General Vancouver Updates - Page 253

mcminsen · #**5041** Posted **Dec 31, 2015, 5:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollyburger

The corner building at Davie and Burrard with the Cash Money store has been been sold and it's going to be torn down in a year or so. Hopefully redevelopment includes the surface lot and buildings next door.

Thanks for the heads up and welcome to the forum. That area is going to get interesting with the eventual changes with St. Paul's.

ozonemania · #**5042** Posted **Dec 31, 2015, 6:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jollyburger

The corner building at Davie and Burrard with the Cash Money store has been been sold and it's going to be torn down in a year or so. Hopefully redevelopment includes the surface lot and buildings next door.

Nice, seems like there will be quite a bit of development activity in that area coming up. There will be this, then Burrard Gateway, the lot on the corner of Davie and Hornby (the proposed black and red building), then there's Davie and Granville, as well as the Addition on Hornby and Helmcken, and isn't there something going up south of Davie on Howe?

Vin · #**5043** Posted **Dec 31, 2015, 8:31 AM**

Delete

Vin · #**5044** Posted **Dec 31, 2015, 8:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by osirisboy

You would think east broadway would have higher fsr than marine. It seems the projects going up along Broadway has low fsr. Does the city want to make broadway a "village"

Ironic isn't it? Where it's most needed for a location very close to major employment centres (hospital and downtown), they only go for low rise low density housing. For outlying areas, they allow high rise higher density developments.

West/ East Broadway already a village as developers are not rushing in to develop that stretch possibly due to restrictions on densities and heights.

jollyburger · #**5045** Posted **Dec 31, 2015, 8:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vin

Ironic isn't it? Where it's most needed for a location very close to major employment centres (hospital and downtown), they only go for low rise low density housing. For outlying areas, they allow high rise higher density developments.

West/ East Broadway already a village as developers are not rushing in to develop that stretch possibly due to restrictions on densities and heights.

You could also say that there is less opposition to the projects around Marine vs. those employment centre areas.

BodomReaper · #**5046** Posted **Dec 31, 2015, 8:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

^ I think that we are beginning to see exactly that type of vertical program for employment uses, with residential excluded from the equation. There are a number of fascinating projects in the area between Cambie-2nd Ave-Main-Broadway that include a vertical mix of retail and light industrial at grade and office above. IntraUrban is actually behind one of these projects: The Lightworks Building (http://pcurban.ca/projects/current-projects/east-5th-avenue/).

While I'm happy to see these high-quality boutique projects, they're all topping-out at 3 to 6 stories. Jebby raises a good point in saying that there's no justification for not allowing another 6 floors of residential above - there's no "village" to preserve. I fear that the Mount Pleasant Industrial area, like so many other recently-developed parts of the city, is getting artificially legislated to be built at a density ceiling far below market demand.

Unrelated: any word on who the architect for the Marine Drive Super 8 proposal is? Couldn't find anything in the rezoning package.

officedweller · #**5047** Posted **Dec 31, 2015, 11:15 PM**

The general trend is that taller towers seem to be approved on "opportunistic" sites - historically consolidated parcels that are not new land assemblies. All the project on Marine Drive are on historically consolidated "large" sites.

I think the underlying theme is that the City doesn't want developers to swoop in and buy up single family houses to build towers - just mid-rises.

Prometheus · #**5048** Posted **Jan 1, 2016, 1:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

I think the underlying theme is that the City doesn't want developers to swoop in and buy up single family houses to build towers - just mid-rises.

Although I don't think that's the true motivation behind the city's suffocating restrictions on densification and it's policy of timid, incremental change in the inner city, whatever their motivation, it is a totally irrational and wasteful policy for a city with a real estate affordability crisis. Indeed, it's probably one of the major contributing factors of the crisis.

Having developers swoop in and buy up single family houses along major transportation corridors so they can build tall, dense buildings in their place is exactly what Vancouver needs and should be doing. Forcing developers to go through lengthy, protracted and expensive rezoning approval processes, which then lead to economically sub-optimal density increases anyway, only forces developers to pass those economic inefficiencies and shrinking margins on to purchasers in the form of higher prices.

