Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[officedweller]

The banding on the concrete columns means ... a painted concrete finish.

[Jebby]

Bike racks being installed in the Olympic Village, picture taken this morning according to Flickr.


Olympic Village Bike Racks by Canadian Veggie, on Flickr

[Jebby]

Lido:


IMG_4547 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr


IMG_4548 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr


IMG_4550 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4554 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4566 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4606 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr


IMG_4607 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr

[sacrifice333]

CRAFT is open. Official Grand Opening is November 7th... but they are serving food and pouring beer!

[officedweller]

West - from the Journal of Commerce:

A new 15-storey mixed use tower is taking shape in Vancouver, B.C. It's the first phase of The Residences & Shops at West Development.

The first phase will feature 190 residential units and 20,000 sq. ft. of street level shopping and retail space. The second phase will add another 298 residential units and 23,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.
...

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id57607/--building-west

[Jebby]

Pinnacle's The One



IMG_4571 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4572 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4574 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4576 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4578 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr




IMG_4582 by Yellow Fever @ SkyscraperCity, on Flickr

[Kapten]

The crane is coming down at Opsal.

The former sales centre has also been demolished immediately west of the car wash. Can anyone confirm that this is the site of Opsal Phase Two?

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by Kapten

The crane is coming down at Opsal.

The former sales centre has also been demolished immediately west of the car wash. Can anyone confirm that this is the site of Opsal Phase Two?

Confirmed. The two phases straddle the car wash, which was not assembled into the project. Interesting note, the first parking level below street level has a knock-out panel so that if and when the car wash is redeveloped, it can access the lane by the Opsal ramp and entrance. Pretty sure the Opsal site has an encumbrance requiring access to such a development; similar encumbrances are in place for the smaller-parcel sites in SEFC (Foundry & The Exhange, for example) where a single garage entrance from the lane serves two properties. When the property beside Pinnacle Living False Creek is developed, it will access the lane via knock out and Pinnacle's garage entrance.

[Kapten]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Confirmed. The two phases straddle the car wash, which was not assembled into the project. Interesting note, the first parking level below street level has a knock-out panel so that if and when the car wash is redeveloped, it can access the lane by the Opsal ramp and entrance. Pretty sure the Opsal site has an encumbrance requiring access to such a development; similar encumbrances are in place for the smaller-parcel sites in SEFC (Foundry & The Exhange, for example) where a single garage entrance from the lane serves two properties. When the property beside Pinnacle Living False Creek is developed, it will access the lane via knock out and Pinnacle's garage entrance.

Thanks for your response. As always, your posts are very informative!

Are you aware of any current development plans for the auto body shop next to Pinnacle? On that note, are there any plans to develop the Speedy site next to the Exchange Building (across Wylie Street from Maynard's Block)?

Future development plans/sites I'm aware of in the area include:
* Concert Properties 'block'
* Opsal Phase 2
* Aquilini site at southwest corner of Main/2nd (11 storeys?)
* Block 100 (aka Burger King Block)

And the city-owned properties north of 1st avenue and east of the Cambie Bridge (police parking etc).

Am I missing anything...?

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by Kapten

Are you aware of any current development plans for the auto body shop next to Pinnacle? On that note, are there any plans to develop the Speedy site next to the Exchange Building (across Wylie Street from Maynard's Block)?

I am not aware of anything in the pipeline for those sites. I am also not really in any sort of position to know if projects were in the pipeline but not yet public. I am keen to see those sites developed, so hopefully something will break in the not too distant future. I suspect that with all the development at the east end of SEFC, the owners of those two sites might hold out for a while until the supply is absorbed. That, or wait until the phase of SEFC properties beside the Cambie Street Bridge is released by the City and then offer a faster and likely less expensive alternative to buy in SEFC close to SkyTrain, shops, etc.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Confirmed. The two phases straddle the car wash, which was not assembled into the project. Interesting note, the first parking level below street level has a knock-out panel so that if and when the car wash is redeveloped, it can access the lane by the Opsal ramp and entrance. Pretty sure the Opsal site has an encumbrance requiring access to such a development; similar encumbrances are in place for the smaller-parcel sites in SEFC (Foundry & The Exhange, for example) where a single garage entrance from the lane serves two properties. When the property beside Pinnacle Living False Creek is developed, it will access the lane via knock out and Pinnacle's garage entrance.

