Just under twice the size of my acreage. Didn't realise such large sites existed in downtown. Whats the actually number of feet per side? 104 by 1000, 208 by 500? etc.

[officedweller]

Remember that the site spans the alley (underground) so it runs from Cordova (opposite Woodwards) all the way to Water Street.
And yes, 104,000 sq ft IS Wal-Mart-sized space.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by djh

In another thread it was deliberated upon if that will be Apple's base in the Pacific Centre...

i thought apple planned to have the store open by the time they introduce the iphone to Canada which is suppossed to be this spring - apple forums have been saying the apple store is underway in the former holt renfrew location

if its two levels maybe it could be crate and barrel

[jjjb]

Originally Posted by jlousa

It's possible the site could do both, the gym at 30Ksqft is small enough that it'll fit on the Cordova st side, maybe they could offer up a deal with SFU for the students that will be across the street.

Considering it will be SFU's ART School, such an agreement probably wouldn't even begin to help create a huge enough client base to support a 24/7 gym there. Anyway you look at it, a huge gym there is totally pointless. However, if a community centre- or YMCA-type fitness facility was to be plopped there, I could see some benefits. I'll just wait until someone makes a comment about not wanting to sit in a whirlpool next to the homeless to point out that Vancouver is basically a name-your-price kind of town, and that it would probably just help to shorten the insane waiting list created at the W by the closure of the Burrard street Y.

Adding anything to Gastown that's not either a supermarket or a destination shop like Inform (of which one is enough) at this point is probably futile until Woodwards is completed.

[officedweller]

And remember that Woodward's has a big amenities complex for the condo dwellers - and their maintenance fees are going towards that.