Cambie Corridor Updates

[TheTerminalCity]

The walking tour continues south...

Grayson


Parc 26


Monarch


Parc Elise


Empire at QE


All photos my own

[TheTerminalCity]

Mid-January walk continues south...

Elizabeth


35 Park West




Primrose


Hawthorne


Livingstone House


Contessa


The Henry


All photos my own

[TheTerminalCity]

Last one for today. Again, all pics are my own and from mid-January

Aperture


41 West


Leo Wertman Residences


Hannelore


Aria


Coco


Parker


Woodstock

[officedweller]

Great update, thanks!

Very unfortunate (and planned) absence of retail at grade in the heart of the municipal town centre.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Great update, thanks!

Very unfortunate (and planned) absence of retail at grade in the heart of the municipal town centre.

Might be that they want to concentrate consumers at Oakridge and the intersection.

[vanman]

You would think a proper high street would be prioritized over an indoor mall.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by vanman

You would think a proper high street would be prioritized over an indoor mall.

There is a requirement for 'a proper high street' in the Cambie Plan, with a requirement for mixed use retail and office on the lower floors of buildings along Cambie Street for 5 blocks, including all the blocks opposite the mall. There are parts of 41st Avenue that require mixed use as well, but it's not all of W41st. There's also a mixed use requirement on Heather Street north of W41st, where it links through to the Heather Lands (ex RCMP) major site. There's also mixed use required on W43rd, for one block east of Cambie, leading up to Columbia Park.

There's so much retail required that it'll be interesting to see if there's enough demand to fill it all once it gets developed, even given the number of nail bars, dentists and other uses that seem to occupy many of the more recently developed retail spaces in other parts of the city.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Changing City

There's so much retail required that it'll be interesting to see if there's enough demand to fill it all once it gets developed, even given the number of nail bars, dentists and other uses that seem to occupy many of the more recently developed retail spaces in other parts of the city.

I'm quite curious about how that situation is going to turn out as well. Could be opportunities for some brand new small businesses to open up in some of these newer areas if there is a saturated retail market.

[SeymourDrake]

and one protest shuts the entire street down... there is enough traffic on that street. Plus lots of businesses that don't survive.

Cambie should be one way during the day and change over to the other direction at 4pm.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Good thing there's a SkyTrain so that businesses won't be dependent on drivers or bus passengers.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by SeymourDrake

Cambie should be one way during the day and change over to the other direction at 4pm.

Sounds like a perfect plan.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Changing City

There is a requirement for 'a proper high street' in the Cambie Plan, with a requirement for mixed use retail and office on the lower floors of buildings along Cambie Street for 5 blocks, including all the blocks opposite the mall. There are parts of 41st Avenue that require mixed use as well, but it's not all of W41st. There's also a mixed use requirement on Heather Street north of W41st, where it links through to the Heather Lands (ex RCMP) major site. There's also mixed use required on W43rd, for one block east of Cambie, leading up to Columbia Park.

There's so much retail required that it'll be interesting to see if there's enough demand to fill it all once it gets developed, even given the number of nail bars, dentists and other uses that seem to occupy many of the more recently developed retail spaces in other parts of the city.

So why did the City insist that so many non-retail, 6-storey mid-size buildings built along the stretch and the area including 41st Street? I don't see any "High Street" here, and most likely never will.

For a town centre to work well, there should have been a few parallel commercial and retail streets designated by the City around the mall area. Planners did not put that on paper, and knowing how backaward this City roll, I don't expect to see anything exciting coming out of this neighbourhood. Oakridge Mall will be the creme of the crop, but surrounded by a sea of mediocrity. It will probably end up becoming another sleepy high-density bedroom community not unlike Kerrisdale, Joyce or the West End, only newer.

[logan5]

Your hopes and dreams for Oakridge might still come true because I can almost guarantee Oakridge will not turn out like Kerrisdale, and there's a less than zero chance of it becoming the West End.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by logan5

Your hopes and dreams for Oakridge might still come true because I can almost guarantee Oakridge will not turn out like Kerrisdale, and there's a less than zero chance of it becoming the West End.

If the City keeps being inflexible on how it implements and approves developments based on the OCP, I guarantee it will be, like in 40 years down the road. The 6 storey condos will be equivalent to the current West-End walkups. Only the mall area will be different and decent.

[logan5]

Not going to say Oakridge Mall will turn into another St. James Town, but it turns its back and segregates itself from the rest of the city. For the sake of the neighbourhood, we better hope that Cambie can be something like Davie Street or Kerrisdale, because I don;'t think a mall is going to be able to carry the neighbourhood. It in fact may actually blight it.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by Vin

If the City keeps being inflexible on how it implements and approves developments based on the OCP, I guarantee it will be, like in 40 years down the road. The 6 storey condos will be equivalent to the current West-End walkups. Only the mall area will be different and decent.

Legally the purpose of the OCP is to be inflexible. Mixed-use at grade runs along Cambie from W 39th until W 49th. Then there's infront of Langara for 4 blocks, by Columbia Park, and Heather Street. Most of which is in the permitting stages.

[GenWhy?]

33 Ave intersection was a big mistake, IMO.

[officedweller]

The developer of Aperture is being foreclosed on in respect of a site on Cambie between 64th Ave. and 65th Ave.

https://t.co/4SIOyBpRKN

[Vin]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Legally the purpose of the OCP is to be inflexible. Mixed-use at grade runs along Cambie from W 39th until W 49th. Then there's infront of Langara for 4 blocks, by Columbia Park, and Heather Street. Most of which is in the permitting stages.

For a town centre, that's hardly impressive. Feels like Kingsway or any other typical boring commercial arterial street in the making. They are mostly failures in Vancouver, but we are building new ones here. *face palm*

Originally Posted by logan5

Not going to say Oakridge Mall will turn into another St. James Town, but it turns its back and segregates itself from the rest of the city. For the sake of the neighbourhood, we better hope that Cambie can be something like Davie Street or Kerrisdale, because I don;'t think a mall is going to be able to carry the neighbourhood. It in fact may actually blight it.

Au contraire! I think the mall will actually be the saving grace of this badly planned town centre.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by Vin

For a town centre, that's hardly impressive. Feels like Kingsway or any other typical boring commercial arterial street in the making. They are mostly failures in Vancouver, but we are building new ones here. *face palm*

Au contraire! I think the mall will actually be the saving grace of this badly planned town centre.

That's correct, the commercial streets are being added along both sides of Cambie, 49th Ave, 43rd Ave, 41st Ave, and Heather Street.

Outside of the "town centre" is the Heather Lands, Oakridge Transit Centre, the mall itself, Langara lands, and Pearson Dogwood. Conservatively this puts it at 9,000 additional jobs and doubling the population to 60k. I don't know if any of these additional areas (Major project areas) are included in the Plan's forcasting data as they were outside the scope of the plan itself. Doogwood is I think estimated at 3,500 people alone and Oakridge was 6k?