1780 E Broadway | 144m, 125m, 122m | 44fl, 38fl, 37fl | Proposed

[madog222]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

You've still got the Expo/Millennium transfers. Fifty floors may or may not be unnecessary, but it's not a bad idea for the busiest interchange in the metro to have a proportionately-large hub.

Sure but is that really any different to the same number of people riding past most other stations.

[Jimbo604]

Compare and contrast with another station in a different city: Gilmore Station.

[trofirhen]

Looking at the renders a few posts back, I personally find the design of the buildings to be harsh, industrial-looking, and simply ugly. I know that the district already looks a bit that way, but does it have to be amplified? I mean, couldn't it be designed with a bit of elegance in mind to make it sleeker and more visually appealing? It needn't look like a Hawaiian resort, but does it have to look like some chemical plant/meat rendering factory on steroids? Surely there must be a design that would complement the area but still have a bit of charm to it. If not charm, then something at least pleasant and "easy on the eye."

[GenWhy?]

At this this building's parkade is only 3 levels.

[officedweller]

Yup, agreed with those who say this isn't dense enough. This should be as built up as Bloor-Yonge or Yonge-Eglinton.
Hopefully with increased height, the massing of the towers could be reconsidered to allow for more public space - or go back to a public plaza off the bridge at the Cut.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by madog222

Sure but is that really any different to the same number of people riding past most other stations.

That's the thing though, Commercial/Broadway shouldn't be designed as a place to ride past, it should designed as a place to go to. The area is easily reachable from six different cities in the metro without transferring. I live right next to C/B, and can get to any of those six cities in under half an hour.

The importance of the station is the convenience it gives as a potential hub. It's one of the easiest stations to leave from or to get to on the entire system. This makes it perfect as a place to work and/or live. That's its strength, and one that has been totally squandered.

[Jimbo604]

Yep, totally agree.

City Hall yells housing crisis but at the same time when it comes to doing something, the response is "take your pick of one or more of the 600 reasons we have for not doing something."

[GenWhy?]

I wonder what it would take to update the 2016 Grandview-Woodland Plan. It was woefully inadequate for it's approval date and more so for 2023

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Jimbo604

... City Hall yells housing crisis but at the same time when it comes to doing something, the response is "take your pick of one or more of the 600 reasons we have for not doing something."

There's only two reasons in this case: A) the subway extension doesn't cover the neighbourhood (i.e. no new infrastructure, no new density) and so the existing plan still applies, and B) the neighbourhood doesn't want to change that plan because they're stuck in the Eighties, so City Hall won't force the issue (i.e. City Hall depends on those left-wing NIMBY votes for their reelection).

Fortunately, most of the outrage is concentrated north of the Expo - the little corner south of the Expo appears to be a bit more negotiable.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by giallo

That's the thing though, Commercial/Broadway shouldn't be designed as a place to ride past, it should designed as a place to go to. The area is easily reachable from six different cities in the metro without transferring. I live right next to C/B, and can get to any of those six cities in under half an hour.

The importance of the station is the convenience it gives as a potential hub. It's one of the easiest stations to leave from or to get to on the entire system. This makes it perfect as a place to work and/or live. That's its strength, and one that has been totally squandered.

so so true. this is the only hub station the system has at this point and it nothing around it has been changed since before it existed. insane.

[dleung]

Sure there's nearby stable neighbourhoods with heritage value sensitive to scale of nearby built form, but there needs to be balance. If the neighbourhood didn't see upzoning on the horizon in 1985, they should've seen it coming by 2001. They've had their artificially-low densities for long enough. This is a prime spot for a Yonge/Eglinton style cluster

[GenWhy?]

One of the biggest issues is land assembly. Only recently have we seen traction of redevelopment east of Victoria on E. Broadway. 8 in permitting / under construction at the moment I think?

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

One of the biggest issues is land assembly. Only recently have we seen traction of redevelopment east of Victoria on E. Broadway. 8 in permitting / under construction at the moment I think?

Imagine we had the ability to build high on small frontages. I know, it's crazy, it might bring too much character and quick-build density. This is Canada after all, mega structures or bust.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Imagine we had the ability to build high on small frontages. I know, it's crazy, it might bring too much character and quick-build density. This is Canada after all, mega structures or bust.

Yes. Totally agree!

[Jimbo604]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

There's only two reasons in this case: A) the subway extension doesn't cover the neighbourhood (i.e. no new infrastructure, no new density) and so the existing plan still applies, and B) the neighbourhood doesn't want to change that plan because they're stuck in the Eighties, so City Hall won't force the issue (i.e. City Hall depends on those left-wing NIMBY votes for their reelection).

Fortunately, most of the outrage is concentrated north of the Expo - the little corner south of the Expo appears to be a bit more negotiable.

Will new mayor and council have gumption to stand up to nimbies in this area?

[giallo]

Originally Posted by Jimbo604

Will new mayor and council have gumption to stand up to nimbies in this area?

If not the mayor, the province should step in.

Having this prime piece of expensive transit infrastructure remain under-utilized during the worst housing crisis in the city's history (all because of few dozen people have pulled the ladder up in their neighbourhood) is ridiculous.

[Jimbo604]

Originally Posted by giallo

If not the mayor, the province should step in.

Having this prime piece of expensive transit infrastructure remain under-utilized during the worst housing crisis in the city's history (all because of few dozen people have pulled the ladder up in their neighbourhood) is ridiculous.

True true.

Now that province has shown an appetite for stepping in (https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-government-arbutus-supportive-housing-lawsuit) this may be a hope.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Jimbo604

Will new mayor and council have gumption to stand up to nimbies in this area?

The Greens, definitely not - Carr and Fry are NIMBY sympathizers themselves. Not sure about ABC; on one hand, they've been fairly permissive of the Broadway Plan and other large developments... on the other, Ken Sim ran in 2018 on having more local consultation (i.e. listening to the haters) and more basement suites.

Think giallo's got the right of it: City Hall needs the province to give them an extra nudge.

[chowhou]

City hall and the province were on the same page for stepping in on Arbutus and given the obscene amount of public consultation already done for this project I can see city hall and the province being on the same page for stepping in here if needed.

[Changing City]

There doesn't seem to be any role for the Province to get involved here yet. The last version of the project had the public hearing postponed in 2022, and the developers indicated they were thinking of resubmitting with a slightly bigger scheme. Until Council hold a public hearing, (either for the current project, or a revised version) there's really no justification for any Provincial involvement, especially as there's no social housing proposed.

At Arbutus it was a VAHA development on behalf of BC Housing, so effectively a Provincial non-market project, and Council had approved it. What the Province is doing there is effectively legislating that decision, and telling the objectors to stop using the courts to try to get the decision overturned. Here, there's no social housing being delayed, and no Council decision to support.