Downtown Vancouver Updates

[Marshal]

Originally Posted by Jebby

And none have become wealthy from their salary as a civil servant. If you see a wealthy Mexican diplomat, it's a political appointee not a career diplomat.

Your point was that no Mexican diplomat would have the money to buy there. Of course they are all political appointees, all diplomats are. The people I am referring to (Mexico's Octavio Paz, for example) spent decades as diplomats in a number of foreign capitals. So: wealthy people have been both cultural giants, rich and career diplomats.

[Marshal]

Originally Posted by whatnext

If the city is forcing them to replace it, what killed it should be publicly available.

This is just one of those hidden costs condo owners are never really aware of. I often wonder what the hidden costs of some of the more "adventurous" designs will be that prospective owners have no clue about.

It is a form of contract: the City isn't forcing anyone to do anything that they themselves didn't sign on for. This is not some crazy illegitimate hidden cost being sprung on poor duped condo owners. If you buy a condo (for any amount) in a 'signature' building with a tree growing on top, and you do not read all the documents of your purchase agreement, then you are incompetent and have no reason to complain that the applicable scope is enforced.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

There's not a lot to say about this on; it's under the West End Community Plan and seems to max out it's potential. I think it's a good colour scheme, and that it will complement the buildings proposed for the current Empire Hotel site.

Thanks for the pics -

I like the clean lines, even if the design in reminiscent of 1990s "oversized grid" designs.

[EdinVan]

Originally Posted by jlousa

What a weird thing to say I'm sure not all those unit owners are rich, and a $35k hit for nothing in return is a tough pill to swallow even for an upper middle class family. I'm glad to see the tree replaced but I feel for the average owner there who had no fault in the situation.

Let's shed a collective tear for the upper middle-class families. I guess they'll have to skip a few vacations and buy their clothes at a department store. The horror of it all!

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by EdinVan

Average owners my foot.

He said they were upper middle class and wasn't calling for a Timmy's telethon to fund the replacement.

[officedweller]

Has anyone noticed that the light pipe on One Wall Centre has been replaced or upgraded?
It looks a lot brighter than it used to (maybe to compete with Trump's stripes?)

[Graham_Yvr]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Has anyone noticed that the light pipe on One Wall Centre has been replaced or upgraded?
It looks a lot brighter than it used to (maybe to compete with Trump's stripes?)

I have. I look at from my living room and bedroom windows and it is most definitely brighter.

[officedweller]

Thanks for the confirmation.
I definitely stands out a lot more from a distance.

I don't think the light pipes on the shorter towers have been upgraded, have they?

They need to make the floodlights around the mechanical penthouse more even.
They used to look better than they do now.
Currently the floods look like a warm orange - I think they'd look better with a cooler tone.

[Graham_Yvr]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Thanks for the confirmation.
I definitely stands out a lot more from a distance.

I don't think the light pipes on the shorter towers have been upgraded, have they?

They need to make the floodlights around the mechanical penthouse more even.
They used to look better than they do now.
Currently the floods look like a warm orange - I think they'd look better with a cooler tone.

The shorter buildings have not been upgraded - hopefully "yet". The mechanical penthouse of One Wall seems to have been going through some testing over the last few months. A times there have been one or two colour changing LED lights facing south. It would light up one segment of the mechanical penthouse in green, phasing to purple, blue, back to green etc. I was hopeful they were going to light the whole top like that, however, that hasn't returned for awhile and nothing much more has happened.

[officedweller]

Cool, sounds promising.
Thanks for the info.

[Feathered Friend]

As per my post in the General Vancouver section, here's some info on 1500 Robson St. Obviously these won't be as good as the official minutes.

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

Due to how thin this tower is, it allows for the potential of two other towers on this block, so long as they remain equally as thin.
The suggestions from the panel were to:
Consider how the rooftop will appear from the taller Empire Redevelopment, create a better cyclist experience, and make the residential entrance more prominent.
One other suggestion was to better improve the interaction with the Nicola laneway, which the team acknowledged is something they recognized in hindsight.
The UDP still responded positively, and voted in favor with recommendations.

[mcminsen]

Originally Posted by mcminsen

The Ormidale Block on Hastings.

April 1 '17, my pics

The wraps have come off the front of the Ormidale to reveal the old facade that was saved. Obviously still a lot more work to be done on it. I never noticed the gargoyles before (top of third pic).



May 9 '17, my pics

[csbvan]

Thanks for posting! What a great project.

[jollyburger]

Scaffolding going up around Canaccord.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Thanks for posting! What a great project.

Agreed, it looks fantastic.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

As per my post in the General Vancouver section, here's some info on 1500 Robson St. Obviously these won't be as good as the official minutes.





Due to how thin this tower is, it allows for the potential of two other towers on this block, so long as they remain equally as thin.
The suggestions from the panel were to:
Consider how the rooftop will appear from the taller Empire Redevelopment, create a better cyclist experience, and make the residential entrance more prominent.
One other suggestion was to better improve the interaction with the Nicola laneway, which the team acknowledged is something they recognized in hindsight.
The UDP still responded positively, and voted in favor with recommendations.

There's is trend of how boring designs always get approved without a hitch. Can people blame local architects like James Cheng for churning out all the crap we get in this city?

[Changing City]

Here's another West End rezoning: 82 condos and 44 social housing units on Harwood Street. 32 storeys (300 feet) replacing a 28 unit co-op sold last year for just over $40m.

[osirisboy]

It would be nicer if it took up more of the property. Not a fan of having a huge lawn in between the building and the sidewalk

[red-paladin]

Interesting

[Vin]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

It would be nicer if it took up more of the property. Not a fan of having a huge lawn in between the building and the sidewalk

When it comes to street level, I guess they want to keep the existing feature of the neighbourhood, ie. having large lawns. Overall, I'm glad that certain parts of the West End are finally starting to catch up with the rest of the downtown peninsula, and that they are making it past the 30-storey mark, even though I'm not sure if this is allowed? However, with a huge dedication to social housing, this project is likely to be approved. However, be ready for many "shadowing" and "traffic congestion" protesters.

Thanks for posting, Changing City.