Downtown Vancouver Updates

[hollywoodnorth]

Shoppers is opening at the old Liberty space at Drake and Seymour next month.

[SpongeG]

wow

good location - much needed there

[Built Form]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

Shoppers is opening at the old Liberty space at Drake and Seymour next month.

Opening March 20th

[raggedy13]

Originally Posted by AKA-007

I'm all for densifying these sites downtown so long as the streets don't become plugged with cars. It can already take forever to get anywhere down there depending on the time of day.

Sounds like the classic NIMBY argument. They always cite traffic increase when they run out of other reasons to slam a development. The fact is downtown has the best transit connections in the region. People living there are the least likely to add to traffic of anywhere in the metro area. Building a suburban subdivision is guaranteed to add more traffic than a condo tower in the middle of a dense, walkable urban center. It is suburban drivers such as yourself that add the most to the problem (not to pick on you but since you're complaining about the traffic I can only imagine it's because you drive downtown regularly). Have no worries, the new residents of a densified Chinatown won't be driving a few blocks over to pick up their groceries.

I'm all for increasing density in these older neighbourhoods, given there is a healthy amount of heritage retention/restoration. Some different residential building forms would be a nice addition too. A deviation from the point tower would be most welcome.

[worldwide]

yeah pretty much. its your own fault youre stuck in traffic when you CHOOSE to drive.

[Delirium]

noticed yesterday that a new nightclub is opening up here (replacing the piccadilly pub). it's called, Tunel. the entrance is boarded up and u/c.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

70 feet gives you only 7-storeys in an area which will be the future of Downtown Vancouver.....150-feet is doable for a streetwall: you need to visit Hong Kong!

I have, thats why I like what i will call the 'paris model' better, its much more upen. 7 storey buildings lining every street, allowing for incredible densities, yet a wonderful bright open streetscape, with enough light for lush tree lined sidewalks and boulevards everywhere

[officedweller]

The bright open streetscape in Paris is really only on the large boulevards. The regular street are quite hemmed in (narrow width due to historical past (horsecart path, etc.).

[204]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

Shoppers is opening at the old Liberty space at Drake and Seymour next month.

Wow! That's odd, as there is already one at Homer & Nelson. That's less than 500 meters away.

Then again, you could stand in front of the one on Howe and hit the one on Granville with a rock. Does Shopper's think they are Starbucks?

[Rusty Gull]

Maybe I should save my comments for the retail thread, but Shoppers has really been cutting London Drugs' grass in the past few years. And I used to be an LD customer for the longest time, but due to the convenient locations (and shorter store line-ups), I have joined the Shoppers fold myself.

[djh]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gull

Maybe I should save my comments for the retail thread, but Shoppers has really been cutting London Drugs' grass in the past few years. And I used to be an LD customer for the longest time, but due to the convenient locations (and shorter store line-ups), I have joined the Shoppers fold myself.

...and they have a loyalty card. My wife goes nuts with that thing.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

Business in Vancouver January 22-28, 2008; issue 952

Yale Hotel owner strikes heritage deal with city

Tentative agreement includes bonus density and the retention of low-income housing

Glen Korstrom

Will Lin’s dream to replace Vancouver’s aging Cecil Hotel with a 25-storey residential tower while upgrading the adjacent historic Yale Hotel is inching closer to reality.

The Rize Alliance Properties owner, who bought the Yale Hotel for approximately $10 million in mid-2006 and the Cecil Hotel for “millions” of dollars soon afterward, has reached a tentative agreement with City of Vancouver planners for his 20,000-square-foot Granville Street site at the north end of the Granville Bridge.

“The deal now is that we have a report to council as a major project coming down the pike, and it’s going to be seeking council approval soon,” said Lin. “There’s a heritage revitalization agreement involved where we would upgrade and retain the Yale Hotel and the commercial space, the Yale pub. It will be designated a heritage building when completed.”

Lin’s tentative agreement with city staff requires that he retain and upgrade 44 subsidized housing rooms at the Yale that have single-room occupancy (SRO) zoning. Lin will give those rooms to the city when his proposed project is complete. In exchange, he expects the city to allow him to build a 165,000-square-foot tower. Current density rules provide for a maximum 100,000-square-foot tower.

