This has to be one of the least surprising redevelopment applications in recent memory.
That building is a notorious leakage disaster and a poster child for the 1990's leakage era poor condo construction practices that forced the province to considerably tighten up the construction building code standards after the
Barrett Commission and the BC Homeowner Protection Office found almost as many as 60-70,000 condo buildings that fell far short of acceptable standards for their envelope intergrity resulting in perpetual leaks and energy loss issues.
In fact, this specific building was so bad it has been deemed a life safety risk that can't be rectified even through refurbishment and the extensive renovation that would be necessary to bring it up to modern code (which would be prohibitively expensive, anyway) so much so that the strata had no option but to seek to sell for redevelopment.
And here we are.
If anything the real surprise is that this redevelopment didn't happen 10 or even 15 years ago.
And it's not the only one in that neighbourhood suffering from these issues.
But it certainly is the most egregious example.
The funny thing is, I know of buildings older than this one, or that were built in earlier periods that are better maintained and have kept better over the years in terms of their envelope and leakage issues - or at least have been easier to refurbish and bring up to modern standards and requirements without first being deemed "life safety risks".
Something about the 1990's and a rapid deprecation of building standards with the buildings built in that era.
At least the eyesore that is their north-facing "solariums"/storage will be gone.