The Exchange | 115.7m | 31fl, 13fl | 400,000sqft. | Completed

[s211]

Well, the Chapman building next door is now up for sale:

http://cbreemail.com/collect/click.aspx?...ff008ca8b8544d0d7c57fab4c3498e4f526df339

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by s211

Well, the Chapman building next door is now up for sale:

http://cbreemail.com/collect/click.aspx?...ff008ca8b8544d0d7c57fab4c3498e4f526df339

I called that one. There was a very recent article in which the Chapman guy denied that he was interested in selling. But I said he would. I argued that the Exchange project (which appeared to orphan his project and reduce its value) actually made his property more valuable, because it was now an absolutely essential acquisition for a developer who envisioned building a tall tower on the notheast corner of Pender and Hornby (where viewcone shadows permit something even taller than the Exchange) and would thus need to acquire both the short brick office building and the Chapman building to assemble just enough site area to make a tall project economical.

But who knows whether that will ever happen?

[Jebby]

The brochure says up to 300ft. Could they get more height at rezoning?

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Jebby

The brochure says up to 300ft. Could they get more height at rezoning?

It is (or at least was) city policy to grant rezoning up to the viewcone limit for developments in the CBD as a matter of course. The viewcone limit over that site is about 380 feet (hence the height of The Exchange and Jameson House). But there is also a viewcone shadow over part or all of the site which would permit even more height.

But will a developer try to acquire both properties and apply my idea? I don't know. I am not a developer.

[phesto]

How do you fit underground parking for a 9-storey office building on a 50 ft. lot?

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by phesto

How do you fit underground parking for a 9-storey office building on a 50 ft. lot?

A vehicular elevator would be the only way.

[officedweller]

Aren't the delays for Jameson House's vehicle elevator insanely long?

I agree with Prometheus - it should be combined with the corner parcel for redevelopment.

[LeftCoaster]

It's a moot point anyway. The site is 6,240 sq ft. Even at a 100% lot utilization that is far too small a floorplate for an office tower anywhere near 300 ft tall.

This thing is only a decent development site if both lots are owned, otherwise we will see something much smaller.

[vanciti]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Aren't the delays for Jameson House's vehicle elevator insanely long?

I agree with Prometheus - it should be combined with the corner parcel for redevelopment.

Jameson House is a robot parking system not a stock standard vehicle elevator like is being installed at 510 Seymour and is widely used on the East Coast and Europe.

BUT that being said it would create some severe design problems as you would need most of the 50ft for the elevators themselves which would leave a developer deficient in the COV archaic loading requirements.

[vanciti]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

It's a moot point anyway. The site is 6,240 sq ft. Even at a 100% lot utilization that is far too small a floorplate for an office tower anywhere near 300 ft tall.

This thing is only a decent development site if both lots are owned, otherwise we will see something much smaller.

This is such a provincial view point when it comes to development in Vancouver. While it is a small floor plate all one needs to do is turn the attention to cities like New York where if all you have is a 50 ft site someone will make do and find a way to develop a tower on it.

[wrenegade]

Originally Posted by vanciti

This is such a provincial view point when it comes to development in Vancouver. While it is a small floor plate all one needs to do is turn the attention to cities like New York where if all you have is a 50 ft site someone will make do and find a way to develop a tower on it.

Agreed. Look at how many naysayers there were for the small floorplates at Oxford's MNP Tower and that building did extremely well. I do agree though that this site will likely appeal to someone looking to assemble it with the corner. That's what I would do. Even if it were to take 10 years.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by vanciti

This is such a provincial view point when it comes to development in Vancouver. While it is a small floor plate all one needs to do is turn the attention to cities like New York where if all you have is a 50 ft site someone will make do and find a way to develop a tower on it.

Provincial, lol. Yeah agreed, as seen from many previous examples, innovations and suggestions are summarily dismissed in this town. The no-can-do attitude is sometimes rather baffling. A steel-frame structure can allow a building with a relatively small floor plate to go rather high, and can also increase the efficiency of floor space usage with columns of smaller footprints.


See this:
http://gizmodo.com/how-engineers-are-building-skyscrapers-that-seem-physic-1707104138

We are a provincial town indeed.

[jlousa]

The only thing provincial is the minds of certain people... lots of examples of great infill projects on tiny parcels within Vancouver proper.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by vanciti

This is such a provincial view point when it comes to development in Vancouver. While it is a small floor plate all one needs to do is turn the attention to cities like New York where if all you have is a 50 ft site someone will make do and find a way to develop a tower on it.

Hardly provincial. If anything Vancouver does more small footprint sites than most cities. Most RE industry professionals from Toronto who go out to Vancouver are baffled by the size of office florplates there.

With that said under 6,000 sq ft is verging on physically impossible to go taller than 10-15 stories due to the elevating and servicing requirements which renders a nearly unusable office plate with an absolutely horrific gross-up. It's not provincial so much as it is physics.

Not to mention economics...

[s211]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Hardly provincial. If anything Vancouver does more small footprint sites than most cities. Most RE industry professionals from Toronto who go out to Vancouver are baffled by the size of office florplates there.

With that said under 6,000 sq ft is verging on physically impossible to go taller than 10-15 stories due to the elevating and servicing requirements which renders a nearly unusable office plate with an absolutely horrific gross-up. It's not provincial so much as it is physics.

Not to mention economics...

Indeed. In fact, the gross-up @ MNP was artificially capped.

[PaperTiger]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Hardly provincial. If anything Vancouver does more small footprint sites than most cities. Most RE industry professionals from Toronto who go out to Vancouver are baffled by the size of office florplates there.

With that said under 6,000 sq ft is verging on physically impossible to go taller than 10-15 stories due to the elevating and servicing requirements which renders a nearly unusable office plate with an absolutely horrific gross-up. It's not provincial so much as it is physics.

Not to mention economics...

Correct.

Even in Tokyo, where small lot development is very common, it is rare for them to exceed 12-15 stories on a narrow mid-block site like this.

This is literally a random street near Shinjuku that I dropped the little google guy onto:https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6914612,...9-hpV_gbqW6eg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 I don't think anyone is calling Tokyo provincial.

[mcminsen]

May 15 '16, my pics

[mcminsen]

May 15 '16, my pics

[officedweller]

Great shots, thanks!

[Klazu]

Glass should follow soon.