General Vancouver Updates

[jlousa]

Can't remember if it's been posted but Vancouver Coastal Health partnered with Onni to redevelop the Pearson Dogwood site, we should see rezoning applications pretty soon.

Here are the open house boards for it's neighbour Langara Gardens, which is a Peterson/Concert joint development.

City Boards
http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/langara-gardens-nov-dec-2015-open-house-information-displays-city.pdf

Developer Boards
http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/langara-ga...nformation-displays-peterson-concert.pdf

Parks Board boards
http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/track-and-...2015-open-house-information-displays.pdf

Here's the survey to voice your opinions
https://www.talkvancouver.com/R.aspx?a=553&as=90JZ7Nk5mG

[Klazu]

What's going on next to Olympic Village SkyTrain station (next to Cambie Bridge)? They are excavating something on an empty lot. Photo from last week.

[csbvan]

From what I understand, it's just a soil remediation project.

[officedweller]

Interesting - there's no legal requirement to remediate until you develop.

It could be a move by the landowner (City?) prior to selling or ground leasing the land so its' clear of remediation concerns.

[domusile]

Canada line extension along w 4th

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Interesting - there's no legal requirement to remediate until you develop.

It could be a move by the landowner (City?) prior to selling or ground leasing the land so its' clear of remediation concerns.

Not unless the Minister orders you to remediate, but I don't think they even bother with those orders any more.

I would expect its just for ease of selling or leasing as you say. It will make for a more straightforward sale.

[officedweller]

The remediation process leading to a Remediation Order is typically triggered by a development application, unless there's a serious threat to human health or the environment - which are rare and in which case the Minister may issue a Pollution Abatement Order (i.e. former sawmill sites leaching creosote into a river).

This would be a case of voluntary remediation without an Order.

[Klazu]

What could even go on that site? It's a wide but narrow lot with the streetcar tracks right next to it. Currently the tracks are under all that dirt, so I am not sure how usable they will be. It begins to feel like the whole track needs to be refurbished before any future streetcar operation could begin.

[WarrenC12]

My guess would be a lease. Why bother with this effort if you're just going to sell it. I can't see that being more profitable.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by wrenegade

With regards to the Masonic Temple on West 8th. I went to their Open House last week and have a couple photos. It was a pre-application info session. You can see the statistics in the second photo, but to summarize:

18 storeys
160 residential units
84.15m (276') building height
6.0 FSR

The architecture of the building hasn't been developed past the massing model, although the architect (Shape) has said that the common area on the residential floors will be open (see floorplate for leves 6-18). It will allow for better energy performance and cross-ventilation and will help them achieve LEED Gold. Building height is generally in line with other buildings in the neighbourhood. The tallest is 19 storeys (Bosa across West 7th) and the proposal achieves basically the same overall height, though is a little higher up the hill so is one storey less. There will be a large blank wall (single-loaded building) facing west where the stairwells are, somewhat similar to 1300 Richards. Hopefully this wall will be treated with some sort of interesting pattern, panels, public art or something like that.

The Vancouver Masonic Centre (VMC) will maintain ownership of all of the residential units and the parking. None of the units will come with parking stalls, but they will be available for rent.

Most of the grumbling I overheard at the open house was from residents of the Verona tower across the street on 7th. Understandable, but if they wanted a secure view they should have bought a north-facing unit, you couldn't expect the two blocks north between Broadway to remain 2-3 stories forever.

The design seemed like a reasonable compromise to move the rental tower as far as possible to minimize impact on the existing towers. I'm surprised they're in a hurry to build and lock in rental tenants, as the potential monthly rates would surely go up as soon as Broadway line is confirmed.

Finally, it's kind of a shame to lose the existing Masonic Centre as its probably the city's most extreme example of Brutalism, ugly but pure.

[BodomReaper]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Most of the grumbling I overheard at the open house was from residents of the Verona tower across the street on 7th. Understandable, but if they wanted a secure view they should have bought a north-facing unit, you couldn't expect the two blocks north between Broadway to remain 2-3 stories forever.

The design seemed like a reasonable compromise to move the rental tower as far as possible to minimize impact on the existing towers. I'm surprised they're in a hurry to build and lock in rental tenants, as the potential monthly rates would surely go up as soon as Broadway line is confirmed.

Finally, it's kind of a shame to lose the existing Masonic Centre as its probably the city's most extreme example of Brutalism, ugly but pure.

We'll always have MacBlo and the Buchanan Tower at UBC!

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Most of the grumbling I overheard at the open house was from residents of the Verona tower across the street on 7th.........
...................
Finally, it's kind of a shame to lose the existing Masonic Centre as its probably the city's most extreme example of Brutalism, ugly but pure.

Don't forget the HSBC at Georgia and Bute, kitty-corner to The Twist. A real gagger IMO.

[dleung]

Originally Posted by Wrenegade

The tallest is 19 storeys (Bosa across West 7th) and the proposal achieves basically the same overall height, though is a little higher up the hill so is one storey less.

What annoys me about Vancouver is how often the left scenario is preferred over the right. This is why the False Creek skyline looks so flat.