By allowing the market to be the primary determinant of density along such corridors, by contrast, you allow developers to make the most economically efficient use of the land. Those economic efficiencies are then passed on to purchasers in the form of lower prices. Multiplying that effect, the greater density creates greater supply, and the greater supply creates lower prices.

That's what an intelligent big city does.

mcminsen · #**5049** Posted **Jan 1, 2016, 10:38 AM**

I saw this when I was in Kerrisdale yesterday. Can't find much info on it yet. I'm wondering if the old church will go or stay.

Dec.31 '15, my pics

WarrenC12 · #**5050** Posted **Jan 1, 2016, 4:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prometheus

By allowing the market to be the primary determinant of density along such corridors, by contrast, you allow developers to make the most economically efficient use of the land. Those economic efficiencies are then passed on to purchasers in the form of lower prices. Multiplying that effect, the greater density creates greater supply, and the greater supply creates lower prices.

That's what an intelligent big city does.

I don't disagree with your idea in theory, but I feel like city development is a lot more complicated than that. Do you have examples of where this has worked out in other cities?

You can't buy any new condo in Vancouver for under $500/sf these days, or even close. I think that if a developer doesn't think they can sell for that rate, they won't build. And therefor we won't really see anything "affordable" using that logic.

officedweller · #**5051** Posted **Jan 4, 2016, 10:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcminsen

I saw this when I was in Kerrisdale yesterday. Can't find much info on it yet. I'm wondering if the old church will go or stay.

I think that's this one, which has been approved.
Scaled down a floor or two from an earlier withdrawn application.

http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/rezoning/applications/2095w43rdav/index.htm

officedweller · #**5052** Posted **Jan 7, 2016, 8:01 AM**

Canvas on GNW - from GBL twitter:

https://twitter.com/GBLArchitects

https://twitter.com/GBLArchitects

Kingsway & King Edward project:

https://twitter.com/GBLArchitects

mcminsen · #**5053** Posted **Jan 7, 2016, 9:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

I think that's this one, which has been approved.
Scaled down a floor or two from an earlier withdrawn application.

http://former.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/rezoning/applications/2095w43rdav/index.htm

Thanks!

mcminsen · #**5054** Posted **Jan 7, 2016, 10:33 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcminsen

Demoliton is about complete now of the little building that was on the corner of Cambie and W. 7th Ave, kitty corner from Canadian Tire. It was the Cambie Cafe Chinese and Western Food, next door to Menchie's. Big row of trees taken down, too. Google street view here.

May 28 '15, my pic

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcminsen

So, I guess it's going to be a BCAA office.

Oct.18 '15, my pic

Jan.4 '16, my pic

Jebby · #**5055** Posted **Jan 7, 2016, 4:45 PM**

Is it just me or does the building behind the BCAA building look like it says False Greek Surgical Centre?

jollyburger · #**5056** Posted **Jan 7, 2016, 6:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jebby

Is it just me or does the building behind the BCAA building look like it says False Greek Surgical Centre?

It's the enclosure behind the sign is a slightly different paint colour from the rest of the building.

NewWester · #**5057** Posted **Jan 9, 2016, 2:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jebby

Is it just me or does the building behind the BCAA building look like it says False Greek Surgical Centre?

Gotta make sure you get your surgery from a REAL Greek.

mcminsen · #**5058** Posted **Jan 9, 2016, 4:01 AM**

Jan.7 '16, my pic

jollyburger · #**5059** Posted **Jan 13, 2016, 7:08 PM**

Fencing up around the northwest block at 1st/Renfrew for some new development. Didn't check if that last property on the block was fenced off or not.

Quote:

An development application has been made for a C2C1 zoned site located at 2889 East 1st Avenue in Vancouver. The site consists of the entire block on the west side of Renfrew between Graveley Street and 1st Avenue, except for the northernmost 31.16’ lot. The owner of this site has been approached but does not want to sell at this time. The assembled site is 120’ deep and 218’ long.

Credit: vancouvermarket.ca

Jebby · #**5060** Posted **Jan 13, 2016, 9:31 PM**

Should have been two stories taller.

Let's just hope it's woodframe so it can be torn down sooner rather than later.