Olympic Village & Southeast False Creek Updates Discussion

[Vin]

Originally Posted by sacrifice333

Look at that beautiful streetcar! *sigh*

LOL!!

I guess the City doesn't see an urgency for its installation in the foreseeable future. Except for Granville Island and the new theatre, there are simply not too many "hot destinations" along that route. Maybe that's why the City planned 1st Ave. as primarily residential. People living there seem to be OK with the current set-up, which works even better for the City for not doing anything. No uproar, no action.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by Vin

LOL!!

I guess the City doesn't see an urgency for its installation in the foreseeable future. Except for Granville Island and the new theatre, there are simply not too many "hot destinations" along that route. Maybe that's why the City planned 1st Ave. as primarily residential. People living there seem to be OK with the current set-up, which works even better for the City for not doing anything. No uproar, no action.

Hm. I wonder how many years that tolerance level will last, with insidiously increasing traffic volume? Looking ahead 20, even 15 years, I can't help feeling that somethin's gotta 'give'.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Hm. I wonder how many years that tolerance level will last, with insidiously increasing traffic volume? Looking ahead 20, even 15 years, I can't help feeling that somethin's gotta 'give'.

1st Avenue will not become congested for a long long time. Even when the theatre is opened, there could be sporadic spikes in traffic volumes around the area at certain play times, other than that, should be pretty dead, dark and quiet. A real burden off the City of Vancouver that's for sure!

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Vin

1st Avenue will not become congested for a long long time. Even when the theatre is opened, there could be sporadic spikes in traffic volumes around the area at certain play times, other than that, should be pretty dead, dark and quiet. A real burden off the City of Vancouver that's for sure!

The traffic is already steady along 1st Ave. Nothing I'd call a traffic jam, but it gets regular use. That will only increase as more residents move in.

[s211]

Considering that the street car scheme is a Vision-driven affectation that Trankslink refuses to support, it would be foolhardy for Vision to push this scheme any further closer to reality without having to think hard and twice about financial priorities.

Or, they could wait for unicorn-drawn street cars to finally make it to market.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by s211

Considering that the street car scheme is a Vision-driven affectation that Trankslink refuses to support, it would be foolhardy for Vision to push this scheme any further closer to reality without having to think hard and twice about financial priorities.

Or, they could wait for unicorn-drawn street cars to finally make it to market.

Well it was a Susan Anton NPA election promise. I wouldn't be so quick to paint it as a Vision-driven project.

[nds88]

I think it would be much better for building to be rotated ~90-120 degrees clockwise. That way, the outside curve would get views of the water and downtown skyline.

[QUOTE=Jimbo604;7090556]
Source: Changing City Updates - April 26, 2012

[Delirium]

here's the first building being launched at concert's "the creek".
Voda - pretty much the same as every other building in the area.


http://thecreekbyconcert.com/building

[osirisboy]

Lol the cookie cutter continues

[SFUVancouver]

I think that a small streetcar line with four stops (Main Street SkyTrain Station, the Olympic Village, Olympic Village SkyTrain Station, and Granville Island) would be a huge hit and function with excellent self-sustaining financial viability through ridership. This would mean that full fare integration with Translink, like the Canada Line, would not require any major changes to the agency's operations and budget. This is a straight-forward project that I could see being wholly financed and run as a P3. Hell, InTransitBC could potentially even build and run it under contract in parallel with the Canada Line.

The cost of construction would be minimal: the right of way already exists and has been planned for in all SEFC design work; track is already laid for almost half the length; two of the four stations are already built; the SEFC median right-of-way was engineered to the specs of the future rail-bed; the light standards in SEFC are designed to handle the overhead wires; the transformer station locations have been set aside in the SEFC plans; and there are already significant trip generators at each stop. There is still plenty of time to incorporate a car barn sized for three or four vehicles into the vicinity of the Cambie Street bridge, ideally underneath it to the north of the NEU plant with a little spur track connecting it to 1st Ave. Four trains would be sufficient to offer nice frequent service comparable most hours of the day to Canada Line frequency. All four trains would run at peak periods, descending to three for midday and evening, and two for nighttime/minimal service. Should a train be out of commission for cosmetic/minor structural repairs from a vehicle collision (all-but inevitable for at-grade transit) three trains could provide an acceptable level of service.

