Downtown Vancouver Updates

[dleung]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Handout rendering of the proposed Bay building at Granville and Georgia. PNG


A model of the proposed 12-storey addition to the Hudson’s Bay building in downtown Vancouver. This is the view looking west from Seymour Street. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG


Birds-eye view of the proposal for a 12-storey addition to the Hudson’s Bay store at Georgia and Granville. This view is looking northeast. PNG

Also the Montreal location that urbanight93 mentioned.

This looks insane. And the renders don't even show the long side. Easily the largest building in BC. How greedy do they have to be to have the building wrap around the Hudson with blank walls like that; no way the city would let that.

I rather see a tall tower on a small portion of the site set behind a break in the historic facade. If they have to go for a squat thing, let it be a curved futurist object with a massing contrasting the original building and only 60% the square footage shown here.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by dleung

This looks insane. And the renders don't even show the long side. Easily the largest building in BC.

The renders do show the long side - you actually include it in your post "A model of the proposed 12-storey addition to the Hudson’s Bay building in downtown Vancouver. This is the view looking west from Seymour Street."

The Post is bigger if you include the above grade parking - 1,580,000 sq. ft. but it's on a larger site.

[dleung]

The Post is basically 2 towers on a podium

I mean the renders are facing the Granville and Georgia sides. It will look like an even bigger monster if the renders faced the Seymour and Granville sides. Imagine the below photo but showing the Georgia side more

[officedweller]

Yeah, they did not issue renderings/drawings of the negative aspects
(long Seymour frontage and blank/un-neghbourly north and alley side of the project).
Those are only seen on the model (and pics of the model).
There is a close-up rendering of the bike lane on Seymour, but not the whole frontage.

They mention that they don't go as high as the view cone limits, but it seems to be the same height as The Hudson on the Granville side, which is limited by the Granville Bridge view cone.
So if they go to full view cone heights across the whole site, I think you'd see shorter height on the Granville side than the Seymour side.
That's probably why they aren't at the maximum heights - to keep the "cube" look on the Georgia frontage.

So if current view cone policy is maintained, then expect the same squat bulky building on the Bay Parkade site.

***************

Here's an office & 22 storey residential tower project called 111 CastleReagh being built above a former department store in Sydney, Australia.
You can see that they did not use full site coverage for the tower and there's a wing of the former department store that is not built on (that wing is like the north wing of the HBC store).
That shows the massing that you can do when you can build taller.


https://111castlereagh.com.au/

Article on the Sydney project:
https://www.sidespace.com.au/index.php/m...lopment-of-former-david-jones-mens-store

This article shows 4 runners-up to a design competition for that Sydney site:
https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/scentre-and-cbus-partner-for-300m-heritage-development

Webpage for one of the losing proposals for that Sydney site:
https://www.woodsbagot.com/projects/77-market-street/

[vanman]

^That addition seems much more appropriate for the Hudson's Bay.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by PeterAKer

I hate the design as much as I hate the design for the Commodore Development. Vancouver might as well not preserve any buildings in Vancouver if they are going to redevelop them and not keep them true to form. I like when buildings are preserved as is.

Wait a few years to see how the Feds will butcher Sinclair Centre.

[Feathered Friend]

Health Care Focused Rental Homes Find An Evergreen Solution To Strathcona’s Decade Old Eyesore

456-496 Prior St
As our regular readers know, Hannah and I do our best to research the projects we write about, and on this occasion we may have gone overboard. Granted, it was a fluke that, as we sorted through my family’s home videos, we found John Daly’s 1989 report on the St. James Social Services Society’s eviction by the City of Vancouver. At the time, Mayor Gordon Campbell justified that decision, noting “how would you feel if it was in your neighbourhood?”

According to famed social housing advocate May Gutteridge, seven vulnerable people were left jobless thanks to a “wasp’s nest of stings” from neighbouring residents complaining about this old paper depot. In the thirty years since, not much has changed, except that now the term “eyesore” is reserved for this mix of medical offices, and the 262 rental homes on this two-acre site. The other difference is that the nearby freshly painted character homes’ property values have grown to ~$1.7 million.

https://cityduo.wordpress.com/2022/02/25...ution-to-strathconas-decade-old-eyesore/

[Klazu]

Yikes. Imagine someone actually paying $1.7 million for a home in that neighborhood (Stabbcona)...

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Yikes. Paying $1.7 million for a home in that neighborhood...

Yes - that's pretty much land value. Newer homes cost more

[Denscity]

Sounds like a huge lineup for the Jolibee opening.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Sounds like a huge lineup for the Jolibee opening.

See restaurant thread for video!

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by officedweller

See restaurant thread for video!

Wow almost to Smithe!

[officedweller]

Granville St. Rec Room

By me today:

[hollywoodnorth]

View from Harbour Centre (aka "Sears Tower") towards Yaletown. A sea of surface parking lots. C.P.R. rail yard and roundhouse in the background. About 1979. Main post office lower left. Photo: Trevor Glave.


one of many things of interest here for me is the future site of Cathedral Square (underground Hydro Substation). I never knew what was there before ... which seemed to have been a parking lot.

also the site of the Bank of Montreal BMO building on West Georgia Street seemed to have been street front stores on Georgia with a major two floor parking complex that was taken down for it.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

i wish i had been able to know this CoV. it was before my time, but it was very fun from the stories i have heard from those that lived here at the time.

[Zepfancouver]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

View from Harbour Centre (aka "Sears Tower") towards Yaletown. A sea of surface parking lots. C.P.R. rail yard and roundhouse in the background. About 1979. Main post office lower left. Photo: Trevor Glave.


one of many things of interest here for me is the future site of Cathedral Square (underground Hydro Substation). I never knew what was there before ... which seemed to have been a parking lot.
also the site of the Bank of Montreal BMO building on West Georgia Street seemed to have been street front stores on Georgia with a major two floor parking complex that was taken down for it.

Then and Now gif (My timestamp might be off)

https://makeagif.com/i/qMe-6a

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by Zepfancouver

Then and Now gif (My timestamp might be off)

https://makeagif.com/i/qMe-6a

Dude nice work!

[Vin]

Across False Creek, Vancouver still looks like how it was like in 1979.

[Zepfancouver]

Originally Posted by mcminsen

About 4 months later...

Originally Posted by Zepfancouver

Working the Gabriola Mansion today.

Originally Posted by mcminsen

Jan.29 '22, my pics

Called back to core a couple more holes today. My work is done here, it is my last visit.




A very quick look at the Grand Staircase.
• Video Link

[Changing City]

Downtown development sites update:

The new school/non-market housing site at Coal Harbour is already underway. The Community Centre entrance is now from the waterfront, and the contractors are on site.

There's a Lu'ma and RainCity non-market building to be developed at 52 East Hastings. Site clearance has started - the old single storey bank (last occupant was Pigeon Park Savings) is being demolished.

Onni seem to have abandoned their market housing sites on West Pender (again). The equipment that was on site has all been removed.