Downtown Vancouver Updates

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by LotusLand

A nice night time shot of the new Cactus club on Vancity Buzz. They could probably charge beaucoup dollars during the Celebration of light

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/02/cactus-club-english-bay-opening-date-vancouver/

$30 beers, $50 burgers....sadly some idiots would pay that...

[Canadian Mind]

30 bucks for a beer??? How large?

I thought the 10-15 dollar beers I had last time I was downtown were rough... -.-

[LotusLand]

Originally Posted by galeforcewinds

$30 beers, $50 burgers....sadly some idiots would pay that...

Wait what? Cactus is not that expensive man

[phesto]

I think he was implying that Cactus would price gouge during the fireworks (?)

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by phesto

I think he was implying that Cactus would price gouge during the fireworks (?)

Yeah, it was a bit of an exaggeration but I was implying they WILL price gouge during the fireworks.

[LotusLand]

Originally Posted by galeforcewinds

Yeah, it was a bit of an exaggeration but I was implying they WILL price gouge during the fireworks.

gotcha

[jlousa]

Great news, going to the Heritage commission on Monday the 13th.

11:00-11:50

674 Granville Street – The Bay Department Store
VHR A, Municipally Designated

Enquiry
The owners of the building are proposing renovation of the storefronts including the canopy of this municipally designated building. The work is to include:
*replace the existing canopy with a new glass canopy
*re-instate 4 entrance canopies at store entries
*retain and make good most existing storefronts
*some selected storefronts to be modified including installing two new storefronts for new tenant (on Granville Street)
*remove existing lighting and install new lighting
*remove existing signs and install new signs.

Pretty well what we've been asking for. Thanks to Dialog and HBC for listening.

[Metro-One]

Sounds great! Hopefully the Granville Station entrance will also be kept cleaner in the future.

[LeftCoaster]

Fantastic news. The Bay is really starting to turn things around, I find myself in there (and spending money there) more and more often.

I assume the new storefront is for Topshop?

[wrenegade]

Excellent news!

[Locked In]

Excellent! Think we'll get to see some shiny renders when it goes before the Heritage Commission?

[vanman]

Finally!!! The north end of Granville almost feels high end now with all the renos and new additions, the Bay is the only thing that is holding it back.

[dreambrother808]

Removing those awnings will make the Bay seem much more open and psychologically inviting on the street level.

Good business decision.

Funny how we were just discussing this.

Oh and new signs too! Finally! The 70's style ones currently in place have been dated for decades.

[SpongeG]

it's going to make such a difference on the seymour side for sure - can't wait

[whatnext]

Great a glass canopy that will be covered with bird shit and debris in a couple of months. They should go back to the original canvas awnings that could be retracted at night to discourage homeless people from hanging out there.
http://vancouver.ca/ArchivesSearch/Resul...S=0&BG=&FG=&QS=&OEX=ISO-8859-1&OEH=utf-8

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Great a glass canopy that will be covered with bird shit and debris in a couple of months. They should go back to the original canvas awnings that could be retracted at night to discourage homeless people from hanging out there.
http://vancouver.ca/ArchivesSearch/Resul...S=0&BG=&FG=&QS=&OEX=ISO-8859-1&OEH=utf-8

Agreed. Anyway, canvas or fabric awnings often look more elegant, toney, and "chic" than the glass ones you seem to describe....... Birdshit.

[red-paladin]

I also can't wait to see what they are going to do!

[dreambrother808]

I live in the area and would still like the use of those awnings on rainy nights, regardless of homeless people.

Are the plethora of glass awnings in this city festering with birdshit and debris? No.

[itinerant]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Agreed. Anyway, canvas or fabric awnings often look more elegant, toney, and "chic" than the glass ones you seem to describe....... Birdshit.

Agreed on messy looking glass canopies, and fabric would certainly be classy (chic), but both have their disadvantages as well. In the case of fabric awnings, if they are fixed, they would be opaque (shadowy) and if retractable would require labour to open/close (not a bad thing necessarily) and likely a bit more maintenance in the way of mechanical and covering repair/replacement of mechanism and the fabric covering).

Overall though, it is fantastic news that the Bay is doing upgrades on the exterior (including lighting!). This really is very welcome.

I'd certainly think that glass and metal would be appropriate for fixed awnings out from the entrance to the street. These are probably the spots that have the greatest heritage value.

Look to the Hotel Vancouver as an example of fabric awnings at windows and metal canopies at entrances done well.


Photo by me

For awnings at the windows, it may also be worth considering a treatment similar to that used on the Marine Building. While glass, it provides weather protection at the windows (a store can always appreciate people huddled up out of the rain against their windows with little to look at but the display inside). Paul Merrick's firm did a nice job of this renovation back in the 80's.


Photo by me

I hope the Bay is not considering a continuous awning around the building, but instead opts for shades/awnings at entrances and around display windows only. In my opinion, this is the worst option, and something that was not a good choice for the Georgia Hotel in its recent renovation.


Photo by me

[NewWester]

You know, they can clean glass awnings, right?