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Originally Posted by galeforcewinds
I'm guessing the city owns the land below the viaducts?
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Suppose I should add some context. Metro and I were musing about the loss of local drinking/dining establishments which have a sort of "underground" feel to them. Taking this one step further, we began discussing how cool it would be to have an industrial-themed drinking establishment (possibly combined club/bar/restaurant) underneath one of the viaducts (or both) at the location where the skytrain line crosses underneath, intentionally integrating the viaducts and the skytrain line into the design. Think about how cool it would be to be able to "overlook" the skytrain line while under the viaduct?
What I kind of had in mind was a 2-3 story structure with a patio across the whole of the roof, as well as an underground level (depending on floor-ceiling heights). Depending on the use each level could serve an individual cliental, or have the whole thing opened up for big nights. Depending on the height of the individual floors, either the first floor would be partially underground, or at ground level with a full floor underneath. The goal would be that on the rooftop patio, if one were tall enough they could reach up and touch the bottom of the viaduct.
Due to the location I have in mind, depending on the design, the building may also have to wrap around one of the viaducts support pillars. To me, this would simply serve to further the unique and interesting experience, but could make the actual design and development of the building a little more complicated.
I've been to several multi-layered "clubs" in both NYC and Toronto, as well as some restaurant/clubs in various locations. Having multiple layers would allow it to serve different clients on the same night. You could have a wedding reception in the upper level and on the patio (catered too by an in-house restaurant), followed by a Deadmau5 event of all things later on in the night in the basement. Follow that the next night with Benny Bennassi opening the whole thing up for his event.
I've got no degrees, but I'd assume being able to run multiple businesses out of one establishment is the most cost-effective use of a single building. In this case both a restaurant and a club. I'd imagine that due to legality reasons, they'd have to be "separate" businesses, but no reason why they can't have the same owner and support each other.
Also, given it's location, and people on here constantly talking about doing something with the viaducts, it could provide that uniqueness it needs to survive and thrive on it's own. I could also imagine it becoming the eastern anchor of a sub-viaduct pedestrian mall/entertainment strip that would run the length of the Georgia Viaduct to the traditional entertainment district.