Downtown Vancouver Updates

[officedweller]

New signage for the Four Seasons?

Notice sent around the office.

DATE: September 15, 2016

ATTENTION: All Office Tenants –

725 Granville, 700 West Georgia, 701 West Georgia, 609 Granville

WHAT: Temporary Closure of Parkade Entrance on Howe Street

WHEN: Saturday, September 17, 2016 between 6:30 a.m.and 2:30 p.m.

WHY: To accommodate the use of over-height equipment on the parkade entrance ramp for installation of exterior signage.

IMPACT: This work will require the temporary closure of the parkade entrance ramp located on Howe Street (between Dunsmuir and West Georgia). There will be traffic control measures in place and signage directing traffic to the other parkade entrances.

[officedweller]

Pic by me today.

Note that the angles are off for those closer to the Art Gallery.

I thought I had earlier seen stripes on Howe St. itself.
Those were either torn up by cars, or removed by the City (maybe a distraction to drivers?)

Originally Posted by officedweller

Viva Robson - taped stripes cross-crossing the street - across Howe St. too:


https://twitter.com/MilkovichArch

[Prometheus]

Further activity regarding that alley:


https://www.instagram.com/p/BKcg4D-A6Mc/

[s211]

^ Decidedly needs more hipster.

[Vin]

Intent is good but really dislike the colours as they remind me of the wood shack they put up at Robson Square last summer. Class it up a little would help tremendously. Also what can people actually do at the alleyway? Can they drink and not flout the non-public drinking bylaw? Also I hope the City sweeps and flushes that alley early every morning as people wouldn't want to hang out there breathing in aromas of urine and puke. A CCTV installed there will also help to reduce crime. Even better, building owners there can negotiate with the city to see if they can punch out alley walls to install little shoplets, eateries or mini cafes to draw more people there.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Vin

Intent is good but really dislike the colours as they remind me of the wood shack they put up at Robson Square last summer. Class it up a little would help tremendously. Also what can people actually do at the alleyway? Can they drink and not flout the non-public drinking bylaw? Also I hope the City sweeps and flushes that alley early every morning as people wouldn't want to hang out there breathing in aromas of urine and puke. A CCTV installed there will also help to reduce crime. Even better, building owners there can negotiate with the city to see if they can punch out alley walls to install little shoplets, eateries or mini cafes to draw more people there.

The Odyssey nightclub is part of the reno, so maybe that's why those colours were chosen.

[Jebby]

Apart from the colors and the hoop, what will draw people to that alley?

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Jebby

Apart from the colors and the hoop, what will draw people to that alley?

Nada.

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

Nada.

So a big waste of money for a novelty that will be "cool" for about 2 weeks, but will go back to being a garbage dump and homeless toilet.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Jebby

So a big waste of money for a novelty that will be "cool" for about 2 weeks, but will go back to being a garbage dump and homeless toilet.

Basically!

[jollyburger]

It's the downtown BIA's money and it also probably accounts for the stupid design.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by misterchill

More on Shigeru Ban's project

Passed by the Urban Design Panel on Sept 7th (7-0).

*************

From the Development Permit Board website.

The 1345 Davie site is shown in Vanville's post below (2 parcels marked "Marcon").

1400 Robson appears to be the Empire Landmark Hotel site (adding 2 towers (?) or demolition (?)).


http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/committees...pplications-development-permit-board.pdf

Originally Posted by Vanville

Some of the property redevelopments/proposals/changes in ownership near Davie Street in the West End (my pic):

1400 Robson / Empire Landmark Hotel from Google maps.
I could see a tower added to each end of the block.


https://www.google.ca/maps/place/1400+Ro...94d49e28!8m2!3d49.2881785!4d-123.1309628

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by officedweller

1400 Robson appears to be the Empire Landmark Hotel site (adding 2 towers (?) or demolition (?)).

Demolition? That can't be.

[officedweller]

Yeah, I wouldn't think so, but you never know.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Yeah, I wouldn't think so, but you never know.

1400 Robson Street

Posted on September 20, 2016by ChangingCity
No images of this proposal have shown up yet, although no doubt it’ll show up on the City of Vancouver website, and at Urban Design Panel. Musson Cattell Mackey have designed a pair of towers to replace the Empire Landmark Hotel; the 34 storey hotel with the revolving restaurant that dates from 1974.
The project isn’t a rezoning; it’s following the new West End Plan, and the Development Permit Board has the project on their agenda for decision before the end of the year. The scheme has 28 and 30 storey rental towers with 57 units on non-market housing, and 223 market rental units. There would be retail on the ground floor and a second floor of office space.

https://changingcitybook.com/2016/09/20/1400-robson-street/

It's coming down. I was never a fan of it, it always seemed like a cheaply designed ripoff of other trendy circular restaurants on top of hotels that were popular in the 70's and 80's.

Seems very wasteful to take down such a large building, but it does have small awkward floorplates which would make renovation difficult. It would be awesome to see it get imploded!

[christmas]

It's a clunker and it should come down.
The only problem is that it's going to be replaced with a set of bland glass boxes - of which I'm not very fond of either.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by christmas

It's a clunker and it should come down.
The only problem is that it's going to be replaced with a set of bland glass boxes - of which I'm not very fond of either.

Fingers crossed it turns out something like Parq!

[Metro-One]

I hate to say it, but taking down the landmark tower is a mistake. It is unique among Vancouver's skyline and will be replaced by shorter bland towers.

The loss in the lighting feature on top of the building alone is unfortunate.

There will be a time 30 years from now where even this tower will be looked back on as "heritage" and people will say, "How could they tear down such a building?"

[Prometheus]

I put my money on this taller, historic, iconic, landmark tower never coming down for two more mind-numbingly insipid and castrated condominiums.

That said, urban development in Vancouver (my love, my muse) is becoming increasingly tragic and moronic under current city leadership and policy, so sadly I could lose that bet.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

https://changingcitybook.com/2016/09/20/1400-robson-street/

It's coming down. I was never a fan of it, it always seemed like a cheaply designed ripoff of other trendy circular restaurants on top of hotels that were popular in the 70's and 80's.

Seems very wasteful to take down such a large building, but it does have small awkward floorplates which would make renovation difficult. It would be awesome to see it get imploded!

Wow, that's a surprise.

The Landmark is located on one of Vancouver's busiest thoroughfares at 1400 Robson Street, in the West End of Downtown Vancouver. Completed in 1971, it stands 120 metres (393.7 feet) tall with 42 storeys. In Vancouver, it is the tallest building that is completely devoted to a hotel. Currently, the building is owned by Hong Kong based Asia Standard International Group.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Landmark_Hotel