Downtown Vancouver Updates

[city-dweller]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Careful with Godwin's Law.

Depends. If the best example of what you are trying to describe refers to an act that the Nazis did (segregating spatial a distinct proportion of the population) or you are trying to use the ultimate perceived comparison in societal distaste, which is still the nazis and the basis of why Godwin's Law works.

@Denscity: Hopefully there will be a break in the weather for some good photos. I went down to take some photos of the Granville 3: Rolston, Mattox, and Mark, and got soaked and not a single good shot.

[WarrenC12]

The city accepted a bid to do this work for $5.6M. Man these upgrades are expensive.

And I'm sure if we have an earthquake and it gets badly damaged, there is no recourse. I can't imagine anyone "guarantees" this type of work...

[Spork]

It is likely guaranteed through multiple engineering reports designed to confirm each other in the appropriate path to recommendations. Nothing in life is 100%, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[jlousa]

$5.6M is literally chump change and not a big cost for such an important repair.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by jlousa

$5.6M is literally chump change and not a big cost for such an important repair.

I agree, but it seems like under $2M on bike lanes creates a firestorm.

[jlousa]

It's not just the $2M though it's also the reduction of a lane, which has a value of several millions in itself and the city forgets to factor into the costs. Anyways don't want to take the thread off topic...

We should hear more about what's planned for the Burrard Bridge early in the new year. It certainly is long overdue for some work.

[phesto]

Anyone notice the new Raymond James signage on top of Cathedral Place?

I don't think the building has ever had signage...for good reason, it is off-centre on the west facade and looks odd.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by phesto

Anyone notice the new Raymond James signage on top of Cathedral Place?

I don't think the building has ever had signage...for good reason, it is off-centre on the west facade and looks odd.

Got a picture, anyone? Sounds strange.

[officedweller]

I saw that signage at night the other day (facing west) - at first I was wondering which building it was on because I didn't think there was enough space on Cathedral Place for any signage. Haven't see it during the day.

[Bankview]

I've seen this as well, it looked very odd and out of place - it's definitely a recent addition as I've never seen it before and I live in the immediate area, I would of noticed it by now.

I'd prefer they take it down, it really doesn't suit the building - cheapens it somewhat.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I saw that signage at night the other day (facing west) - at first I was wondering which building it was on because I didn't think there was enough space on Cathedral Place for any signage. Haven't see it during the day.

Originally Posted by Bankview

I've seen this as well, it looked very odd and out of place - it's definitely a recent addition as I've never seen it before and I live in the immediate area, I would of noticed it by now.

I'd prefer they take it down, it really doesn't suit the building - cheapens it somewhat.

Anyone got a picture of that? Sounds tacky.

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by Bankview

I've seen this as well, it looked very odd and out of place - it's definitely a recent addition as I've never seen it before and I live in the immediate area, I would of noticed it by now.

I'd prefer they take it down, it really doesn't suit the building - cheapens it somewhat.

I think it looks good. It also adds some more light at night, which is always welcome. And the positioning looks good; it would look stranger if it were centered.

[officedweller]

Pic of the building at Robson & Granville by me today:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[SFUVancouver]

Thanks for the photo.

[whatnext]

Compared to the pit for Vancouver`s Turn, the one for Artemisia seems petite.

[IMG][/IMG]

(my photo)

[jlousa]

Another 25ft infill project for Chinatown. Amazing how they can squeeze a 9 storey building with 40 rental units in such a tiny lot. Zoning is conditional so no need for a rezoning.

Notification letter
http://former.vancouver.ca/devapps/pc245egeorgia/documents/notificationltr.PDF

Site Plan
http://former.vancouver.ca/devapps/pc245egeorgia/documents/siteplan.pdf

Elevations
http://former.vancouver.ca/devapps/pc245egeorgia/documents/elevations.pdf

[entheosfog]

So it's just the one lot then, the one with the grey building?

Development Site by entheos_fog, on Flickr

I know it doesn't look like much, but that building has some age and it appears to be one of the last houses remaining in Chinatown, although it's been hidden for quite some time (right side of the photos):

243 East Georgia - 1933/2011 by entheos_fog, on Flickr

The taller one next to it would be great candidate for a restoration...

[jlousa]

Correct it's just 245 E Georgia. Still confused how they will fit 40 rental units on the 8 residential floors above the commercial ground floor. That's 5 per floor, guess the lightwell will come into play.

[jlousa]

The project for the 1700block of Pendrell has been altered.

DTKH Pendrell Developments Ltd. have submitted a revised application to rezone 1754-1772 Pendrell Street from RM-5A (Multiple Dwelling) to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development) District.

This application has been revised since previously presented in March 2008. In response to comments received at that time, the following are part of the current proposal:

Instead of 10 units, 26 rental units are now offered as the housing benefit. As before, ownership of these units would be turned over to the City at no cost. The City would contract with a non-profit housing society to manage them. They are expected to be made available at below-market rates to qualifying renters.
This offer achieves one-to-one replacement of all 26 rental units in the existing 3 storey walk-up, and in the old house and carriage house.
The rental units now average 430 sq. ft. in size, up from 350 sq. ft. in the previous proposal. 12 units are one-bedrooms and 14 are studios.
The average size of the condo units has been reduced from 1,350 sq. ft. to 1,007 sq. ft., with 18 more 1-bedrooms and 28 more 2-bedrooms proposed.
Vehicle parking has been reduced from 1.55 to 1.30 spaces per unit, while bicycle parking has increased from 1.32 to 1.48 spaces per unit.

With the increased housing benefit, more bonus density is needed to make the development economically viable. The density was proposed to increase from a floor space ratio (FSR) of 2.20 to 3.28. The proposal is now for 6.17 FSR (0.82 FSR for the rental housing and 5.35 for the market condos). The proposed building height has not been revised — although, by reducing the floor-to-floor dimension, the applicant now proposes to fit 21 storeys into the 190-foot height limit of the RM-5A District — rather than 19 storeys as previously proposed

Project Info and Context
http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/plan.../1754-1772pendrell/documents/context.pdf

Revised Project Info
http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/plan...-1772pendrell/documents/projectstats.pdf

Building Elevation Drawings
http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/plan...754-1772pendrell/documents/elevation.pdf

Building Section Drawings
http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/plan...1754-1772pendrell/documents/sections.pdf

Floor Plans
http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/plan...54-1772pendrell/documents/floorplans.pdf

[officedweller]

Not sure if this link has been posted -
I think it's the controversial site of the church that was demolished in the West End. 1061 Broughton by Westbank - rental apartments

http://www.westbankcorp.com/comox-broughton/

Model pics (more at the link they are too big to post all):


http://www.westbankcorp.com/comox-broughton/