Downtown Vancouver Updates

[mcminsen]

Originally Posted by Bankview

SFU Student Housing @ Victory Square

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Wait, are those real palm trees or just some art piece?

If they are real, what an odd / random place to put them!

Those would look so much better near the VCC station entrance along Granville Street.

Originally Posted by Bankview

Honestly, today was the first time I've ever noticed them. I think they're real?

What the heck? Palm trees in Victory Square Park? I didn't see any when I took these pics back on March 2nd and I was also there on March 16th but didn't notice any palms. Maybe it was for a movie set?


March 2 '16, my pics

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Bankview

Honestly, today was the first time I've ever noticed them. I think they're real?

Thank you for those updates Bankview.

Regarding the palm tree, c'mon guys, everything about it looks too fishy, absurd and incongruous to be real. It has to be for a movie shoot, as mcminsen suggested.

UPDATE: The palm tree is part of a shoot for a TV miniseries set in San Fransisco. Apparently, they will be shooting a rally/riot scene today:


Source: https://twitter.com/yvrshoots/status/711397695789772800/photo/1

[Bankview]

Commercial building on Granville.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Bankview

Commercial building on Granville.

Thanks for the update. I can't seem to get my mind wrapped around just how poorly and cheaply executed that conversion job appears to be.

[mcminsen]

It's about as awful as what was there before. Just a different kind of awful. What a lost opportunity.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by mcminsen

It's about as awful as what was there before. Just a different kind of awful. What a lost opportunity.

No, it's clearly much more awful. Say what you will about the faults of the former design, but at least it used enduring, high-quality materials. And although I am not an advocate of recessed store fronts, the glass displays for Ingledew's had a classy, high quality finish.

This conversion appears to exude unadulterated cheapness and to have been designed by some grossly incompetent designer (or built by some grossly incompetent builder) who could not even centre the questionable gap in the vertical fins.

[jollyburger]

Cambie Street called and they want their ****** glass façade building back.

[osirisboy]

I would take what was there before over this any day. How unfortunate.

[dleung]

I'll take the pomo pile over the grey mullions

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

i liked the before better. i thought it looked way more high quality.

[phesto]

The building was bought and converted by Bonnis Properties, the same group that did the Future Shop building at Granville and Robson - they clearly prefer to go the cheap route on designs.

[Bankview]

There are two small blocks that have a redevelopment proposal posted on them. It's looking to add residential units up above.

[Bankview]

179 Main Street Development Report - Includes Elevations

http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/committees...rd-179-main-street-DE416774-20140224.pdf

[mcminsen]

Originally Posted by Bankview

179 Main Street Development Report - Includes Elevations

http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/committees...rd-179-main-street-DE416774-20140224.pdf

Interesting, thanks. I got a bit of deja vu when I saw that. Glad to hear it might be going ahead. I just quickly scanned over the report and it seems of course that Main Rooms is not part of the redevelopment. Here's a post I did almost a year ago. The last four pics are of the front and back of Main Rooms.

Originally Posted by mcminsen

I was walking down the back alley behind 179 Main Street in the downtown east side taking pictures of the decrepit old Main Rooms building and then when I came out to the front I saw this redevelopment sign. Interestingly, Main Rooms (119 Main Street) will not be part of the project.



March 28 '15, all my pics







...

[jollyburger]

If the project isn't listed on the Development Application page, does that mean it's inactive?

[officedweller]

The post-modern Ingledews façade referenced the limestone art deco Saba Bros. façade on Granville to the south (where the Hudson podium is now).

With the former granite façade, they could have enticed a high-end retailer to move in close to Holt Renfrew -
now they'll just get photocopy service centres and fast food joints.



https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Granvil...!1s0x5486738e757a8465:0x4d2b3600b9e21c4b


http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/description-in-progress-541

[Bankview]

1333 Jervis



1155 Thurlow Street - Central Presbyterian Church Site Redevelopment

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Bankview

Commercial building on Granville.

One potential ground for hope is the possibility that the cheapness and generic quality of the facade was intentional because it is likely temporary. That is to say, the landlord decided to redevelop the space on spec. He thus made the facade as generic and cheap as possible because he figures any future tenant will likely want to customize it. That's what apparently happened across the street with the Joe Fresh building. The landlord modernized the site on spec. The end result was a plain, generic glass facade (which I would argue actually looked significantly better than this facade). Some time later, Joe Fresh took the unit and completely redesigned the facade, incorporating the white stone-like material we see today.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

One potential ground for hope is the possibility that the cheapness and generic quality of the facade was intentional because it is likely temporary. That is to say, the landlord decided to redevelop the space on spec. He thus made the facade as generic and cheap as possible because he figures any future tenant will likely want to customize it. That's what apparently happened across the street with the Joe Fresh building. The landlord modernized the site on spec. The end result was a plain, generic glass facade (which I would argue actually looked significantly better than this facade). Some time later, Joe Fresh took the unit and completely redesigned the facade, incorporating the white stone-like material we see today.

They have office space upstairs which might prevent them from doing much with the facade and they also might split the retail into three units (all of the units still seem to be listed)

[Vin]

^^ The office lift lobby looks pretty nice with considerably better materials used. I think the entire wall panelling is of either polished brown granite or marble.