Oakridge Park | 13 Towers | 154m | 52fl | 5M sqft | U/C

[s211]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I wonder if the hudsons bay will still be around by then lol

The Bay lease might outlive The Bay.

I'd also add that the Bay lease provisions were one of the roadblocks to redevelopment. That bogey is still out there.

[Feathered Friend]

I went down to the open house last night, but didn't bother to take pictures as the model wasn't there, and the project boards will be online within a week. I really love this design; though it lacks the height of the the MTCs in the suburbs, the plan here out does every single one of them with regards to architecture and livability. I'll admit, I was concerned that the discovery of the aquifer would make revisioning greatly inferior. I'm glad to see that instead, the project has been dramatically improved, even though the new visions eliminates one of the proposed towers. The greening and sculpting of the remaining towers not only makes them more visually interesting but will help make them true vertical neighbourhoods. Being a fan of water features, the lake was an aspect of the previous version that I really appreciated. However, it has been eliminated in this version as the now one story roof area simply can't handle the weight. With that said, the redesign makes a much better use of the public realm than that shallow lake ever could have, though perhaps the skylight "river' is a little too big. Truly, this sets a very high standard for future projects in the Oakridge MTC to aspire to.
One aspect that disappointed me was an oversupply of parking. While it originally calling for 6,300 stalls, that number has now dropped to roughly 5,000. Given that this area is a crossroads for both the Canada Line and the 91 B-Line, that amount still feels far too high. Given trends and changing habits when it comes to cars, I worry that space will sit unused in the future.

Over 180 people attended the event, but that's actually small in comparison to the rezoning open houses. Apparently the numbers for those reached close to 800 people. In short, while I was fully expecting strong opposition there was more an air of curiosity and light support, with some minor opposition. No media attended the event, however the event was not only asking for news groups to register but bloggers as well. I don't think my posts here fit that category.I'll admit, I've toyed with the idea as a way to make it easier for people to search for some of my previous photos/posts.

Open House boards on the Park Space:
http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/oakridge-park-open-house-boards-december-2017.pdf

One thing I should point out is that the Commons Area Idea 2 doesn't actually provide any amphitheater space for music/events, so I'm not sure why it's included on the board. Given that, I feel a marriage of Ideas 1 and 2 would suit this area best.

Link to Oakridge Park survey
https://www.talkvancouver.com/R.aspx?a=1047&as=Vt3oa6mV3v

[whatnext]

Version Whatever of the Oakridge plan unveiled in Whistler today:
http://vancouversun.com/business/commerc...real-see-cultural-hub-at-oakridge-centre

And one ballet studio does not a cultural hub make.

[SpongeG]

let's hope so

The massive Oakridge project is slated to unfold over 6 1/2 years with construction beginning in late 2018. The first office and residential towers lining the property’s perimeter will go up by late 2022. The retail facilities and remaining residential towers will be in place by 2025, according to Remco Daal, president, Canadian real estate, atQuadReal .

[Vin]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Version Whatever of the Oakridge plan unveiled in Whistler today:
http://vancouversun.com/business/commerc...real-see-cultural-hub-at-oakridge-centre

And one ballet studio does not a cultural hub make.

What about this?

Gillespie also cited working with the city’s librarians to imagine community learning spaces, as well as adding a 3,000-seat music venue that will be “open 360 nights a year, so we can really curate a music scene.”

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Vin

What about this?

Gillespie also cited working with the city’s librarians to imagine community learning spaces, as well as adding a 3,000-seat music venue that will be “open 360 nights a year, so we can really curate a music scene.”

The library is already in Oakridge. Do you see a 3,000 seat music venue working there? Why, downtown is minutes away. I'd be surprised if that goes ahead.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by whatnext

The library is already in Oakridge. Do you see a 3,000 seat music venue working there? Why, downtown is minutes away. I'd be surprised if that goes ahead.

