Downtown Vancouver Updates

[Hed Kandi]

Originally Posted by greg_a

Anybody got a list of proposed office projects in metro Van?

The only one that I'm aware of is the Bentall 6 proposal.

[raggedy13]

Originally Posted by greg_a

Anybody got a list of proposed office projects in metro Van?

I believe this thread started by SFUVancouver is about the best info you'll be able to find:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=142503

[jlousa]

Small update, looks like another one of the Social housing projects is moving ahead.

Community Area: Downtown
Status: Proposed
Location: 1134 BURRARD ST
Zoning: DD to CD-1
Project Type: Rezoning
Department: Planning Department
Application Date: 2009/07/28 No: 2009031
Applicant Contact: dysarchitecture
Description:
To rezone from DD (Downtown District) to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development District) for the purpose of constructing a 16-storey building with 141 dwelling units over one level of underground parking accessed from the lane.



This one sounds interesting, anyone know more about this?


Community Area: Downtown
Status: Proposed
Location: 1132 HAMILTON ST
Zoning: HA-3
Project Type: Addition / Alteration
Department: Planning Department
Application Date: 2009/07/14 No: DE7413117
Applicant Contact: GOWER YEUNG & ASSOCIATES LTD
Description: To add 3 storeys to this existing 3 storey building, upgrade the exrterior heritage facade and interior alterations to the existing 3 floors of this existing retail/office building.



Things are starting to come together now at Woodwards

Total street closure of Cordova St. between Abbott and Cambie on August 1, 2009 from 7:00am until 6:00pm. This is to install a bridge between the Woodwards building and the parkade on the north side.

[Delirium]

^ thanks for the info. the burrard project - is that right next to the 7/11 at Helmcken?

there's a website up for "Artemisia" ; a boutique condo at hornby/helmcken (by the same people who did Grace)

http://www.habitableart.com/

looks interesting.

[osirisboy]

that does look interesting, what is currently there now, i cant remember.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jlousa

This one sounds interesting, anyone know more about this?


Community Area: Downtown
Status: Proposed
Location: 1132 HAMILTON ST
Zoning: HA-3
Project Type: Addition / Alteration
Department: Planning Department
Application Date: 2009/07/14 No: DE7413117
Applicant Contact: GOWER YEUNG & ASSOCIATES LTD
Description: To add 3 storeys to this existing 3 storey building, upgrade the exrterior heritage facade and interior alterations to the existing 3 floors of this existing retail/office building.

SoHo Building (although the AvisonYoung info showed 2 storeys not 3):

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=138107&page=193

Originally Posted by jlousa

Community Area: Downtown
Status: Proposed
Location: 1134 BURRARD ST
Zoning: DD to CD-1
Project Type: Rezoning
Department: Planning Department
Application Date: 2009/07/28 No: 2009031
Applicant Contact: dysarchitecture
Description:
To rezone from DD (Downtown District) to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development District) for the purpose of constructing a 16-storey building with 141 dwelling units over one level of underground parking accessed from the lane.

This one is probably adjacent to the newish tower with the curved facade facing south (Altadena?). It'll kill those southern views.
Edit - wrong block. Sounds like this is going in next to the Burrard Motor Inn.

[officedweller]

From the Courier:

Tall building plan worries West Enders
Bidwell and Davie development would include rental housing

Cheryl Rossi
Vancouver Courier


Friday, July 31, 2009


CREDIT: (submitted illustration)
A 20-storey complex may be built at Bidwell and Davie.

Some residents of the West End don't want a new 20-storey building proposed for a key location near English Bay. But the West End Residents Association says height is not the problem.

Brent Granby, president of WERA, believes residents against the project don't realize a 20-storey building has always been legal at the corner of Bidwell and Davie under current zoning. Henriquez Partners Architects and property owner Millennium English Bay Properties Ltd. want the city to approve rezoning that would allow a building with a larger base.

"The great thing about rezoning is council has the unfettered discretion to approve or disapprove it," said Granby. "That's why we're asking people to really come out and give a lot of feedback to the city because it's really going to go to what the future development of the West End is going to look like."

Henriquez Partners Architects proposes a four-storey base with commercial space on the ground floor and three floors of rental apartments above it. The tower would contain 16 stories of condos.

The firm revised its original project proposal after the economy slowed. Individual condo units were reduced in size, but the total number of units was increased to 98 from 55. More floor space was added, with 49 units of rental housing proposed instead of the original 33.

In exchange for increased density, Henriquez Partners would retain the Spanish Mission-style heritage fa?ade of Maxine's Hideaway restaurant and would provide rental housing made viable at that location only by the sale of the condos.

The proposed development could also benefit from Short Term Incentives for Rental Housing (STIR) the city approved last month. Under STIR, developers can forego the usual development cost levy of $6 a square foot in exchange for building rental units. The city uses the levies to fund parks, childcare facilities, social and non-profit housing and engineering infrastructure. If STIR were applied to Bidwell and Davie, the city would sacrifice $166,000 in levies.

Granby says if the city is giving up revenue, it should ensure the rental units will be affordable. Gregory Henriquez expects a new 400-square-foot studio apartment to be rented for $980 a month, whereas Granby said Canada Mortgage and Housing's 2008 rental report stated the average studio in the West End went for $807.

"But [an $807 rental] is not a brand new studio a block from the water with a swimming pool and a whole bunch of other things," Henriquez said.

Henriquez Partners says its project will be constructed to high green building standards. But Granby wonders why the project proposes 158 underground parking spots along with four car-share vehicles, outlets for electric cars and 186 bicycle spaces. "If they were really pushing the envelope in terms of LEED Gold and ecological sustainability, I would like to see them have the minimum amount of parking spaces."

