Downtown Vancouver Updates

[s211]

Originally Posted by theKB

I thought they were revamping the whole thing and putting all new retail in?

There's apparently a new food court that's almost complete.

[spm2013]

....

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by ryanmaccdn

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lipstick+on+a+pig

Er, yes. Most precise.
This building, for me, has a Novosibirsk quality to it. Sort of soviet brutalism or something.
I wish they could do a taller, beautiful, curving, fine and elegant building to sort of "wrap" around this one. But then there's the
revolving restaurant to think of and it's too dense there already anyway.
Oh well, for a moment there, I had a dream.

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Er, yes. Most precise.
This building, for me, has a Novosibirsk quality to it. Sort of soviet brutalism or something.
I wish they could do a taller, beautiful, curving, fine and elegant building to sort of "wrap" around this one. But then there's the
revolving restaurant to think of and it's too dense there already anyway.
Oh well, for a moment there, I had a dream.

Have you ever been to Novosibirsk? They'd be lucky to have office buildings half the quality. Although they do have some nice Stalinist buildings, especially the trains station...too bad they're in such bad shape.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by theKB

I thought they were revamping the whole thing and putting all new retail in?

I believe this is what is happening yes.

[Vin]

The renovated Harbour Centre food court was already opened for business when I was walking in the neighbourhood last Saturday. Only 3 stores were running while the other ones were still boarded up. There were no changes to the liquor store and the Dollarama shop but the hallways and the entire food court were revamped. Washrooms were also much nicer than before but due to the low ceiling, it did not really wow me, as compared to that in Richmond centre.

[jlousa]

Well guess I can't post this in the rumour thread anymore...
At the same time it's not deserving of it's own thread yet as it's pretty early and is in no means a actual proposal at this stage. It is in the early enquiry stage and although it could proceed quickly if things go well, I expect it to be a ways off and probably a couple revisions away. Anyways here are the details I can share as of now. I think we might have another poster that might be able to share some additional insight, if allowed.

1) Waterfront Tower – 601 W. Cordova St. – Enquiry 4.05PM - 5.05PM

The enquiry was received to develop a mixed-use office tower on a site located on W. Cordova St. immediately east of the CPR Station building. The proposal is to construct a 24 storey, 127.1 m tall tower with 41,205 m2 of commercial / office space.
The subject site is at the edge of the Downtown and Gastown districts and in between two designated heritage buildings, the CPR Station and The Landing. It is one of the sites referenced by the Central Waterfront Hub Framework which was adopted by City Council on June 11, 2009. The Framework has established a number of development principles and directions for the future development of the study area which also apply to this site. It has been recognized that the heritage impact analysis of new development on adjacent municipally designated heritage buildings as well as on the Historic Area of Gastown should result with a solution that complements existing landmarks, built form and urban character.

The Framework suggested that this particular site could accommodate 11 storey building with approx. 6,100 m2 floor area which is significantly less than currently proposed.
Although the site is not located within Gastown Historic Area boundaries, this enquiry is presented to GHAPC because of the development’s potentially significant impact on historic character of Gastown. The proponent has retained a conservation consultant to develop the Statement of Significance for the CPR Station building. The draft document is currently being reviewed by the Vancouver Heritage Commission and staff.

The applicant has provided a presentation package to inform the Committee and to solicit input and feedback from the GHAPC, and will present the project. Staff will be in attendance to provide additional information, as required.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Well guess I can't post this in the rumour thread anymore...
At the same time it's not deserving of it's own thread yet as it's pretty early and is in no means a actual proposal at this stage. It is in the early enquiry stage and although it could proceed quickly if things go well, I expect it to be a ways off and probably a couple revisions away. Anyways here are the details I can share as of now. I think we might have another poster that might be able to share some additional insight, if allowed.

Thank you for the info.

But how does 24 floors translate into 127 metres?

[jlousa]

Good call, my only guess is that the height quoted might be measured from Waterfront road which is several floors below Cordova at that location.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Good call, my only guess is that the height quoted might be measured from Waterfront road which is several floors below Cordova at that location.

Maybe. However, that only accounts for about two floors of height. So, the question then becomes: how does 26 floors translate into 127 metres? 1090 West Pender is 31 floors and is only 123 metres.

Have you seen any renderings? What are your thoughts?

[jlousa]

I will let the other poster comment further as I would not be surprised is one or both of those numbers could be off and might even be referring to a couple of the multiple proposals they are evaluating for the site.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Thank you for the info.

But how does 24 floors translate into 127 metres?

The is pure "speculation" but other towers have achieved heights above their standard floor heights due to a large crown.

[Prometheus]

Some new renderings for the historic Ormidale Block restoration/redevelopment:









http://www.colliersads.com/11665#.UrIiQ8uA2cw

The Ormidale Block, located at 151 West Hastings Street, is a unique commercial building on the southern edge of Vancouver’s historic Gastown district. Designed by well-known architect George William Grant (1852-1925) in the Romanesque Revival style, the building features a richly detailed terra cotta and brick front façade.

The building is currently bring redeveloped, retaining only the historic façade, and once complete will feature 35,000 SF of office and retail space, available for occupancy in the spring of 2015. The location features excellent access to transit, and the major north-south/east-west routes in and out of downtown.

Centrally located in Gastown, the Ormidale Block is surrounded by a vibrant and changed neighbourhood. This sought after location provides access to numerous restaurants, cafes, shops and nightlife. The building includes two floors of retail (plus a mezzanine) with frontage on West Hastings Street and a secondary entrance via West Cordova Street, and four floors of office space, all sharing a common rooftop patio.

Lease Areas

Level 5 5,573 SF
Level 4 5,988 SF
Level 3 6,010 SF
Level 2 6,028 SF
Mezzanine (retail) 2,102 SF
Main (retail) 4,762 SF
Lower Floor (retail) 5,148 SF


http://www.colliersads.com/11665#.UrIiQ8uA2cw

[s211]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Some new renderings for the historic Ormidale Block restoration/redevelopment:

The arch for the Flack Block is damn near perfect. I love the weight of it.

[officedweller]

Pic by me yesterday:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[Prometheus]

Thanks for the update.

Don't forget there is a thread for this building: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=202060

[officedweller]

Thanks - just copied it over.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Well guess I can't post this in the rumour thread anymore...

vancouvermarket.ca has a map of the 601 West Cordova site for anyone wondering, and they convert to feet.

The preliminary proposal calls for a 24-storey office tower, 417 ft tall, with 440,000 SF of gross building space.

...and one of the interesting tidbits from the Gastown Historic Area Plannning Committee agenda is the architects:

B+H Architect, Adrian Smith + Gordon Hill Architecture.

http://www.bharchitects.com/en/news
http://smithgill.com/

Iconic tower, anyone? (well, hopefully not just a box) Maybe the extra height is for wind turbines?


The Central Waterfront Hub Study has that area containing an access road to the railway lands
- it'll be interesting to see how this proposal meshes with that plan.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=146079


http://www.vancouvermarket.ca/2013/12/17...ing-24-storey-office-tower-near-gastown/

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Some new renderings for the historic Ormidale Block restoration/redevelopment:

Looks great, I love it. Really looking forward to the next couple decades of gentrification in the east side. So many great buildings which offer so much cool opportunity to refurbish/expand on.

Originally Posted by officedweller

Iconic tower, anyone?

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Goodbye to the great views from Harbour Centre :-(
SFU won't be very happy because they capitalize on that view to attract conferences and other events.