Mark is officially u/c too, abeit at excavation stage. Might there be any possible clashes with Karis place when the Mark reaches a certain stage in construction? Like with the cranes? I can't recall seeing two abutting towers done by separate developers simultaneously under-construction.
Mount Pleasant residential tower reduced to eight storeys from 11 after neighbours' complaints
Council decision puts proposed rental housing in danger: Vancouver Native Housing Society
By Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
July 20, 2010
VANCOUVER - Vancouver council bent to the wishes of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood Tuesday and ordered a proposed 11-storey residential tower on one of its 14 city-owned social housing sites scaled back to eight storeys.
But in telling B.C. Housing and the Vancouver Native Housing Society to go back to the drawing board, they have put at risk 24 units of rental housing proposed for the top three floors, Dave Eddy, the society's head said Tuesday.
Even at eight storeys, the project at at the northwest corner of Broadway and Fraser Streets is still too high and will make many neighbors angry, Steve Jung, a neighbor who opposed the development.
Council's compromise came after they weathered three rough days of public hearings in which neighbors wanted the city to stay with the neighborhood maximum height of six storeys, while housing advocates said the 103 social housing units and 24 market rental units are desperately required for the city's native youth.
In cutting the building back to eight storeys, council said the architects could design a new, denser building that would incorporate the market rental units within the allowable floors.
But both Eddy and project architect Larry Adams said they aren't sure that will work, especially since it would violate urban planning design rules set by the city's planning department.
"It doesn't meet planning's urban design objectives. We've worked with planning since 2008 and they've been clear about what they will allow," said Adams, the principal of NSDA Architects. "It's doable, but the question is whether planning will consider it too dense."
Eddy said the likelihood is that the society will simply scrap the top three floors of market rental housing even though that's what the community needs.
"We will take a bash at redesigning it but we're not going to beat ourselves to death. If we see a lot of resistance from planning we'll drop the affordable rental. The irony is that this is what the community wanted. We want to build the rental housing because we believe there's a need for a full range of housing options."
Although council voted unanimously for the change, Councillors. Suzanne Anton and Ellen Woodsworth said they preferred the full 11 storeys. Anton questioned why if council was prepared to allow 20-plus storey rental buildings in the West End it wouldn't allow three storeys of rental on top of social housing in Mount Pleasant.
Have you guys read about the 'latest, most comprehensive' report put out by Wendy Pederson-led CCAP? Among a large list of conclusions, they advocate slowing gentrification in the DTES and the City to buy 50 lots in the DTES and build social housing.
It's a shame that this report has some interesting things to talk about in terms of approach to drug users and access to drugs and treatment. Unfortunately it's mixed in with stupid policies like keeping DTES and poverty ghetto.
Was also surprised to read that Pederson is opposed to modular housing as a potential measure to address homelessness.
she and a lot of people make their living off the backs of the poor and drug addicted of the DTES - fix their problems and she and a lot of people lose their jobs
How could gentrification in the DTES be any slower?! Sure, there's been lot's of improvements in Gastown, but how much has actually changed east of Columbia?
How about instead of the province buying up 5 properties each year for social housing that the city should expropriate the 5 worst properties every year and hand them over to developers at cost for market housing, that would place a lot of pressure on existing owners to keep their places up to standards. I can almost picture Wendy, along with Mr. Kerr and Mr. Eby working as baristas in a Starbucks in the gentrified DTES.
A shame about the MP decision, I am starting to wonder though if the whole thing was a good plan to begin with though. I was great to see them all spread out across the city, but perhaps it would've been better to have twice as many buildings but with a better mix in each one.
The supportive housing project at Abbott and Pender has just flown along. Not only is it topped out but it is already half finished with its glazing installation. This one has retail at grade, the lack of which is a major failing with most social housing as it forefits the possiblity of essential local economic activity emerging at street level as the neighbourhood goes forward. Taken by SFUVancouver, September 12th, 2010.
Taken by SFUVancouver, September 12th, 2010.
__________________ VANCOUVER | Beautiful, Multicultural | Canada's Pacific Metropolis
Last edited by SFUVancouver; Sep 13, 2010 at 7:35 AM.
The supportive housing project at Abbott and Pender has just flown along. Not only is it topped out but it is already half finished with its glazing installation. This one has retail at grade, the lack of which is a major failing with most social housing as it forefits the possiblity of essential local economic activity emerging at street level as the neighbourhood goes forward.
seems like the lesson has been learned though as almost all of the 14 sites have retail at grade where appropriate.
__________________ Quote of the Decade on SSP: "what happens would it be?" - argon007
Good! But be careful of entertaining people with those kinds of ideas, you never know might take them seriously!
Well, I suppose the upside to Mayor Moonbeam is that he DID beat the self-confessed Communist, who may go along with this. Gotta love Vancouver politics.
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