Suburban Updates - All Other Metro Vancouver Municipalities

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Can't remember if I've posted this one yet, so here goes.

Phase 1
6208-6172 Wilson Ave.
29 Storeys, 3 levels u/g.
170,612sqft, 130 condo units,
134 Parking stalls. 4 level townhouse podium.

Phase 2 only consists of 3 storey townhomes.

^ Is that Jewel?

[jlousa]

*l* I thought the address was famaliar, yes I beleive that is it.

[jlousa]

Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Fantasy Gardens, a Bible-theme park in Richmond where former Social Credit Premier Bill Vander Zalm and his wife Lillian once lived in a castle, will become a new sustainable community, according to the new owner of the property.
Rich Ilich, president of Townline Ventures, said his company plans to hold a series of community consultations to guide the redevelopment of what he described as "Richmond's Gateway," but which observers of B.C. politics will remember as the unusual architectural symbol of Vander Zalm's controversial term as premier from 1986 to 1991.
Townline Ventures, in a press statement Tuesday, described Fantasy Gardens as "decaying and crumbling." The 22-acre property was purchased in December by the Richmond developer.
Fantasy Garden World, formerly owned by former premier Bill Vander Zalm, occupies a prominent place in the B.C. political landscape.
Vander Zalm resigned from office after being found in a conflict of interest over the proposed sale of Fantasy Gardens to a Taiwanese businessman.



Lot's of details missing in that report, I know half the property is in the ALR, Townline is not looking at removing it from the ALR and will try to incorporate it into the development.

[cc85]

Is there any conflict of interest inherent with this development and former developer/potential new developer/owner of company intrest Olga Ilich? is this a possible explanation for why she switched cabinet posts?

fantasy gardens is —, they better keep the miniputt! bring back the minitrain!

[jlousa]

Pretty sure there is no conflict as this property was in private hands. Should the half that's in the ALR happen to be removed, then I'm sure there would be some questions asked. I'm confident there won't be any issues.

[SFUVancouver]

This isn't exactly an update but I thought it was worth sharing on the "main" page.

I was heading south on Sunday when I noticed that I could see mountains due south. That surprised me, to say the least, and I did my best to take a photo of the phenomena from the SkyTrain.


My photo, taken March 9th, 2008


My photo, taken March 9th, 2008

[excel]

impressive visibility on a dull day.

[vanman]

I've noticed that before as well. It usually happens during the winter for obvious reasons but even in the summer it is sometimes so clear that you can see from the skytrain to the Georgia straight and the Gulf Islands beyond.

It looks like you caught a piece of a movie set with that last pic.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by vanman

It looks like you caught a piece of a movie set with that last pic.

I noticed that too.

Actually SFU is being used as a principle location for a feature right now. They are shooting a big budget remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. They have turned the Rotunda into a military command centre and an army camp has been built in the corridor outside. The front of the school has a sign saying Fort Linwood Military Academy. There are at least a dozen generator trucks and perhaps a hundred lighting arrays. I'm assuming they will film at night since 20,000 student extras are probably not needed.


My photo, taken March 12th, 2008


My photo, taken March 12th, 2008

[mr.x]

lol, that's pretty cool. is that a sniper on the roof in the first picture?

[98fb]

Was at Surrey mayors lunch today. She stated that 19 highrises are near or nearing approval. Asked her about an office tower and her answer to that was vague.

[zivan56]

Re: SFU
There were armoured APCs and tons of "FBI" and misc cars...with tons more military vehicles on the field in front of the gym ~8:30pm.

[David]

I am excited to see this movie just so I can see SFU.
A couple weeks back the northwest AQ and RCB Hall outside the GIS lab were standing in for a school or college. They added tons of signage, fake posters, and even laid nasty orange carpeting over the existing carpets in the seating areas. It was pretty neat.

[David]

ps... im sure the appropriateness of SFU posing as an American military fort/bunker isn't lost on other SFU students

[zivan56]

You could have seen SFU in a bunch of movies/shows. The only show I watched on CBC, jPod, was filmed mostly at SFU during the early fall. Too bad CBC canceled it a few days ago.

