...and they made everything so high tech that it's constantly breaking and maintenance must be a fortune. I mean, come on, do water fountains really need to run on censors?
I think things like this are becoming all too common.
A quick update on the two main construction projects on campus at the moment. The Ponderosa east tower has topped out and the west block facade is looking great!
The new Student Union Building is finally above grade:
Is the old SUB at end-of-life and being torn down, or is it being incorporated into the project?
Once the new building opens in time for the 2014/2015 school year, the old one will be shut down for extensive renovations for a few months but then reopened. It's a solid building but largely unchanged since my mom's days
The curtain wall is looking complete on the East building's podium, but I don't know why they haven't started installing the pre-cast panels on the tower portion yet...
I saw an ad recently in the paper that the 3rd public meeting about this redevelopment is coming up on April 18 at the University Golf Clubhouse from 4 - 8.
I think I like Option 2 - but the through street should be lined up with the grid behind.
For Option 1 - it is odd to a have a road through a small park.
Option 3 seems to pose accessibility issues to the commercial space (grocery) for residents in behind.
In Option 2 the commercial space looks accessible from University Blvd and on foot from behind and keeps the hotel on the main street.
Developing Story: Musqueam showcase preferred option for development on endowment lands
By Naoibh O’Connor, Staff writer
The site plan for the Musqueam Indian Band’s preferred option for its proposed development of a 22-acre site on the University Endowment Lands.
Photograph by: Rendering courtesy of Rositch Hemphill Architects, PWL Partnership Landscape Architects
The preferred option envisions a commercial village of 30,000 square feet, a four-storey 120-room hotel, residential buildings, including three-storey town homes, four-to-six storey buildings, and four towers between 18 to 22 storeys, as well as open spaces in the form of trails, parks and village greens, according to Gordon Easton, project manager at Colliers International.
Easton added it allows for the mature stand of trees to remain with the wetlands in the centre of the site.
Open houses regarding the Musqueam Indian Band’s plans for a 21-acre parcel on University Boulevard has concluded with plans for two 22-storey towers in exchange for greater green space.
...
The tract is zoned for low intensity development of no more than four storeys. The band went public with a vision for four towers and a mix of low-rise development set amid three acres of parkland.
However, public feedback prompted the band to boost greenspace to seven acres, pushing up the tower heights to 18 storeys and 22 storeys.
“We’re building a little higher than anticipated,” admitted Grant, who suggested last fall that the towers could be in the range of 12 storeys.
The next step is a rezoning application to province, which oversees the property ceded to the Musqueam.
Option 1 definitely makes the most sense. There's almost no point to building the commercial component if it's going to be hidden away and only accessible to the immediate development. I'm also glad to see they are keeping some of the trees rather than creating one big soggy field.
OD - I thought that the road alignment was odd as well, as it's obviously meant to deter use by the adjacent area residents. I'd be curious to see a traffic impact study though.
I think it'd be better without the southern road at all; instead, extend Ortona Ave along the southern edge of the site (and through the church parking lot) to University Blvd at the golf course intersection, and use that as the access road (have a lane enter the site from Ortona to access residential).
It's amazing to see the new SUB taking shape. When I was at UBC in the 90's, it really seemed like this development would never come to fruition. Come to think of it, I suppose some of my student fees are embodied in the new structure.
It's amazing to see the new SUB taking shape. When I was at UBC in the 90's, it really seemed like this development would never come to fruition. Come to think of it, I suppose some of my student fees are embodied in the new structure.
It certainly is. I think UBC students are paying something around $250 per semester by next year or the following, it goes towards paying the new SUB.
Prev
Linear Mode
