Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[Millennium2002]

At least it didn't go in further. I'm assuming that that is just the facade of the column inside... or maybe even a fake column to give the illusion of support. Otherwise a minor car bump shouldn't cause the building to come crashing down.

I'm a little saddened about the managing of this project. So much spent on being green, so little in return... and all of this done by a city council that tried to manage everything and that tried to create a upper class development... really they should have scaled the furnishings down, built a little higher, make it slightly more conventional. Then these units would be still flying off the shelf at good return prices. Alas, what's been done has been done, and we're stuck with the mess that resulted from them playing the real estate game. ><

[whatnext]

Maybe they should try making it a "panhandler free zone". It could be a great marketing hook. Heck, I'd pay extra to be able to walk along a commercial strip without having to be asked for change every twenty feet!

[ablefire]

SFUVancouver, many thanks for the great pics. Your regular updates keep me coming back. Thank you :-)

[golog]

the tiles on that pillar were smashed the night the new liquor store opened there. i think it may be cylindrical underneath and hence the middle is in place but the edge just broke off. is there still hired security around the development?

p.s.
saw a drilling rig at the lot between the village and Main St that looked like it was doing soil sample work (rest of the lot was taken up by movie trucks)

[SpongeG]

I saw security wandering around last night - and there is still a little trailer that they use on the site near the plaza

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by ablefire

SFUVancouver, many thanks for the great pics. Your regular updates keep me coming back. Thank you :-)

Thank you very much for the kind words. I get a lot of enjoyment out of chronicling the progress of those projects and I'm always happy to hear that it is apprecaited.

Originally Posted by 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.

I don't know. I've been to the Pearl District and Portland three times over the last four years and in my experience the feel is quite different due to the quantity and variety of retail and commercial businesses in the Pearl District. Obviously the Olympic Village/SEFC is still being built, and will be for another decade or so, but what has been built so far feels much more residential and less condusive to any sort of place-defining street life.

Location is obviously a huge aspect of this. The Pearl District is sandwiched between the CBD part of Portland's downtown, its Chinatown, the Northwest District, and the stadium district. Plus the Amtrack train station and Greyhound homeless shelter/bus depot were already in place along with a half dozen sizable government office buildings and a large stock of warehouse and industrial buildings ripe for conversion. The Pearl District feels to me a lot more like post-Woodwards Gastown, in that it has had a big jolt of new development, restorations, conversions, and "pioneer" retailers in a place that was already a 'place'.

So far I feel the overally quality of architecture in the Pearl District is generally higher than the Olympic Village/SEFC, though obviously the former cannot hold a candle to the latter's green credentials. I also feel that the generally lower density of the Pearl District is better suited for more ground-oriented living and commercial vibrancy than the Olympic Village/SEFC. Mostly I am just disappointed that the SEFC ODP is essentially bereft of non-retail employment space. Whatever efforts and explorations may have been made along the way to integrate light industry, general office, urban PDR, non-profit and artist-run workshop and studio space, public sector office space, etc., into the precinct never materialized in the Council-approved ODP.

As a residential precinct I think SEFC is going to be fantastic! But as a mixed use precinct I have my doubts. It seems to me to be Coal Harbour all over again; a lovely waterfront, good density with a mixture of unit types, very capable architecture with some standouts, lovely quiet streets, very west coast and modern, and loads of public art and historical references. Despite all this, and with seven years of time spent living in Coal Harbour, I still feel it is distinctly lacking in the Jane Jacobs elements that are seemingly necessary for place-making street-level vibrancy.

Time may well prove me wrong for SEFC and upon additional reflection I realise the neighbourhood may end up feeling more like a higher-density False Creek South, which is where I grew up, and that would not be a bad thing at all in my mind. Plus I fully acknowledge that the features that I feel are missing from the ODP may be exactly the sort of things I will be glad not to live near when I am another ten to fifteen years older.

Time will tell. In the mean time it is very exciting to see the neighbourhood begin to take shape and I hope to be able to continue my bi-weekly updates for the foreseeable future.

[golog]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Mostly I am just disappointed that the SEFC ODP is essentially bereft of non-retail employment space.

There's a lot of CRE for sale/lease signs between 2nd & Broadway, Cambie & Main right now. Lots of potential there, hopefully it does not get lost.

The area provides a neat combination of views due to the hill, and flexibility with lots of properties having loading bays or big wide open floor spaces. Good transportation access; with road congestion and transit capacity to be improved whenever a Broadway metro line is built. Hosts a lot of small businesses that just atrophied as time passed them by, and small building values compared to those of the land.

Hopefully in SEFC the job space and residential space grow in tandem. Then there's the false creek flats area for buildings requiring a larger footprint, and all 3 might be able to play off each other to anchor a great hub.

[wrenegade]

SEFC was never meant to be an employment zone, but that is ok. Immediately south of 2nd avenue is the Mt. Pleasant light-industrial area. SFU, if you're looking for those types of uses you described, that is where you'll find them. And while the offerings might be limited now, once SEFC builds out I'm sure there will be a greater diversity of uses south of 2nd. The city has be adamant that the zoning won't change there and that the next area for residential won't start until the north side broadway.