Yes it would work. Why wouldn't it? I don't see any reason why everything must be confined to downtown Vancouver, which isn't getting any huge public amenities lately.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Vin

Yes it would work. Why wouldn't it? I don't see any reason why everything must be confined to downtown Vancouver, which isn't getting any huge public amenities lately.

The planned 'entertainment district' in downtown Van isn't happening either...

For reference the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is listed at 2931 seats.

[Sheba]

The quote that stood out for me is: ...the residential and office towers at Oakridge will have a sculptural nature, with edges curving and moving up and down to form shapes inspired by the words, “skin, skeleton and veil.”

The first thing that came into my mind from that was 'people in mourning'. Somehow I doubt that's what they're aiming for.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by whatnext

The library is already in Oakridge. Do you see a 3,000 seat music venue working there? Why, downtown is minutes away. I'd be surprised if that goes ahead.

Yeah, the Queen E Theatre is not used every night.

The rendering in the Vancouver Sun isn't too inspiring either.
I think the "veil" reference and features may end up looking messy.

Note how they blocked the view of the existing brick condos with the giant canopy.
(i.e. no attempt at working with it - just ignoring / being oblivious to its existence.)


http://vancouversun.com/business/commerc...real-see-cultural-hub-at-oakridge-centre

[invisibleairwaves]

Originally Posted by Vin

What about this?

Gillespie also cited working with the city’s librarians to imagine community learning spaces, as well as adding a 3,000-seat music venue that will be “open 360 nights a year, so we can really curate a music scene.”

That's the most hilariously out-of-touch thing I've ever heard. The Vancouver music scene suffers for a lot of things but 3,000 seat theatres in ritzy neighbourhoods isn't one of them. If anyone knows a promoter who could make a dime off of that space on a weeknight, please shoot me their number.

[phesto]

Amazing that Gillespie is able to get 2,000 condos versus only 290 market rental units, and only 290 social housing units (11% of the total). That's a huge win if they can get it approved.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by phesto

Amazing that Gillespie is able to get 2,000 condos versus only 290 market rental units, and only 290 social housing units (11% of the total). That's a huge win if they can get it approved.

I though every new development had to have 20%?

Looks like Westbank is also counting on intruding on the public realm again with that big cheese greater thing. Oooh, so edgy, so daring...

[phesto]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I though every new development had to have 20%?

Looks like Westbank is also counting on intruding on the public realm again with that big cheese greater thing. Oooh, so edgy, so daring...

Most new plan areas such as the Oakridge Municipal Centre Area (in which this is technically located) are targeting 20-25% social housing, this would have 11%.

[LeftCoaster]

Might be because it is an amendment to a previous approval which was approved under different guidelines.

I have no inside knowledge but that would be my guess since this was already approved before.

[phesto]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Might be because it is an amendment to a previous approval which was approved under different guidelines.

I have no inside knowledge but that would be my guess since this was already approved before.

Yeah, that's probably true. I guess I was expecting more rental as well since Quadreal is involved.

In any event, the CAC charge for this will be massive.

[vanman]

Some of the comments on the Vancouver Sun article are just priceless.

[vanman]

Renderings from the DailyHive.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

i like it; surprised they are keeping the red brick part in the front, though. seems like a no-brainier to tear those things down.

should be interesting how that glass roof works in the atrium area. modern version of the Law Courts.

[a very long weekend]

My angle is that it should have triple the density and half the luxury, but it's great to see a proposal like this.

Especially nice how it's converting the space into a recognizably Vancouver adult typology.

The extent to which it's a typical Vancouver tower-in-the-park suburban development? Not so great. The ways that it introduces some pretty high end version of Burnaby to Vancover? Pretty great. Should it have 1500-2500 more units? Yeah, obviously. But the provincial government hasn't come in yet to smack down the cities and just clip their zoning wings. So until the province up there gets with it, there's not a lot more that you can ask than a developer doing a good job.