Anyway, I still hold out a lot of hope that the line will eventually be built and once it's in operation people will wonder how we ever did without it.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

Anyway, I still hold out a lot of hope that the line will eventually be built and once it's in operation people will wonder how we ever did without it.

As we often say at work "stop making so much sense".

Anybody know what the prices are like for Voda per sf?

[nds88]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

...Anybody know what the prices are like for Voda per sf?

Not per sf. Here is the range:

1 BR 453-468sf = $337,900-$359,000 (no parking)
1 BR 446-667sf = $399,900-$529,900
1 BR + Flex 648-656sf = $469,900-$499,900
2 BR 722-879sf = $539,900-$769,900
2 BR + Den 1,062sf = $859,900 - $1,039,900 (this is the display suite)
Townhomes 1,006-1,248sf = $799,900-$959,900
Sub-Penthouse and Penthouse 1,022-1488sf = $939,900-$1,489,900

[WarrenC12]

Pretty high prices. I guess they have some faith in the market. Given the somewhat slow (ie: not sold out before completion) of recent buildings in the area, I'm a little surprised.

[nds88]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Pretty high prices. I guess they have some faith in the market. Given the somewhat slow (ie: not sold out before completion) of recent buildings in the area, I'm a little surprised.

That was my first thought. Can get comparable 1 br units at LIDO, West and others in the area for the same (or even a bit less) price, but its completed now without risk of not knowing exactly what the finished product is.

I wasn't able to get an exact price, but there are some 2 br with decent layouts and unobstructed city and water views. There's limited inventory in the OV area for this type of product, and the one's that are available with this type of view are $1m+ (although more spacious), so that would be the only layout I would consider.

Also, the first set of 1 br (ie the cheapest ones) don't include parking, which is an ~$30k value.

[Delirium]

Photo by Bcshooter https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844520@N04/19130202531/sizes/l

[Vin]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Pretty high prices. I guess they have some faith in the market. Given the somewhat slow (ie: not sold out before completion) of recent buildings in the area, I'm a little surprised.

A lesson to learn indeed. The buildings sold in the area are slower to sell compared to many other others, including far-flung projects like the Marine Gateway and Brentwood mall, and that could be due to several reasons:

1: high price-points
2: perceived neighbourhood around the Main Street station
2: need better transit connectivity esp. within the village (shuttle bus), on 2nd Ave. (more buses) and even 1st (street car)
3: lack of retail or more affordable retail

Theoretically, OV could be such a draw, but it had to be planned better than what we have currently.
You may think it'll get better in time, and I do agree, but for the moment, it is just not good enough for many. Developers have the faith to sell at a higher price point simply because the area is the newest neighbourhood closest to downtown, and given enough time, people will still come.

[WarrenC12]

I think the slow sales (relatively) is also due to the huge volume that continues to come online. Developers seem to feel that rather than sitting on their land for longer, they are going to build and sell, even if that will go slower. Keeping in mind of course that there are multiple players here, not some master plan by a single developer.

If you're in it for the long haul (which you absolutely should be when purchasing RE), I don't see too much downside to Main St. Think about when St. Paul's is there...

2nd Ave and Main St. are very well served by transit IMO.

Marine Gateway is a mystery to me. They literally sold for more per sf than OV, or areas downtown, plus the layouts were poor. Rennie is a sorcerer.

[BodomReaper]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Marine Gateway is a mystery to me. They literally sold for more per sf than OV, or areas downtown, plus the layouts were poor. Rennie is a sorcerer.

And then he was able to sell Northwest kitty-corner to MG for substantially more

[Jimbo604]

Originally Posted by Delirium

here's the first building being launched at concert's "the creek".
Voda - pretty much the same as every other building in the area.


http://thecreekbyconcert.com/building

Source: Creekside website

I'm a bit surprised they started with this building (the one with the C on it in this map) instead of the one planned for the south of it (right on the corner of Quebec St and 1st ave.. am I missing something?

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Jimbo604

I'm a bit surprised they started with this building (the one with the C on it in this map) instead of the one planned for the south of it (right on the corner of Quebec St and 1st ave.. am I missing something?

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the building you are referring to is the one the city is requiring Concert to build as another social housing ghetto and give away for free. So, since there is nothing in it for Concert, they are obviously in no hurry to build it.