[Prometheus]

If the city were to act rationally and treat Vancouver as the emerging big city it is and thus stop standing in the way of more robust, organic growth in areas where such growth makes sense (e.g. along major transporation corridors, especially ones which run with--or will run with--rapid transit lines) as opposed to artificially restraining growth to timid increases incomensurate with Vancouver's current, let alone, future needs (e.g. the Cambie Corridor, the West End proper, Commercial-Broadway Station and most other SkyTrain station catchments, the Waterfront Station Transportation Hub, East Hastings Street and the Downtown Eastside, etc.), then the Broadway Corridor ridge should begin to look similar to (if not more dense and tall than) this in the years after the Broadway Line is officially announced (as viewed from North False Creek). The urban fabric and foundation were laid many decades ago. The only thing that could stop this kind of scale and beautiful built form from naturally emerging along the Broadway Corridor is the foolishness and/or political cowardice of the city:


DSC_1055 by Mr Dysphanes, on Flickr

[Bcasey25raptor]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

If the city were to act rationally and treat Vancouver as the emerging big city it is and thus stop standing in the way of more robust, organic growth in areas where such growth makes sense (e.g. along major transporation corridors, especially ones which run with--or will run with--rapid transit lines) as opposed to artificially restraining growth to timid increases incomensurate with Vancouver's current, let alone, future needs (e.g. the Cambie Corridor, the West End proper, Commercial-Broadway Station and most other SkyTrain station catchments, the Waterfront Station Transportation Hub, East Hastings Street and the Downtown Eastside, etc.), then the Broadway Corridor ridge should begin to look similar to (if not more dense and tall than) this in the years after the Broadway Line is officially announced (as viewed from North False Creek). The urban fabric and foundation were laid many decades ago. The only thing that could stop this kind of scale and beautiful built form from naturally emerging along the Broadway Corridor is the foolishness and/or political cowardice of the city:


DSC_1055 by Mr Dysphanes, on Flickr

Which city is this?

[Prometheus]

San Francisco, of course. It's the neighbourhood just directly north of the financial district, above Columbus Ave. It sits on a ridge just like the Broadway Corridor. One of things that makes San Francisco so cool are the isolated tall buildings that randomly pop out of smaller scale neighbourhoods, a general "no, no" according to current Vancouver urban design philosophy. But, of course, it's an isolated tall building that randomly pops out of a smaller urban neighbourhood (i.e. Woodwards) that has give Gastown/DTES a substantially cooler, more urban, "big city" vibe, improving not only the immediate neighbourhood but the entire city. This effect could and should be achieved in numerous other appropriate areas, such as other sites in the DTES, Chinatown, the False Creek Flats/Industrial/Olympic Village area, Kingsway and, of course, the Broadway Corridor. But current city policy thoughtlessly prevents that:

DSC_1501_stitch by Mr Dysphanes, on Flickr

[Vin]

Investors have a higher tendency to invest more to make buildings more ornate and beautiful if larger scale developments are allowed along West Broadway Corridor, every major thoroughfare, or even Fairview slopes and the Olympic Village, and especially areas around the city centre where people are more willing to pay more per square footage. Already missed opportunities here for decades, and that's why so many buildings in Vancouver look like duds, especially in the lower-density neighbourhoods.

[squeezied]

Originally Posted by Vin

Investors have a higher tendency to invest more to make buildings more ornate and beautiful if larger scale developments are allowed along West Broadway Corridor, every major thoroughfare, or even Fairview slopes and the Olympic Village, and especially areas around the city centre where people are more willing to pay more per square footage. Already missed opportunities here for decades, and that's why so many buildings in Vancouver look like duds, especially in the lower-density neighbourhoods.

You're fooling yourself if you think taller = better design. There are just as many bland 30 story highrises as there are bland 6 story midrises.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by squeezied

You're fooling yourself if you think taller = better design. There are just as many bland 30 story highrises as there are bland 6 story midrises.

That's only because developers are never allowed to go really tall in most prime Vancouver lands. For the few sites that do, the towers are, on average, more spectacular - Georgia Residences, Shangri-la, Trump, Wall Centre Sheraton tower, Vancouver House, and the future clusters of taller towers around the First Baptist Church and 1700 West Georgia. The more units developers can sell, the more they can splurge on the design: simple economics.

And on the contrary, I find many interesting looking 30-35 storeys in and around Coal Harbour and Yaletown, but I'm sure they can look even better if allowed to go taller.

Below 20 stories, most buildings are starting to look pretty uninteresting. The interesting-looking 6 to 12 storey towers can only be counted by the fingers, with good looking ones at the Olympic Village way overpriced, with the developers bleeding money. The "affordable" ones that come after at the O.V. are all bland and boring.

I can't say much for the suburb cities as sale prices do not justify spending too much on a tower, but again there are exceptions.

[a very long weekend]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

San Francisco, of course. It's the neighbourhood just directly north of the financial district, above Columbus Ave. It sits on a ridge just like the Broadway Corridor. One of things that makes San Francisco so cool are the isolated tall buildings that randomly pop out of smaller scale neighbourhoods, a general "no, no" according to current Vancouver urban design philosophy.

DSC_1501_stitch by Mr Dysphanes, on Flickr

don't worry, everything that you described in this photo is now banned here in sf too.

also, to fix your geography, from the water, you're seeing several neighborhoods. the first row of towers which, i'll charitably allow you, cluster near lombard street, but it's not like broadway until you're well out of this hood. the second row of towers is on russian hill, some distance away and much closer to the financial district, though still not that close by sf standards.