Downtown Vancouver Updates

[djh]

Originally Posted by spm2013

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/brit...revious-council-decision/article7616538/

Speaking of people with big noses..

And re: the payment of the new glass:

The estimated cost of repairing the windows was $7-million, and the council had levied a special assessment to cover it. Strata president Bruce Gleig, quoted in a company statement not yet widely released, said that residents “are pleased to have the support of the city for a solution that meets all of our needs.”

Mr. Wall said it will cost his company millions of dollars to put the new reflective glass on the building, just as it cost extra millions to install the clear glass.

Wait, I'm confused:
- There's a Special Assessment covers the cost of repairing the windows. So the owners are paying for it.
Then:
- Wall says his company is paying millions of dollars to install the glass.

Eh? Who's paying for the window replacement and installation?

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by djh

Wait, I'm confused:
- There's a Special Assessment covers the cost of repairing the windows. So the owners are paying for it.
Then:
- Wall says his company is paying millions of dollars to install the glass.

Eh? Who's paying for the window replacement and installation?

I bet ALL the seals are gone on all the glass, so the whole Wall Center will be under a tarp.

[jlousa]

It would be a safe assumption that a settlement was reached in which Wall will be paying part of the costs incurred in the replacement but not all.

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by jlousa

It would be a safe assumption that a settlement was reached in which Wall will be paying part of the costs incurred in the replacement but not all.

It's possible that they have reached an agreement already.

No doubt the seals are all the same throughout the complex regardless of glass color and in need of replacement.
So based on the strata's cost for 17 floors of residential, that's $411,764 per floor.
Hope Peter Wall has deep pockets for the rest of the complex ... ouch.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by cornholio

It could be bad too. I mean if its noticeably different but looks like its trying to look the same it will look like a shit job. At-least right now its clear its supposed to be different so it can pass off as interesting/artistic in some weird little way. Well that's my "play the devils advocate" opinion.

From the Globe and Mail - here's hoping...

He said mediocre city planners just did not appreciate the beauty of the glass he loves, which he calls reflective, not dark. “[Architect Arthur] Erickson was wrong when he said concrete is the building material of Vancouver. It’s glass. Glass takes on darkness as it takes on light. We have the most interesting light in Vancouver, so you get this glorious reflection of a hundred colours.”

The glazing company that sold him the original glass has gone out of business, so he will not be able to get the exact match, but he said it is close enough that the building will look unified, as it was intended to be.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/brit...revious-council-decision/article7616538/

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

What is your special assessment to do this.

I am sorry, but I don't fully understand your question, TwoFace. Are you asking how do I happen to live in this building?

I guess it was clear from the two articles that they are going to replace the current window elements with completely new ones. To do this, they expanded one of the two residential elevators last year to accomodate the huge curved window elements. They will us the elevator to take the new window elements up to each floor, where they will use one apartment on each side of the building to take the window element to the windows washing cart hanging outside. Using the cart they will both remove the old window and install the new one in place. This arrangement won't require to attach any construction crane to the building, which would have been difficult to do.

It will be pretty wild to have them take out a huge window element from your apartment for an hour or two. I wonder how windy it will be without the element in place. Currently I still dare to stand next to the windows, but on that day I most probably don't...

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I am sorry, but I don't fully understand your question, TwoFace. Are you asking how do I happen to live in this building?

That's fine, we already broke down the cost (special assessment).

Interesting way of replacing the windows, nice to know that there wont be any scaffolding and tarps.

[Klazu]

Ah, now I got it. I am not an owner in this building (just renting an apartment),so I would have not known anything about the cost.

[whatnext]

Ouch. Sounds like a resident opened a bunch of the standpipes at The Max (928 Beatty) causing mucho damage. I assume its a renter.
http://www.cknw.com/news/vancouver/story.aspx?ID=1869151

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Ah, now I got it. I am not an owner in this building (just renting an apartment),so I would have not known anything about the cost.

Yeah, a "special assessment" is the term for a special levy that the condo owners are charged for specific projects (i.e. leaky condo repairs, redecorating, etc.)

[Spork]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Ouch. Sounds like a resident opened a bunch of the standpipes at The Max (928 Beatty) causing mucho damage. I assume its a renter.
http://www.cknw.com/news/vancouver/story.aspx?ID=1869151

I know somebody who lives on the 12th floor. Their unit was spared, but the elevators are completely toast today, and there was water coming out of the light fixtures in the lobby yesterday around 5:30pm. 8 fire trucks showed up, and police were wandering around later.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Ouch. Sounds like a resident opened a bunch of the standpipes at The Max (928 Beatty) causing mucho damage. I assume its a renter.
http://www.cknw.com/news/vancouver/story.aspx?ID=1869151

Why would you assume it's a renter? How about an owner looking for an insurance claim. That makes the most sense.

They have somebody in custody, I wonder what the penalty is for that.

[jlousa]

Try comparing insurances for owner occupied vs a renter, the insurance companies will tell you which one is more likely to cause damage. I'm sure whoever it is though will get a slap on the wrist from the legal system compared to the damage they caused.

[LeftCoaster]

^Or a renter in a dispute with their landlord.

Or just some nut.

Back to the One Wall topic this has made my morning and I hope it turns out that the match is nearly indiscernible.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Why would you assume it's a renter? How about an owner looking for an insurance claim. That makes the most sense.

They have somebody in custody, I wonder what the penalty is for that.

I only assumed because that happened in a building I owned a place in. A hooker renting a suite tripped out and opened the standpipe on the 5th floor sending water into all the floors below. One reason I vowed never to buy a "home" in a building that allows vast quantities of rentals.

[SpongeG]

what is a standpipe?

[spm2013]

....

[officedweller]

It's a pipe to which firefighters hook up their hoses to pump water to areas of a building that are far from the hydrants. i.e. it's like a "built-in" fire hose for the building.
If you walk by any building on the street, you'll see caps (like hydrant caps) sticking out of the building for standpipes. Firefighters would hook up hoses from a hydrant to the standpipes to get water into the building.

Question:
I always thought that standpipes were empty until the fire department hooked them up to a hydrant. The articles suggest that the standpipes had water in them. Or was the flood caused by sprinklers?

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by officedweller

From the Globe and Mail - here's hoping...


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/brit...revious-council-decision/article7616538/

Well the problem is Wall said it wont look the same, and that's the important part. The rest is just sugarcoating and should be taken with a big grain of salt. My issue is that the units are sold, there is no real financial incentive for Wall to spend anything more then he has to in order to fix the problem, and we are talking about a lot of money here. I assume the driving force behind darkening the glass are the residents as Klazu pretty much confirmed. I know someone who worked for one of Walls hotels in upper management and they had nothing good to say about him and based on that information I expect him to cheap out on the details and spend the minimum to meet the requirements. I don't want to be a pessimist and of course it might very well turn out great but imo it makes sense to be cautiously worried.

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Ouch. Sounds like a resident opened a bunch of the standpipes at The Max (928 Beatty) causing mucho damage. I assume its a renter.
http://www.cknw.com/news/vancouver/story.aspx?ID=1869151

Some more information on Vancouver Sun. Apparently the person was a 24-year-old Mexican and the article gives the idea of drugs being involved...