Richards Living | 166ft | 19 fl | Completed - Page 5

jsbertram · #81 Posted **Dec 7, 2010, 8:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by golog

The idea of those heritage homes being expensively relocated and retained just seems goofy to me -- am I the only one who sees it that way? If they are to be rentals, who will be the landlord/tenants?

nice photos Locked In

These homes on 11th & Granville were lifted off their foundations & moved to the back of the lots, new underground parking built on the front of the lots, and the houses brought back to the front of the lots & plopped on their new foundations over the new parking structure. Then the alley side of the land was cleared so the rest of the underground parking & new condos could be built. There is a common courtyard between the rebuilt houses & the condos.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...32.66,,0,-2.84

I was quite interested to get one of the fully rebuilt houses, but what I discovered is the houses were rebuilt internally so the front and back halves were each condos, rendering them too small for my needs. None of the interior details were kept & reused when the houses were rebuilt, so what you get is a nicely rebuilt old house exterior with a sterile condo interior.

Locked In · #82 Posted **Dec 11, 2010, 8:46 PM**

Weekly update - my photos, today:

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Locked In · #83 Posted **Dec 20, 2010, 4:59 AM**

My photos, today:

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SFUVancouver · #84 Posted **Dec 20, 2010, 11:36 PM**

Thanks for the photos.

Locked In · #85 Posted **Dec 23, 2010, 1:54 AM**

Richards at night, my photo:

Locked In · #86 Posted **Dec 29, 2010, 12:53 AM**

My photo, today:

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Locked In · #87 Posted **Jan 1, 2011, 12:21 AM**

My photos from today. By my count they're working on the top floor, so this one will be topped out once the roof is poured.

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SFUVancouver · #88 Posted **Jan 1, 2011, 11:01 PM**

Thanks for the great photos Locked In. I'm rarely in this part of downtown so I really appreciate the continued updates.

This is an Aquilini project, if I recall correctly, and so is the Maynards Block. Once Richards Living is wrapped up I wonder if the Aquilinis will pursue some of their developable density around Rogers Arena? An obvious choice would be to proceed with their office building but the dark horse would be their tower on the south end of Griffiths Way or their rumoured SkyTrain guideway-spanning tower on the corner of Expo Boulevard and Abbott Street. This company has some very interesting development parcels and all of them have the ability to reshape the NEFC part of downtown. Fascinating times ahead.

Locked In · #89 Posted **Jan 2, 2011, 12:12 AM**

^ You're right, Richards is Aquilini. In case you haven't seen it, Aquilini has made a rezoning application for 3 towers in the vicinity of Rogers Arena, so hopefully that means they'll be moving ahead with them soon. The application is for 2 residential towers and one mixed use tower (primarily residential). I can't link directly to the application, but check out the application for 800 Griffiths Way on the City's rezoning website:

Quote:

Project: Mixed Use
Development Status: Proposed
Location: 800 GRIFFITHS WAY, 150 Pacific Boulevard North
Applicant Contact: Barry Savage Aquilini Development and Construction Inc. 604.909.0047

The purpose of this rezoning is to permit the addition of 2 residential buildings and 1 mixed-use building to the current CD-1 zoning. The 3 new buildings are 104, 100 and 97 meters in height. The proposal will include 58,608 square meters of residential density and 520 square meters of new commercial density. The proposal also includes 755 residential units and 205 parking and 5 loading spaces.

SFUVancouver · #90 Posted **Jan 2, 2011, 4:44 AM**

The first thing that jumped out at me from those stats are the 205 parking spaces for 755 residential units. It looks like parking is finally being decoupled from housing in the downtown core.

jlousa · #91 Posted **Jan 2, 2011, 7:05 AM**

My understanding is the Rogers arena units are to be rentals, hence the lack of parking being less of an issue. Fact is developers are still building parking because most people demand it when purchasing a unit. Even residents w/o cars still opt for units with parking because it doesn't limit their resellablity down the line. Even though the city has reduced the min parking requirements, it's rare for a developer to build to those mins except under unusual circumstances where it could save them having to go down an extra floor for only a few additional spots.

officedweller · #92 Posted **Jan 4, 2011, 9:28 AM**

I would imagine that the small footprints and the proximity and relationship with the Rogers Arena building also factor in -
i.e. above ground parking would not be possible with the interfaces with the arena and excavating extremely deep may not be feasible, especially if they create access from the existing underground parking levels under Rogers Arena (only 2 levels) to avoid wasting space with access ramps.

Locked In · #93 Posted **Jan 9, 2011, 12:13 AM**

My photo, today:

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Coldrsx · #94 Posted **Jan 9, 2011, 4:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

The first thing that jumped out at me from those stats are the 205 parking spaces for 755 residential units. It looks like parking is finally being decoupled from housing in the downtown core.

Edmonton's new downtown plan is doing a pilot where zero parking will be required for about five square blocks.

Locked In · #95 Posted **Jan 16, 2011, 7:08 PM**

My photos, today - topped out:

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Locked In · #96 Posted **Jan 22, 2011, 10:14 PM**

My photo, today:

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wrenegade · #97 Posted **Jan 24, 2011, 8:29 PM**

Thanks for all the pictures of Richards Locked In, it really is quite a good looking building. I walked through Emery Barnes Park on Friday evening, it looks good from there (no camera with me at the time).

Locked In · #98 Posted **Jan 29, 2011, 8:27 PM**

No problem. Agree that it's turning out great and the view from the park really shows it off.

My photos, today:

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Locked In · #99 Posted **Jan 30, 2011, 8:17 PM**

Couple more of my photos from today:

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SFUVancouver · #**100** Posted **Jan 30, 2011, 10:51 PM**

The base of the project looks great. I like the juxtaposition of the solid feeling masonry townhouses and mid-rise element with the spare, modern architectural expression of the tower. I had hoped this one would turn our well and it certainly has. I really cannot wait to see how downtown south/Yaletown looks in another fifteen to twenty years when the street trees have really had a chance to grow to maturity. I sincerely think that this part of the city will feel pretty special and domestic once the foliage can counter the width of the streetscape and the double rows of trees help make the sidewalks feel more like that nice stretch of Hornby alongside the law courts.

I do wish that there was a way of marking the cultural history of the city through a plaque or piece of art and the memory of Richards on Richards should have had a place in the public realm part of the project.