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

[officedweller]

Great new design!
I like the streamlined look over the jumbled Henriquez design (is this still Henriquez? doesn't look like their work).
With the surrounding area being zoned for much shorter buildings, the stepped building with loads of balconies is a very smart design.

Originally Posted by Vin

It's a shame this won't be a double-storey mall as previously proposed.

The Hive says it's unclear if the redesigned project will still be scaled back to one-level of retail.
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakridge-centre-redevelopment-redesign-october-2017

i.e. In the model pics, I don't see any trace of the barrel vaulted skylights currently on the roof.

...and this rendering shows both UP and DOWN escalators.
The up escalators lead to the roof, but where do the down escalators lead to (mall or garage?)

Originally Posted by bc2mb

Sourced some more renderings and details from QuadReal/Westbank:


Source: http://urbanyvr.com/oakridge-centre-redevelopment-quadreal

[jollyburger]

UrbanYVR:

half-million sq ft. office space;
one million sq ft. retail space;
3.64-hectare (nine-acre) public park;
a 6,503-square-metre (70,000 sq ft.) civic centre with a new library, daycare, seniors centre and community centre;
290 affordable homes to be built and transferred to the city;
Public high street and enhanced pedestrian access to the Canada Line Station.

Not the numbers from the "previous" iteration but still almost double the amount of retail which would say 2nd floor?

Old:
574,000 square foot mall expanded to about 1.365 million square feet

http://urbanyvr.com/oakridge-centre-redevelopment-quadreal

[Vin]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

I would say it is technically further further behind in the approval/design process than it was several years ago, however it now has a new owner, with deep pockets and looking to make a name for themselves as the new big name in town. I see this one moving forward quickly.

With that siad I think those tower heights are going to give them a bit of trouble as that neighbourhood is anything but progressive.

Definitely 200% agreement on that! But better than Arbutus or Commercial I reckon.

Originally Posted by jollyburger

UrbanYVR:



Not the numbers from the "previous" iteration but still almost double the amount of retail which would say 2nd floor?

Old:
574,000 square foot mall expanded to about 1.365 million square feet

http://urbanyvr.com/oakridge-centre-redevelopment-quadreal

Don't forget there is also the outdoor retail portion to be added, if they follow the previous proposal that is. Well, with all that said, I could still be wrong and the intention of the new owners is back to having a 2-storey mall after all, which I would be ecstatic, and certainly more than grateful.

Originally Posted by officedweller

Great new design!
I like the streamlined look over the jumbled Henriquez design (is this still Henriquez? doesn't look like their work).
With the surrounding area being zoned for much shorter buildings, the stepped building with loads of balconies is a very smart design.



The Hive says it's unclear if the redesigned project will still be scaled back to one-level of retail.
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/oakridge-centre-redevelopment-redesign-october-2017

i.e. In the model pics, I don't see any trace of the barrel vaulted skylights currently on the roof.

...and this rendering shows both UP and DOWN escalators.
The up escalators lead to the roof, but where do the down escalators lead to (mall or garage?)

Good question! We shall see about that.

[Feathered Friend]

Like so many on here, I'm happy to see the Oakridge Project is back on track. Between this and the MTC plan revealed for the area, its exciting times for the future of this neighbourhood. While I've heard rumblings that the park area has been reduced, I haven't heard concrete specifics.

No doubt, there will be some very unhappy people between this project and the one in Saughnessy (posted here http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=8008448&postcount=787)

Obviously, I'm going to try and make it to both events, and hopefully show my support because:
1) Since when do I not got o an open house and
2) Well, my support is conditional on what I see.

Hopefully I see some of you at one or both events.

[GenWhy?]

Good for this project that the whole surrounding area is being re-planned and zoned for higher density. The aquifer underneath this project is definitely a continuous issue.

[s211]

Where exactly is the auditorium located?

[wrenegade]

Right where that little dot on the image is, west side of the mall, just north of the parking lot entrance.

[s211]

Originally Posted by wrenegade

Right where that little dot on the image is, west side of the mall, just north of the parking lot entrance.

Thanks! The way it's rendered, I would never have known whether that dot was part of the building outline or a directional dot. I overlooked it originally.

[officedweller]

From the Courier:

Henriquez is still involved, but Adamson Associates Architects of Toronto are the executive architect, Gensler out of Los Angeles for retail architecture, Wonderwall out of Tokyo for the interior designer for the inside of the mall, and a landscape team out of Vancouver’s PFS Studio.

Sounds like they deleted an office tower, since the number of residential towers is the same.

Design plans for Oakridge Centre redevelopment unveiled
Naoibh O'Connor / Vancouver Courier
December 6, 2017 11:00 AM

...“The access to [the park] is the biggest piece. You used to have to climb up two storeys to get to the park [in the earlier concept]. Now, you have park that’s at-grade [and] you have park that’s one level up. It makes a huge difference in terms of how it performs in terms of connection to the city — the everyday life of people,” Henriquez said. “Think of how you navigate your way up two levels to a park and how disconnected that was from the rest of the community around [it]. We’ve been able to bring it down so it actually integrates right into the fabric of the city and right off the new civic centre off 41st. I can’t tell you how excited we are about that. It’s such a huge improvement.”

