Surrey Updates

[Whalleyboy]

this is old news

now shall we start placing bets on how much longer till SoF say F off to translink=P

[CoryHolmes]

Originally Posted by Whalleyboy

this is old news

now shall we start placing bets on how much longer till SoF say F off to translink=P

Placing bets? I've been advocating this for years now!

[BattleAxe]

I'm willing to place bets that Translink will find money somehow for the Sky Train expansion to UBC before any other project. I find it so crazy that they would even consider doing this expansion before completing the Evergreen Line and expanding Sky Train to Guildford.

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by BattleAxe

I'm willing to place bets that Translink will find money somehow for the Sky Train expansion to UBC before any other project. I find it so crazy that they would even consider doing this expansion before completing the Evergreen Line and expanding Sky Train to Guildford.

The UBC extension was always slated to be done before or finished at the same time as expo line extension. Of course both the Evergreen line will be done first.

There isn't much we can do when there is a shortage of funds.

[tybuilding]

Originally Posted by cabotp

The UBC extension was always slated to be done before or finished at the same time as expo line extension. Of course both the Evergreen line will be done first.

There isn't much we can do when there is a shortage of funds.

This was not skytrain, just a B Line bus

[Whalleyboy]

Originally Posted by tybuilding

This was not skytrain, just a B Line bus

with buses we already have...

[Millennium2002]

Well... I don't know if there are any routes that could be cut... but unless we can find money from somewhere, it's going to be hard to move buses around for new service changes. Keep in mind, more buses out = more maintenance costs + money needed to pay drivers. That can really add up over a year... in the case of two B-Line routes, a few million dollars.

[Dylan Leblanc]

Does anyone remember the name of these three towers that were proposed a few years back? Any other info on them?

[theQ]

They were called "Optima" I believe. They sent me an info package 4 years ago, but I don't seem to have it anymore. I remember they were going to build with some sort of revolutionary pre-fabricated material that was supposed to make them cheaper to build. They claimed the material would also provide insulation and the buildings would be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter compared to other building. The smaller building next to the tower was going to be a daycare.

Here a pdf with more information:
www.cdrholdings.ca/Optima%20Residential%20Complex.pdf

[Dylan Leblanc]

Thanks for the info!

Oh, and what's this? Planned height increase?



From - http://www.ihi.ca/

[officedweller]

Looks like they are back on track (although they seem a bit amateurish).

Interesting info here:

http://www.ihi.ca/i/pdf/OptimaPresentationCenter.pdf

[Whalleyboy]

thats awesome!

[Spork]

I just threw up a bit. They look like 1988 Miami condos.

[paradigm4]

Talk about fuuuugly. And what's up with this prefab tower concept? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

[Spork]

If that is a skytrain line (and therefore, located in Surrey's downtownish area), then Surrey needs to put a halt on all of these "tower in a park" style buildings. These types of developments definitely don't foster a downtown feel, nor do anything for street life. Cut up those blocks and establish some design rules!

[Millennium2002]

Hmm... prefab... interesting.

That actually makes me wonder whether the homes will be cheaper than normal or just about roughly the same price as competing fully-concrete buildings...

[Whalleyboy]

Originally Posted by Spork

If that is a skytrain line (and therefore, located in Surrey's downtownish area), then Surrey needs to put a halt on all of these "tower in a park" style buildings. These types of developments definitely don't foster a downtown feel, nor do anything for street life. Cut up those blocks and establish some design rules!

all three are in an actually in a single typical block. Plus there is a road going through the area still too.

[phesto]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

Hmm... prefab... interesting.

That actually makes me wonder whether the homes will be cheaper than normal or just about roughly the same price as competing fully-concrete buildings...

Presumably because it's cheaper to build (and takes less time?) at least a portion of the cost savings would be passed on to the purchaser; otherwise, why buy pre-fab if you can buy concrete at roughly the same price?

Similar to 6-storey woodframe, I am all for any construction method that ultimately lowers costs to provide higher-density projects, but I definitely wouldn't want to be one of the first ones to buy a unit.

[Dylan Leblanc]

When the units were offered for sale a few years back they were starting at under $150,000. Don't know if that's for a one bedroom or batchelor unit, but probably in the range of 450 to 500 sqft either way.

The prefab doesn't bother me. I assume the core and structural aspects of the building would be concrete?

[LeftCoaster]

Wow, if Surrey City has any sense these will get canned before they get anywhere. Not only are the towers monumentally ugly, but they meet the street so poorly I literally thought Dylan had posted the wrong picture, and acidentally linked to a 1980s development.

Just awful.