So, as predicted by some here, the open house was a "fun" affair. First, and more importantly, here's the info on the project.
As you can see from the stats and renderings, this Passive Home is a rather impressive project that, if it goes forward, will set a very good standard for buildings to come in the area. I'm really happy this area won't be as restricted as the designs on Cambie have been. However, one restriction the city asked for was an additional 10 foot setback at the north end of the property, as they want to eventually build a laneway here (when the homes across the way come up for development, they will also be asked for a 10 foot setback).
Though there wasn't a floorplate board, the architect informed me that they chose to locate the family units on the western side of the building to insure that they would have the best views. There was also an attempt to hide the elevator core within the mass of the building as much as possible so to further minimize the impact on the neighbours. In addition, the parking ramp and lobby are placed so to provide the best possible access to people of all abilities. While the ground floor units have outside doors, I was given the impression that the main access to those units will be from the interior. Unfortunately, given it's location, this great little rental 100 project is very unlikely to see a public hearing anytime soon; It is almost election year, and the political courage just isn't there.
That's the perfect transition to the open house, which felt more than a little tense when I arrived. With an attendance of over 70 people, the major gripes form those opposed were about parking; Both the amount provided in the building and concerns about future street parking. Another common gripe was that the project is simply too tall/dense for the neighbourhood. That said, those opposed were still generally respectful, at least with me. Sadly,// While my experience was positive, I heard that at one point a crowd of roughly 20 people had cornered the architect by one of the boards. They peppered the poor person with a barrage of questions, and when they went to provide an answer, another member of the group would interrupt with a different point. This went on for a while before dispersing, so it's not like the opposition was completely well-behaved. I understand change is hard, but it is silly for people in that area, who were well involved with the area plan, to claim that a neighbourhood so close to the city core shouldn't see this density, and that the city is forcing it upon them. Oh, one last thing, three of the four homes that are being replaced by this project sold for about $1.5 mil, with the fourth going for over $1.7m early this year.
If anyone wants to write about this project, you can email the address on the notification card I posted earlier.
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Originally Posted by Feathered Friend
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