Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[red_lantern]

Originally Posted by c4c

On a side note and not saying you meant it this way but...
Pisses me off people gotta be worried about saying Christmas and feel the need to replace it with 'the holiday season' cause they think it might be offensive....

Do people now feel the need to replace Christmas lights with Holiday lights....
Get over it...

I was going to say Christmas I like using Christmas and always have but those conservative folk over at the GAP and Starbucks are trying to change the way we say Merriy Christmas and telling their employees to say Happy Holidays....I agree with you and I say Merry Christmas and to all that don't like it i then say Humbug...lol

Cheers

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by city-dweller

As an aside, M. is in trouble with Evelyn another development on the northshore. I beleive it was in the news recently.

Sounds like both of their other most advanced projects, Evelyn & Alexandria, are apparently still tied to this foreclosure and also have multiple liens/mortgages/etc. against them, so the amount of that the city can recoup from them may be very little... unless they get into the development game. Oh, snap, they already are and that's not working out too well, is it.

[red_lantern]

Originally Posted by sacrifice333

Sounds like both of their other most advanced projects, Evelyn & Alexandria, are apparently still tied to this foreclosure and also have multiple liens/mortgages/etc. against them, so the amount of that the city can recoup from them may be very little... unless they get into the development game. Oh, snap, they already are and that's not working out too well, is it.

It sounds like the other Millennium projects are not selling very well - I mean their pre-sales are very very slow and it may have something to do with their current state of affairs. Perhaps once they are all built there may be more movement in sales - if they can financially sustain themselves till then.

[golog]

The Millennium Water portion does have a shared pool, directly accessible from the pathway, called 'Club Millennium'. (one building from the eastern edge, in middle north-south) It's kind of small

SpongeG, you were right about the pool and what hanko relayed would be plausible since the pool is shared as Club Millennium

[jlousa]

Another developer jumping on board with the new allowable bump in height and density. The city is really starting to make a killing on this with the land lift for the extra density and the DCLs and CACs on it as well. The servicing and amenities for the area have already been accounted for in the original density proposed, so now it's gravy.

Location: 99 W 2ND AV
Project Type: Rezoning
Department: Planning Department
Description:
Howard Bingham Hill Architect on behalf of Pinnacle International has applied to amend an existing CD-1 By-law (No. 464) and an existing Development Permit application (DE 414175). The effect of the proposal would be to add 2 floors to the residential tower portion of the development and 1 floor to the residential mid-rise building. The total additional floor area would be 21,117 sq. ft., which increases the total permitted floor area by 5.7%. The height of the tower would increase from 12 to 14 storeys and the height of the mid-rise would increase from 7 to 8 storeys. The maximum permitted density now proposed is 3.78 FSR

[SpongeG]

i was chatting with someone online who lives very far away in another country half way around the world and he said he just saw a story on his local country news about Vancouver and its white elephant olympic village... its getting out there...

and another story about something for the area...

Sewage-powered heating in False Creek cheaper than BC Hydro rates


By Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun December 3, 2010

A utility that generates heat from sewage in Vancouver's Southeast False Creek area has been so successful that it is charging homeowners less than what they would be paying BC Hydro.

In what city engineers said is a happy and surprising discovery, the cost of operating the facility has dropped by 40 per cent, while recovery from heat generated from sewage pipes has risen.

As a result, the utility, which provides heat to all of the Olympic Village as well as surrounding commercial and residential buildings, has already met its target of being price-competitive with BC Hydro, Brian Crowe, an assistant city engineer, told city council Thursday.

Next March, Hydro will raise electricity rates across the province to about $87 per megawatt hour. But the city's utility, which services about 1,600 homes and businesses, is able to offer a price of $84 per kilowatt hour and still make a reasonable profit for the city, Crowe said.

...

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Sewage+...o+rates/3921407/story.html#ixzz17Jo9kV7n

[WarrenC12]

Sewage-power could generate billions if they hooked it up to the provincial legislature...

[SFUVancouver]

Better late than never.

Pinnacle Living False Creek is at its full height and its crane has since come down. I think it is unfortunate that the building and its neighbour Foundry have such a similar architectural expressions due to their exclusive use of window wall.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

With that said, I appreciate the massing response of Pinnacle Living False Creek to Foundry. Moving mass from the tower to the podium led to the creation of a much more defined courtyard relationship for the two buildings and also strengthened the project's street wall character along 2nd Avenue.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

With only a single development site left for this block, we have ourselves a pretty good glimpse of what the private lands of SEFC can yield. I like what I see. I think it was a wise decision to use a modern architectural expression and massing scheme for the new building beside the Exchange despite it being part of the same redevelopment project.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

Maynards Block is coming along.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

Detail of the job site.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

More detail.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

Pinnacle Living False Creek and Foundry along Crowe Street.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

Pinnacle Living False Creek from Second Avenue. I swear that the ground level units are townhouses. I thought that the plan for Second Avenue would be entirely retail?

