General Vancouver Updates

[officedweller]

Thanks!
The spandrel is much less noticeable.

Hopefully - but there's no signage up advertising it.
Shato Holdings (parent of White Spot) is the developer as far as I know.
The corner space has a nice patio on 12th.

[logan5]

Whitespots are so drab. Since they get a clean slate they can have a cool new design that could attract a younger, more lively crowd. The patio space is a good start.

Originally Posted by mcminsen

Here are some pics to compare, from early June and then today.Aug.29 '17, my pics

[mcminsen]

Perhaps a final update on The Spot, 2888 Cambie Street. Views from all around ground level, including the restaurant patio, the restored heritage house, the main entrance on Cambie Street and some new retail. Notice all the angles as it seems almost everything other than the white part is set askew. Even the awnings zigzag.



Aug.30 '17, my pics

[mcminsen]

Aug.30 '17, my pics

[Feathered Friend]

My photos - August 25th









Also, a local business owner informed me that the future tenant will be a London Drugs. Keep in mind, this is second hand information.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by mcminsen

Aug.30 '17, my pics

Very nice, thanks! Turned out well, I just really hope they keep all that white clean.

What is that material on the columns in the entrance with the circles? Is it tile or marble or?

[mcminsen]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

What is that material on the columns in the entrance with the circles? Is it tile or marble or?

It seemed to me to be some sort of etched stone. Here are some closeup pics, as well as the commissioned art piece near the entrance.


June 19 '17, my pics

[Jebby]

That commissioned piece certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

[officedweller]

Thanks.
Looks like there are still some fins to be installed on the alley side.

[officedweller]

Demolition of the old folks home on Prior St.


#teamcolwin happy to see phase 1 demolition! Villa Cathay Care Home will be underway soon. @VanMarInc exciting times!
https://twitter.com/ColwinGroup

[Feathered Friend]

Walking home in the Fairview neighbourhood, I saw these littering the telephone poles. It would be funny, if this wasn't so crazy. I'm not a fan of helicopters buzzing past the area, but I recognize: (1) Where I live means there's air traffic, high altitude noise from jets heading to/from YVR, The occasional seaplane and often helicopters, all signs of a healthy city; (2) More importantly, often those helicopters buzzing by are taking some poor soul to VGH, and I would trade living with that occasional noise in a heartbeat to ensure someone might get to have more time in their life.

[WarrenC12]

Fairview? Give me a break.

[osirisboy]

I wonder if air traffic has actually "dramatically" increased.

[Tetsuo]

Pick one

1) Sightseeing planes, choppers and Medevac
2) Drones hobbyists



Ron.

[truenorth44]

The demolition of Heather Place has been going on for the last month or so, and accelerated in the past week. It does not appear to phased as mentioned in last October's Straight article. [edit: I could be wrong - there may be untouched residences on the other side of the alley - I'll check it out on my way home] I haven't seen any other news about it.

My shots from this morning:

[Feathered Friend]

The sunken courtyard










When they announced the tower would be clad with these, and then pulled them out of a cardboard box; it generated a clamor to see them. Needles to say, it really swung the tone of the proposal


Here's a super interesting industrial project at 5th and Columbia. The site is own by Pyrrha, a local home grown jewelry designer. Having purchased the site in 2009, they've now out-grown it. They were thinking about relocating to LA, which houses a retail location of theirs, or to a larger warehouse in the suburbs. They have instead chosen to remain in the Mount Pleasant area, and will retain their 26 employees in Vancouver. The total sqft of the project will be 8,800 sqft.

While the project originally envisioned tearing out the existing home, the heritage board demanded it be kept. There will be a height bonus applied instead, allowing the tower to reach 6 stories. The heritage house will have a design studio on the second floor, and a retail store on the ground level,. The retail store interior will have an archive of the works of the company.

