Posted Mar 1, 2013, 5:31 AM
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Ferris Wheel Hater
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,371
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From the first go around in Sept 2012
Quote:
EVALUATION: NON-SUPPORT (0-8)
•Introduction:
Ian Cooper, Rezoning Planner, introduced the proposal for a rezoning on thesite at the corner of West 12th Avenue and Cambie Street. The proposal is for a mix-used commercial-residential development of eight storeys with retail on Cambie Street, replacing the White Spot restaurant. As well, the applicant plans to relocate and restore the heritage house at 454 West 12th Avenue to West 13th Avenue. They are also planning to re-align the lane to exit onto West 12th Avenue and will close the access/exit to West 13th Avenue. Mr. Cooper described the applicable policy for supporting an increase in height and density which includes: the retention and renovation of the Heritage “C” structure on its new site on West 13th venue; the replacement of the eight rental housing units that would be displaced from the Heritage house; and an anticipated offer of a Community Amenity Contribution based on the City-wide rate of $3.00 per square foot. The current rental units are not within a “rate of change” area and are therefore not protected and the house at 454 West 12th Avenue has heritage value but is not protected.Anita Molaro, Development Planner, further described the proposal noting the context for the area. The height of City Hall is 12-storeys, City Square is 6-storeys and the Plaza 500 Hotel is 16-storeys. There are also a number of low-rise buildings along Cambie Street, however the base zoning anticipates buildings with FSR of 3.0 a height of 35 feet. Further south on Cambie Street (between West 14th and 16th Avenues) is the Pacifica which has tower elements up to 9-storeys with a low-rise street wall of three and six storeys. When this proposal began, the existing conditions consisted of two separate sites; the C-2C at the corner of West 12th Avenue and Cambie street and the site at West 13th Avenue and Cambie Street (location of White Spot restaurant). The site does not fall within the Cambie Corridor design principles however staff did request that the number of floors belimited to a maximum of eight which is consistent with the maximum number of floors in the Cambie Plan.
Ms. Molaro noted that one of the challenges facing the redevelopment of this block and access to the development was the location of the lane. The applicant proposed to close
the lane and realign it out to West 12th Avenue within the footprint of the existing C-2C frontage. That presented some challenges in terms of both the vehicle sight lines and the
building mass adjacencies to the heritage building. In general Engineering staff considered the realignment of the lane to offer some improvement to the neighbourhood in general,
especially for those accessing in/out to the existing restaurant. To address proximity of the lane to the corner of West 12th Avenue and Cambie Street, the application is proposing
to include the RT-6 site facing Cambie Street and establish a new lane. Given the heritage value of the house, the application proposes to relocate the building to the existing RT-6
site (now being used as a parking lot) facing West 13th Avenue. The adjacent two houses along the immediate frontage are also Heritage B and Heritage A buildings. Ms. Molaro
noted that some of the benefits of this configuration is that it moves commercial access in and out of the site from Cambie Street and West 13th Avenue, which is a residential street
to West 12th Avenue. It also allows for a continuous commercial frontage along Cambie Street which is consistent with the context across Cambie Street.
Ms. Molaro described the proposal noting that it consists of principally 8-storeys with a modest 9th floor serving a couple of the upper residential units. The seventh floor has the
residential amenity room and associated outdoor area for the building’s residents. Commercial uses are located on the ground floor with the restaurant use anticipated at the
corner of West 12th Avenue and Cambie Street. In terms of the frontage along CambieStreet, one of the issues that staff were concerned about was the length of the façade (270
feet). One of the strategies that staff recommended was to consider some variation in the both the massing and setback to provide a more generous public realm, and opportunity to accommodate some outdoor seating/pedestrian activity given its westerly orientation.
Advice from the Panel on this application is sought on the following:
Does the panel support the urban design response developed for this site: form of development, massing (scale andbulk), requested density (4.325 FSR) and requested height (105 ft.- 9 storeys);
building’s relationship/response to existing neighbourhood context including:
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adjacent RT-6 low density neighbourhood including relocated heritage house;
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Cambie Street context south of 12th avenue;
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civic/heritage context north of 12th avenue.
public realm interface, open space design and landscape treatments;
LEED Gold/Sustainability strategies;
preliminary advice on the indicative materials and composition.
Ms. Molaro took questions from the Panel.