[CPE]

Originally Posted by David

ps... im sure the appropriateness of SFU posing as an American military fort/bunker isn't lost on other SFU students

Haha, they should used the RBC as a bunker. It would fit the role perfectly.

[raggedy13]

Interesting article in the Vancouver Sun today...

Surrey moves to create a true downtown

Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, March 14, 2008

Mayor Dianne Watts is going to move Surrey city hall to the developing central business district to send the message that Surrey wants to create a real downtown.

"By relocating city hall, we will be demonstrating our faith in the future of our downtown core to investors," Watts told an enthusiastic crowd Thursday in her annual state-of-the-city speech to the Surrey Board of Trade.

The move symbolizes the city's determination to create an urban-style downtown that she called "the future of the region."

Watts' public declaration was cheered by planners and developers, who say it's just what Surrey needs to transform itself from a suburb to the home of the region's second downtown.

They also say it will help attract the office development that has so far been eluding what's called the Surrey Central area.

The area, which planners have been aiming to transform into a dense urban core and "transit village," has been successful in attracting condo builders and buyers, but less so with commercial space.

It includes the Central City shopping complex at King George Highway and 102nd Avenue, as well as three SkyTrain stations.

Metro Vancouver regional planner Chris De Marco said the symbolism of putting city hall in Surrey Central will be a "huge boost."

"[Surrey councillors] had been asking developers, 'What would instill confidence in this area?' and they were told, 'The city of Surrey should be making its own investment there,'" said De Marco, whose work is aimed at nurturing the buildup of the town centres that are at the heart of Metro Vancouver's regional plan.

The current city hall sits far south of the main business district on Highway 10, a long way by car and a marathon by transit.

Architect Bing Thom, who has worked with Surrey city council on future plans, said he was thrilled to hear the mayor, who has occasionally mused about the idea in conversations, had made a public declaration about her intentions for city hall in the speech.

"That makes my day. I've been trying to urge them to do that for seven years," said Thom, who designed the distinctive tower at Surrey Central that now houses a branch of Simon Fraser University.

He said planners and council members had been wondering why they haven't been able to get office development in that area.

"We said, 'You can't expect the private sector to lead. The public sector has to lead.'"

University of B.C. professor Thomas Hutton, who has studied Vancouver's regional development for years, said it's a real sign that Surrey is leaving its Wild West past behind and making a commitment to becoming urban.

Watts said she thinks the move can happen within three years, though she won't have a timeline or even a cost until staff finalize a report on it in the next few weeks.

But she said with all the development already happening in the area, it's vital the city have a presence there.

Thom said having city hall in the central district would make it far easier for people to connect with city services, because it's so convenient to transit. The success of the SFU campus has shown him that.

"We thought that of the students there, 50 per cent would use transit. It turns out 80 per cent are using transit."

The push to move city hall downtown is the latest step in Watts' efforts since she was elected to give Surrey a different image and to grapple with its status as a real city, not just a bedroom suburb.

[email protected]


© The Vancouver Sun 2008

I'd say there is a pretty good chance the new city hall would be designed by Bing Thom.

[vanlaw]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

I noticed that too.

Actually SFU is being used as a principle location for a feature right now. They are shooting a big budget remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. They have turned the Rotunda into a military command centre and an army camp has been built in the corridor outside. The front of the school has a sign saying Fort Linwood Military Academy. There are at least a dozen generator trucks and perhaps a hundred lighting arrays. I'm assuming they will film at night since 20,000 student extras are probably not needed.

Hopefully the production company pays their bills. I remember back around 10 years ago when I was at SFU and they were filming "The 6th Day" with Arnold and everybody was excited about it. When filming was done, the production company (usually #'d co set up specifically for filiming one film) folded after production was complete (as they normally do) and stiffed SFU on a bunch of the cash they were to pay for use of the premises.

[98fb]

Originally Posted by raggedy13

Interesting article in the Vancouver Sun today...



I'd say there is a pretty good chance the new city hall would be designed by Bing Thom.

At the Surrey state of the city address yesterday, she got a huge and I mean huge ovation when they announced that city hall would be moving downtown. It makes no sense being where it is now. I think everyone is behind her in making a downtown core.

[vanman]

Where is Surrey city hall currently?