The tower... is just, wow. I don't say that lightly. It will be constructed from 5 ply CLT wood, including the elevator core. There will also be a wood window system featuring tinted glass to help with solar gain.
The cladding of the tower is what stands out. The skin will be composed of free pour metal shingles. The team is still undecided on whether to go with shingles made from cast iron, patinaed aluminium, or a blackened aluminum. The tower itself has remarkably small floor plates, roughly the size of the town hall room at city hall (where UDP meetings are held). Also, as an experimental idea, the team is toying with the possibility of channeling the heat from the cladding to help power the operations.

Connecting the tower to the house will be two floors of underground space. There will be no vehicle parking on-site, but there will be space for bikes. Apparently plans are in the works to make 5th avenue more cycle friendly.
Above ground will be a small courtyard complete with plants native to the area, and metallic plants designed by the company.

Unsurprisingly, this sailed through the UDP despite having a remarkably thin package. The team presenting didn't even have a landscape architect on hand.

The consensus was roughly: That the building will be a unique benchmark for the area; That they would have liked to learn more about the landscape, and; That the panel would like to see many projects like this going forward. Continuing consensus was that it was great to see no proforma; That it will be a piece of jewelry, and; That under no circumstances should value engineering be allowed to scale this project back.

Oh, in case it wasn't clear, this passed without any recommendations.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

here's a super interesting industrial project at 5th and Columbia. The site is own by Pyrrha, a local home grown jewelry designer. Having purchased the site in 2009, they've now out-grown it. They were thinking about relocating to LA, which houses a retail location of theirs, or to a larger warehouse in the suburbs. They have instead chosen to remain in the Mount Pleasant area, and will retain their 26 employees in Vancouver. The total sqft of the project will be 8,800 sqft.

While the project originally envisioned tearing out the existing home, the heritage board demanded it be kept. There will be a height bonus applied instead, allowing the tower to reach 6 stories. The heritage house will have a design studio on the second floor, and a retail store on the ground level,. The retail store interior will have an archive of the works of the company.

The tower... is just, wow. I don't say that lightly. It will be constructed from 5 ply CLT wood, including the elevator core. There will also be a wood window system featuring tinted glass to help with solar gain.
The cladding of the tower is what stands out. The skin will be composed of free pour metal shingles. The team is still undecided on whether to go with shingles made from cast iron, patinaed aluminium, or a blackened aluminum. The tower itself has remarkably small floor plates, roughly the size of the town hall room at city hall (where UDP meetings are held). Also, as an experimental idea, the team is toying with the possibility of channeling the heat from the cladding to help power the operations.

Connecting the tower to the house will be two floors of underground space. There will be no vehicle parking on-site, but there will be space for bikes. Apparently plans are in the works to make 5th avenue more cycle friendly.
Above ground will be a small courtyard complete with plants native to the area, and metallic plants designed by the company.

Unsurprisingly, this sailed through the UDP despite having a remarkably thin package. The team presenting didn't even have a landscape architect on hand.

The consensus was roughly: That the building will be a unique benchmark for the area; That they would have liked to learn more about the landscape, and; That the panel would like to see many projects like this going forward. Continuing consensus was that it was great to see no proforma; That it will be a piece of jewelry, and; That under no circumstances should value engineering be allowed to scale this project back.

Oh, in case it wasn't clear, this passed without any recommendations.

Awesome! Thanks! That's quite a sharp design

[LeftCoaster]

Wow snuck in under the radar (quite literally, she's short!) but it looks great!

[csbvan]

Beautiful building with extra height for retaining the heritage home...win, win, win! Love this development. Mt. Pleasant industrial area is fascinating.

[SFUVancouver]

Source: truenorth44

Thanks for the photos. I lived in this complex with my father for a few years when I was a kid following my parents' breakup and divorce. The buildings were pretty run down but there was a lot of life there, lots of kids playing all the time. I have a lot of conflicted feelings about that time in my life but good memories of living there. As an adult, I realize how important it was for my father to have that option of affordable housing in the City of Vancouver (where my mom, school, and friends were) as he built a new life for us. The building in the center of this photo was our home and my bedroom was in the front left corner with the little window. Pretty damn surreal to see it like this, about to be knocked down.