Henriquez noted the city would require a minimum of 75 spaces and a maximum of 266, so 158 is in the middle.

He added more than half the parking stalls remain empty in most of the projects the firm designs but Rennie Marketing Systems, which is promoting the project, believes buyers want the option of a stall as part of their investment.

About 170 people attended an open house about the development last week. The rezoning is expected to go to a public hearing at the city before the end of the year.

© Vancouver Courier 2009

[hollywoodnorth]

these people complaining are idiots.....most of them probably live in a Tower 20ish stories tall......so its good enough for them....but not for anyone else?

and that tower to the LEFT of the render there is what 35+ floors? Easily one of the tallest and uglier towers in the West End.........get a grip people.

[djh]

Henriquez Partners says its project will be constructed to high green building standards. But Granby wonders why the project proposes 158 underground parking spots along with four car-share vehicles, outlets for electric cars and 186 bicycle spaces. "If they were really pushing the envelope in terms of LEED Gold and ecological sustainability, I would like to see them have the minimum amount of parking spaces."

Henriquez noted the city would require a minimum of 75 spaces and a maximum of 266, so 158 is in the middle.

158 parking spaces for a 100-suite plus residential building does sound way more than necessary, especially considering the 4 car-share vehicles and 186 bicycle spaces. If they eliminate a floor of parking they could drastically reduce the development costs and give that back to renters by bringing down the rental costs.

I'm in favour of the building for everything else.

[Yume-sama]

I would assume of the 98 market condos, each will come with a stall. 10% - 15% of owners will probably elect to purchase a second stall. The rest would be overflow, guest, visitor, possibly paid parking (for the retail)... or be rented to the renters (49 units), as even some people who have to rent have cars. Also, people are allowed to own both a bike and a car (most people do, heck I have 3 bikes...) so I don't think it's overkill.

They are just trying to find SOMETHING to oppose without having to sound like a total NIMBY who doesn't want a taller building.

[officedweller]

Pic by me today:

[Hed Kandi]

Originally Posted by Delirium

^ thanks for the info. the burrard project - is that right next to the 7/11 at Helmcken?

there's a website up for "Artemisia" ; a boutique condo at hornby/helmcken (by the same people who did Grace)

http://www.habitableart.com/

looks interesting.

Awesome. Thanks for the info.

http://www.jamesschouw.ca/artemisia-videos/Artemisia%20Brochure.pdf

[Hed Kandi]

Just noticed that Henriquez decided to alter the design of the tower.

New:





Old:

[johnjimbc]

Too bad about the design change - the original was much more interesting. I found myself studying the components. The other I just dismiss with a glance. It's what you expect to see so it just sort of disappears into the street-scape. Sadly, when I first saw the post, I had the images confused and thought the original one was the new

Granted sometimes your eyes are drawn to ugly things as well , but I liked the original design in this case.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

Just noticed that Henriquez decided to alter the design of the tower.

New:





Old:

looks like they added a floor to the Rental Component also for the extra units. Also the low rise looks much more "office like" now.

[hollywoodnorth]

Ground breaks for Vancouver housing for homeless
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 | 5:02 PM PT Comments33Recommend20
CBC News
The six-storey Station Street Housing Project will not be far from the Main Street SkyTrain station.The six-storey Station Street Housing Project will not be far from the Main Street SkyTrain station. (CBC)

Construction begins soon on an 80-bed supportive housing development for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness, the first of 14 to be funded by the province but owned by the City of Vancouver.

B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson were among those who broke ground Tuesday for the six-storey Station Street Housing Project, not far from the Main Street SkyTrain station.

"Today's groundbreaking for Station Street is quite frankly an important step to helping people who are homeless on our streets today towards … getting out of homelessness, or being at risk of homelessness, in Vancouver to actually moving them to supports and being helped to turn their lives around," said Coleman.

Robertson was elected last year with the goal to end homelessness in the city as his top priority.

"It's another important piece of the puzzle. We need thousands of units to be constructed in Vancouver to address the scale of the problem. This is a great next step though," said Robertson.

The province will pick up most of the $21-million construction cost. The city has donated the land. The PHS Community Services Society will operate it.

Coleman said more groundbreakings will be coming in the next few months.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbi...ver-homeless-housing-groundbreaking.html

there is full on ground clearing going on at the site now

[geoff's two cents]

Wow, in such a transit-accessible area, and likely the neighborhood most conducive to walking & cycling (I say this as a current resident of the west end), those parking requirements are ridiculous! They also run somewhat counter to the city's current enthusiasm for cycling. With the exception of the elderly or handicapped, if people insist on driving their cars in such a densely populated area (one of the densest neighborhoods in the third-densest city in North America), there should be privately-run, centrally-located parking garages (Manhattan-style) to serve them.

Of the two, I actually prefer the second rendering. One quibble though: I prefer the Maxine's building as it is - a stand-alone.

[SpongeG]

^^^ So people who buy a condo downtown shouldn't own cars?

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

^^^ So people who buy a condo downtown shouldn't own cars?

Though unfortunately you'd have a hard time selling an entire condo building with no parking.

People do go places, they may not drive around the city much, but there are some places worth driving to, if you wanted to say... *gasp* Leave Vancouver for a little bit.

[geoff's two cents]

Couldn't agree more, at least as long as our inter-city and inter-region transportation networks are so heavily geared towards the private automobile.

Surely, however, you've heard of car-sharing. . . Or, for the more occasional driver (myself), one can always rent! It's really not that complicated, you save buckets of money, and you live a healthier lifestyle (in the city, that is).