•Applicant’s Introductory Comments:
Wayne Fougere, Architect, further described the proposal and stated that the lane is only one of two places where a lane comes out at Cambie Street. As a result closing the lane would repair the public realm. He described the materials noting that there are three main materials, with the base material being a cultured limestone. The center area on Cambie Street will be a gathering place for therestaurant.
Brent MacGregor, Consultant, added that with closing the lane all the conflicts with the existing crossings are eliminated,making for a better pedestrian experience.
Derek Lee, Landscape Architect, described the landscape plans. He said he thought what was interesting about the development was that it is trying to reinforce the City Hall precinct. The sidewalk environment is trying to be similar to what happens from West 12th Avenue to the Canada Line Station at West Broadway. They are looking at a width of about 6 meters for the sidewalk at the corner. Street trees are planned along Cambie Street with a grass boulevard wrapping around on both the West 12th Avenue and West 13th Avenue frontages. He added that with reorienting the lane they saw it as an opportunity to create a mews. There are ground oriented units facing the lane with recessed patios. A trellis is planned over the parkade entrance. The upper roof deck will have the primary indoor and outdoor amenity space with a two sided fireplace. Urban agriculture is planned as well asa barbeque area and dining area. In order to get some larger size trees they added a mound area and a children’s play area. Regarding sustainability, they will be harvesting rain water and on the upper levels there will also be extensive green roofs.
Robert Lemon, Architect, described the heritage aspects of the proposal. He indicated that the house was built in 1909. He added thatthe house has had quite a bit of renovation
over the years and is not in the best shape.
The original materials and colours are still under the layers of renovations. He said he thought there is enough potential in the building to rehabilitate it as it
could be designated as a Heritage B building. The Heritage Commission will be reviewing the proposal as well.
The applicant team took questions from the Panel.
•Panel’s Consensus on Key Aspects Needing Improvement:
Design development to strengthen the response to City Hall;
Design development to distinguish the site mid-block in a more fundamental way;
Design development to modify the massing at West 12th Avenue to better respond to the context of City Hall, Plaza 500 tower including increasing the sidewalk and stepping
the building back from the street edge;
Design development to better transition the building to the residential context;
Consider reviewing the materials across the site;
Consider having a greater separation betweenthe heritage house and entrance to the parkade; and
Review the passive design response regarding the orientation of the building.
•Related Commentary:
The Panel did not support the proposal.
The Panel offered some support for the general approach of the form of development,height and density but some reservations with the architecture,with a couple of Panel
members stating that the density was a bit aggressive for the site. Several Panel members thought there were issues on how the massing was expressed and distributed around the
site. Some Panel members thought the horizontal expression didn’t relate very well to its context. The Panel appreciated the retention of the heritage house and the replacement of
the eight rental units. The Panel supported the closure of the lane. In terms of the relationship of the building to the neighbourhood context, the Panel felt there was some work to be done in terms of understanding and developing a clear language to the building that responds to its different urban adjacencies. Both West 12th Avenue and Cambie Street are high traffic streets that are commercial oriented and the north face of the building sits across from an important building, which should result in distinct architectural expressions. Since the east and south faces of the building are adjacent to single family residential, lower scale buildings, their expression should reflect that context as well. Several Panel members thought there could be more variety in the materials with one Panel member noting that all four sides seemed to be the same,and that the east side could have more texture while the north and west facades could have a more commercial expression. Another Panel member thought there was an opportunity to step the building down towards West 12th Avenue. Several Panel members thought the Cambie Street frontage should have a continuous retail edge. As well the bulk of the building could be broken up through the use of materials to express the building form in a more vertical expression.
Some Panel members thought the building was too close to West 12th Avenue and the building should acknowledge the corner in a strong way by setting the building back more
rather than having the indentation mid-block. They felt this would be an ideal spot for outdoor seating. A couple of Panel members noted that nothing had been provided
regarding signage. One Panel member thought this was an opportunity to create some visual excitement beyond typical signage. One Panel member mentioned that the relationship to the access to the underground parking and the location of the heritage building compromised the relationship of the backyard of that heritage building. The Panel supported the top floor amenity room and the addition of urban agriculture. It was noted that the continuation of the public realm was the correct way to go but it could be a more contemporary design and more dynamic in its materials and form.
Regarding sustainability, some Panel members thought the sustainable design should better reflect solar orientation. The Panel supported the greening of the roof and the addition of
solar panels.
•Applicant’s Response:
Mr.Fougere had no additional comments
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Last edited by jlousa; Mar 1, 2013 at 6:04 AM.
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