phase 2 .... is actually called PROXIMITY >> http://www.bastiondevelopment.com/newhomes/proximity/

pics care of the link above >>

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by Kapten

* Aquilini site at southwest corner of Main/2nd (11 storeys?)

do you mean the old Bank of Nova Scotia (I think it was) building?

I didn't know they snagged that site.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

phase 2 .... is actually called PROXIMITY >>

I didn't know that. Thanks.

[Kapten]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

do you mean the old Bank of Nova Scotia (I think it was) building?

I didn't know they snagged that site.

Aquilini's ownership was reported in this Globe and Mail article. The block between 2nd and 3rd on Main Street is also the (current) home of Maynard's, which vacated its old site to make way for Maynard's block. The same article mentions potential zoning of up to 11 storeys at the 'north end' of the stretch from 2nd to Broadway.

[Vin]

IMO, the entire OV is just so uninspiring with all the short stubbly cookie-cutter buildings built. Unlike the downtown view, I'm certainly not awed when I look at OV crossing Cambie bridge looking at the neighbourhood. What was the City thinking? It will certainly be a neighbourhood that people bypasses in the future, with no excitement and vibrancy whatsoever. Again this is just my opinion.

[rsxstock]

Originally Posted by Vin

IMO, the entire OV is just so uninspiring with all the short stubbly cookie-cutter buildings built. Unlike the downtown view, I'm certainly not awed when I look at OV crossing Cambie bridge looking at the neighbourhood. What was the City thinking? It will certainly be a neighbourhood that people bypasses in the future, with no excitement and vibrancy whatsoever. Again this is just my opinion.

because it is not downtown?

[jlousa]

I think OV will turn into a very desirable neighbourhood as time passes, you might not like the massing but I feel it will prove very well received. My only hope is that we see it's massings copied elsewhere over that of the d/t formula.

[WarrenC12]

Haters gotta hate.

I live in Yaletown now, and I love the OV. It has really come a long way in the last 2 years, and there's a clear path to how much better it will be in 2 more, and beyond. We are actually looking to move into the area in the next year or so.

[Kapten]

Originally Posted by Vin

IMO, the entire OV is just so uninspiring with all the short stubbly cookie-cutter buildings built. Unlike the downtown view, I'm certainly not awed when I look at OV crossing Cambie bridge looking at the neighbourhood. What was the City thinking? It will certainly be a neighbourhood that people bypasses in the future, with no excitement and vibrancy whatsoever. Again this is just my opinion.

I believe that Canada House was an Arthur Erickson design (or at least incorporated his concepts), and its steel-sided buildings look like no other mid-rises in the lower mainland in terms of form or exterior building.

The OV is a component of the larger South East False Creek neighbourhood, which does include a number of towers up to 24 storeys. One of the most innovative buildings, from a design perspective, under construction in the Lower Mainland is Onni's Central development, which is part of SEFC. The neighbourhood also features some nice heritage restoration and re-use (Maynard's Block, Exchange, Salt Building, etc.), so I think there is a greater design variety present then you've acknowledged.

I think that the neighbourhood will prove to be vibrant in the long term:
* It features high-quality public space along and near the waterfront
* It includes "destination" retail/restaurant amenities not found elsewhere, including Legacy Liquor Store (one of the largest private liquor stores in the Lower Mainland) and the new Craft Beer Market. The new theatre space on W 1st, which is likely to be jointly occupied by Bard on the Beach and Artsclub, will also add to the area's vibrancy; given the state of the movie industry, live performance venues should prove more resilient in the years to come.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by rsxstock

because it is not downtown?

Exactly. Is it written somewhere every new development in Vancouver has to be a highrise? Its nice to see a different format being tried in the OV.