[SFUVancouver]

Big pours going on today at Maynards Block and James. It's a good day for Ocean Concrete's bottom line.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

Pinnacle Living False Creek is nearly sealed up.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

Maynards Block project detail

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

Maynards Block project detail

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

I'm not sure if a photo of the laneway side of Foundry has been posted. The ramp to the underground parking is shared by Foundry and The Exchange.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

The laneway elevation of Pinnacle Living False Creek.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

Pinnacle Living False Creek from 2nd and Yukon.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

Pinnacle Living False Creek from 2nd and Crowe.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

Stockpiled SEFC NEU insulated piping.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

First and Main social housing from First Ave.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

First and Main social housing from Main Street.

Taken by SFUVancouver, December 15th, 2010.

[ablefire]

As always a treat to view the progress. Thank you!

Any pictures of the activity at James?

-A-

[SFUVancouver]

^ The whole area around James was closed off for the first foundation floor pour. You can see a little bit of this in my first two pictures. The big orange concrete pumping crane is the James site.

[mr.x]

This is bound to do wonders to the unit sales and prices....you've gotta hate this sense of entitlement, social housing is a privilege and not a "right." If only they could use this same protest energy for building their credentials to get a job...

And if you can't afford to live in Downtown, then DON'T! Move elsewhere!!!





Activists threaten to turn Olympic Village into 'tent city'

By Sean Sullivan, The Province December 19, 2010

Housing activists vowed Sunday to occupy the former Athletes’ Village through a makeshift “tent city” on the one-year anniversary of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Beginning this February, the activists plan to live in tents throughout the squeaky-clean housing development until the city agrees to honour its original promise to designate two-thirds of the 1,100 units as affordable housing.

Once the tents are set up, the protestors have no plans to leave.

“We’re willing to negotiate if the mayor wants to come down and talk,” said Lauren Gill of Vancouver Action. “We’ll do that. As far as the chance of police shutting it down, it’s not going to happen.”

...

“I think the city wants imaginary billionaires to come here and buy, but they won’t,” said co-organizer Tristan Markle. “The people who need this housing are in the shelters.”

Gill said the largely ad-hoc group will escalate its action unless the city acquieces to its demands. The group’s website says activists may attempt to occupy City Hall and empty units at the Olympic Village.

“We’re not leaving until the two-thirds [of affordable housing] are opened, and if they don’t, we’re going to up the action,” she said.

...

Markle said he didn’t expect residents to take issue with the planned protest in the neat and tidy waterfront neighbourhood.

“If they’re low-income folks too, then they’ll understand. If they’re really well to do, we hope they care about other people and would have empathy,” he said.

[email protected]

twitter.com/seanpatricks
© Copyright (c) The Province


Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/Acti...nt+city/4001420/story.html#ixzz18ifa7w5T

[sacrifice333]

Hmmm... might have to plan a vaca for the second half of February 2011.

[Millennium2002]

Aw sheesh... not this again. Despite the poor sales, the value of these units will ONLY GO DOWN at this point after any potential seller hears that their home might get occupied and predictably trashed by these monsters. Thank you "protesters" for placing the city even more in debt than it was before just because of the "rights" (in actuality privileges) that you presume to have. ><

[twoNeurons]

Market rents for the Co-Op housing there starts at $1600 for 600 sq. ft. I'm not in touch with the downtown market, but does that seem about right? Too High? Low? Just right?

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by mr.x

This is bound to do wonders to the unit sales and prices....you've gotta hate this sense of entitlement, social housing is a privilege and not a "right." If only they could use this same protest energy for building their credentials to get a job...

And if you can't afford to live in Downtown, then DON'T! Move elsewhere!!!

Although some have this attitude, there's a lot of people who actually have been out of work and are for one reason or another difficult to re-employ... there's a lot of people who were very successful, before they were downsized.

It's sad, really. Also, having lower paid workers living downtown benefits middle-income earners... someone has to work at London Drugs and Starbucks... and if they don't live downtown, they'll apply for suburban positions.

Affordable housing should be somewhat of a priority. I'm not talking necessarily low-income... or homeless housing... I'm talking about family-oriented housing.

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Although some have this attitude, there's a lot of people who actually have been out of work and are for one reason or another difficult to re-employ... there's a lot of people who were very successful, before they were downsized.

It's sad, really. Also, having lower paid workers living downtown benefits middle-income earners... someone has to work at London Drugs and Starbucks... and if they don't live downtown, they'll apply for suburban positions.

Affordable housing should be somewhat of a priority. I'm not talking necessarily low-income... or homeless housing... I'm talking about family-oriented housing.

I don't think there's ever been any question on this website on the nobleness of having affordable housing within the city. The concern that has been brought up is the astronomical cost of this waterfront 'affordable' housing. $500k average per unit?! Are you kidding me?! That's the cost. No profit in there (apparently). The city should be able to build at least two if not three units for that cost and probably within a few blocks of the same location!!!

As a taxpayer would you rather spend $1 to get $.30 of value or spend $.30 to get $1 of value?! Hmmm... seems like a pretty tough choice. Really got to think about that one. Hmmm...

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by twoNeurons

Market rents for the Co-Op housing there starts at $1600 for 600 sq. ft. I'm not in touch with the downtown market, but does that seem about right? Too High? Low? Just right?

That doesn't seem right.

I'm renting a unit in the athletes village. A beautiful market unit owned by an individual. It's costing a little less than double that, but it should.

I looked at the "market rental" units that Millennium was offering for rent before making my decision. There were about 120 units in two or three buildings, IIRC. Prices started around $1000 and went up to around $2200 for 1000 square foot 2 Bedroom units.

[SpongeG]

it sounds about right but i don't think they are making much profit from it

[officedweller]

A friend of mine is renting a one bedroom in OV for $1900 per month.