Lin presented his case to a City of Vancouver urban design panel on December 19, and that panel urged Lin to redesign his tower to be a taller and more slender 255 to 260 feet tall instead of its originally proposed 225-foot height.

Lin must get city approval to change the site’s zoning from “downtown district” to “comprehensive development.” He fears delays from the city’s backlogged rezoning department could scuttle the project.

That was good advice and I'm happy to hear the developer is running with it. The view cone doesn't affect the entire site and extra height would improve the massing of the project while still keeping it under the 300ft downtown south ceiling.

[officedweller]

H+H from this morning - looks like they took a chainsaw to the top of it and sliced it off at the view cone limit.
I don't think there is any roof / mechanical superstructure is there?



Compare to the tops of surrounding towers:

[officedweller]

From next week's City Council agenda.
OK - you gotta know there's waste involved at City Hall when they spend $100K just to to analyse options for putting up demising walls and stairwells/elevator access.

RE: Gastown Parkade

Qualifying submissions were received from the following:
1. Downtown Eastside Residents Association
2. Eco Fitness Limited Partnership
3. Xcalibur Bowling & Entertainment Ltd.

Details of each proposal are at the link below.
The Eco Fitness facility is for the upper storey along Cordova (facing Woodward's).

RECOMMENDATIONS

A. THAT Council authorize the Director of Real Estate Services to enter into lease
negotiations with Eco Fitness Limited Partnership as tenant, and the City as Landlord,
for approximately 31,544 square feet of the Gastown Parkade commercial premises on
terms and conditions acceptable to the Directors of Real Estate Services and Legal
Services.

B. THAT Council authorize the Director of Real Estate Services to lease the remainder of
the Gastown Parkade commercial premises, approximately 72,456 square feet, to the
market, at market lease rates, but subject to further Council Approval.

C. THAT Council authorize the Director of Real Estate Services to issue a Request for
Proposals for a consultancy contract for Architectural services, estimated at a cost of
$100,000, to assess demising options for the premises

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20080129/documents/a6.pdf

[jlousa]

Went to the Granville St redesign open house, looks really good, there didn't have any pamplets so I have nothing to scan. They informed me that the info was all submitted to COV earlier in the day and that it should be on the citys website by the end of the week, I did get a fancy paper bookmark though.

Anyways nothing new to report, the lighting they have in mind really is incredible, I think they have it called the "Great white way" the parking on the sidewalk acuatally looks like it'll work. They also have a public event space destined as Granville from Georgia to Robson, not sure how they can close that off for bus traffic during events though, unless they have plans to keep the buses off Granville, but that isn't the case at this point.

[leftside]

We could do with a fitness centre in Gastown. D E R A can F U C K off.

[officedweller]

Thanks.
I'll pop down to the Granville Street Redesign open house later today if I have time.

[djh]

I wouldn't mind if they kept the buses off Granville as it is - sort of increases the chances that the road will become a pedestrian space and would be ideal for the outdoor cafes and restaurant spaces on wide pavillions that are proposed.

Did they mention the community market area plans for under Granville Bridge and the proposed pedestrian crossing that was to go from False Creek to the foot of Concord Pacific? It was on the drawing boards about 3 years ago and looks like it's evapourated.

[officedweller]

It may have been mentioned in either the staff reports or the UDP/DPB minutes for either the Yale Hotel site or the Cressey project on the Travelodge site.

[jlousa]

745 Thurlow,
Just came back from the open house, the coffee was great. Anyways the building is claiming to be the greenest office tower in the core of Vancouver. They have solar tubes on the roof as well as an accessible roof patio, not sure if it's open to the public. The floorplate is 15,500 at the base and increases to 20,000 by the top, each floorplate is 9inches bigger then the one below, the height is limited by the viewcone, the owner BC municipal workers had no intention of going higher regardless. More info before I run, retail on bottom 2 floors with high end retail fronting Thurlow, smaller space, the larger space fronts Alberni undecided on tenant, 2nd floor is restaurants, 3rd floor could be retail if demand is there, otherwise everything above the 2nd is office space, there is no lose of parking as the u/g parkade will be the same size as existing parkade. That's all I can remember.