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

James excavation pit progress.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

First and Main social housing from First Ave.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

First and Main social housing from Main Street.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

Looking back at Pinnacle Living False Creek and Foundry.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 1st, 2010.

[deasine]

After your photos SFU, I'm really beginning to see the similarities between the Olympic Village/South East False Creek and Portland's Pearl District.

[officedweller]

Thanks for the pics.

My guess on the retail is that they're going for "pockets" of retail rather than continuous retail on West 2nd - so as not to detract from the Olympic Village town square.

[dleung]

I never get the don't-distract-from-designated-retail-node mentality with the City (same with the Burrard gateway). Doesn't it make more sense to pile on more critical mass to bring even more people to the square?

When i skimmed the below pic, I was briefly pleased with what looked like olive-coloured cladding, but realized it was just insulation - to be covered up with the same off-white spandrel shit on every other condo in the area. That said, the blandness isn't as upsetting as on a downtown tower... seems like mid-rise districts can do no wrong.

[SpongeG]

3-Tower Mixed Use Project Planned for Vancouver, Near Olympic Village

Developed by the Executive Group and Argo Ventures, the development features 500 residences and retail space





BY: L.Clapper | Sat Dec 11, 2010

The Executive Group of Vancouver and Argo Ventures Inc. have announced an agreement to design and build a three tower mixed use project in the False Creek area of Vancouver, British Columbia. The development, which will cover the entire 100 Block section of W. 2nd Avenue is near the Olympic Village.

"This unique project is sure to set a new benchmark of condominium high rise living in Greater Vancouver,” said Salim Sayani, President of the Executive Group in a statement. “These trend-setting "boutique style" towers will blend many aspects from our boutique hotel collection with the contemporary styling of a glass encased residential tower."

The project will be comprised of 500 boutique-style residences spread throughout three towers and over 40,000 square feet of retail space. It will also feature an ergonomically-designed LEED Gold children’s daycare area and a landscaped green roof.

Argo Ventures acquired the property last year. In June 2010, the company signed an agreement with the Executive Group in which 50 percent of the ownership of the property was transferred to the latter. Executive Group is the development manager of the project.

...

http://www.constructiondigital.com/tags/...t-planned-vancouver-near-olympic-village

[WarrenC12]

So, what's happening here... it seems like any developer with a brain can get in on land next to the OV and undercut their prices with a quality product and still make a buck. The COV is sitting around holding the bag and still letting this happen.

I'm not sure what the alternative is, but this isn't improving the value of their "investment" in the OV.

[eduardo88]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

So, what's happening here... it seems like any developer with a brain can get in on land next to the OV and undercut their prices with a quality product and still make a buck. The COV is sitting around holding the bag and still letting this happen.

I'm not sure what the alternative is, but this isn't improving the value of their "investment" in the OV.

The ineptitude of the city is unbelievable. They basically control everything that happens around their development, having an upper hand on any private developer and yet still are too stupid to be able to offload the hundreds of units they own...and people think government is the solution to everything...

[dreambrother808]

What is the city supposed to do? Prevent the developers from buying these properties and building at their own price points? Does that fit in better with your free market principles? Yes, tada, government is the problem whenever something goes wrong. Of course Millenium, a private company, had nothing to do with this whatsoever.

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by eduardo88

The ineptitude of the city is unbelievable. They basically control everything that happens around their development, having an upper hand on any private developer and yet still are too stupid to be able to offload the hundreds of units they own...and people think government is the solution to everything...

I think your thought process is confused.
New Development is a major income stream for the City and is the only hope we have to curb further tax increases.

[Yume-sama]

The government is partially why the units in the OV are prohibitively expensive, the city / province greenies had a big hand in the exorbitantly expensive green upgrades.

However, it would also be outrageously corrupt of them to shut down any further development around the OV.

We're left, but not all the way to being Soviet Vancouver Though the OV would make a really nice commie block

And also under Soviet style media control there probably wouldn't be so many negative reports scaring away potential buyers lol

[dreambrother808]

Yes, the government played a role in where we are now. IMO, the biggest role was played by the economic collapse though. I have no issue with mature concepts of appropriately shared blame.

[SpongeG]

looks like there was an oops one of the columns

pics by me

[SpikePhanta]

I wonder if the buildings could survive an 8.8 earthquake....