Part of the reason is a reduction in retail space in the development. It’s dropped by about 200,000 square feet. The mall was going to be two levels, but now the majority of it is one storey, except for the food area and The Bay.

The size of the civic centre, meanwhile, is increasing from 70,000 square feet to 102,270 square feet.

It features an enlarged community centre, a larger library, more cultural space for performances and a larger childcare space, which will include room for after-school care.

The new design plan also features one fewer tower, bringing the number down from 11 to 10. One that had been planned for near 41st has been nixed, but there have been no changes in the height or density of the residential portion of the redevelopment. The number of housing units, however, is still being looked at.
...

The redevelopment is then expected to go before the Urban Design Panel in February. Henriquez anticipates a preliminary development permit application for the whole site will be submitted to the city at the end of February.

A second series of open houses will take place in the spring and the project could go before the development permit board at the end of May.

If it’s approved, construction, which will take place in multiple phases, is expected to start in 2019.

“Part of this new concept, part of this new design, is to keep the mall open all the way through construction so we don’t shut down,” Henriquez said. “Therefore, the number of phases will be built around that.”

In the best case scenario, the project would be completed in 2025.
...

http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561

Nine-acre park planned for Oakridge mall redevelopment
Jessica Kerr / Vancouver Courier
December 6, 2017 11:09 AM

...The new park plan has three of the nine acres at street level and the remaining six acres on levels two and three of the mall’s rooftop. The potential location for the civic centre has also been moved to a more prominent location on 41st Avenue.

The plan for the park has changed since 2014, said Dave Hutch, the park board’s manager of park research and planning. Initially, the majority of the park was going to be on the third level of the redesigned mall’s roof. However, due to technical constraints, the plan was scaled back.

“The mall redevelopment is not going to be as comprehensive, which means that the park is actually going to be on three different levels instead of all mostly on level three,” Hutch said.
...

http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561


http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561


http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561


http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561

Look, the pedestrian bridge from NEFC..


http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561


http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561




http://www.vancourier.com/news/design-plans-for-oakridge-centre-redevelopment-unveiled-1.23114561

[SpongeG]

looks alright. Is there a tower allowed on the NE corner at cambie and 41st?

[officedweller]

I think that's the one that was deleted.

[officedweller]

I've circled the one I think was deleted on the old proposal

OLD PROPOSAL:


http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/Oakridge-centre-rezoning-presentation.pdf

[SpongeG]

ah

how long in reality will it be before we start seeing something going here?

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

[officedweller]

With the park coming down to grade, it's a lot less adventurous than Brentwood.

Whereas Brentwood is creating a downtown / urban setting, this one is becoming as a much of a "towers in the park" as possible.

I guess that reflects the City of Vancouver's broader vision for "moderate" density - i.e. that Oakridge will not be much of a town centre other than residential and some shopping.

It's also questionable whether the amount of shopping being provided will be enough to service the residential above - especially if the majority is high end retail, rather than day-to-day goods and services.

[LeftCoaster]

The park only comes to grade in the NW corner where that tower was deleted and the pocket park in the south, the rest is on the roof of the mall.

This is an incredibly ambitious project. A 9 acre public park on top of a mall is just wild, I have no idea how they plan to do it, especially the 'woodlands' section.

[officedweller]

A park on the roof is definitely ambitious.

I guess my comment is that there isn't a lot of retail permeability from 41st and Cambie through the site that is lined with retail - other than through the mall itself - but that could be a consequence of the site already having been built out to the arterials with the empty parking lots behind.

That's not necessarily bad, it's just not as urban a scheme as Brentwood or Lougheed.

Not sure if the mid-rises at the back of the site will have retail on both sides of their podiums, but there's the possibility that the retail on 41st, Cambie and at the rear of the site could be "orphaned".

With Brentwood, the side streets and oddball retail spaces are up front facing the arterials. Here, they are sort of hidden in the back.

Also, since the mall is only one level, there won't be any retail fronting the rooftop park - unless the upper level food court opens to the park.

[Metro-One]

Really interesting proposal.

This is the type of green practices that I like.

A rooftop connection from the park to the mall would be wise.

Nice to see that the canopy is still part of the project.

Will the area of the mall be reduced, remain constant, or increased?

[retro_orange]

I find it surprising they didn't or weren't able to buy out the small 32 unit 80's brick strata section near the train station.

It will not be fun living there once demolition and construction begin, though it overlooks the huge rooftop parking so it couldn't have been too nice living there from the beginning.


http://www.6717000.com/callrealestate/images/2012/10/23/e6412-506-5733-cambie-1-small.jpg

[Jebby]

Are they apartments? I always thought it was strata offices like dental practices and such.

[excel]

^The lower levels are medical related offices. The top two are residential I believe.