The Ultimate Vancouver Rumour Thread!

[Axe]

Originally Posted by phesto

Thanks for posting officedweller.

The site is 30,000 SF in size and it looks like the floorplates are quite large; probably in excess of 20,000 SF. Speculation on my part, but the design is probably intended to try and attract a couple of large companies that are currently seeking space downtown that would prefer larger floorplates; otherwise they would probably explore a taller, thinner tower like MNP, which was built on spec.

The previous Amacon proposal for this site was 42 storeys and 512 feet but only had 15,500 SF floorplates, and the first 10 storeys were to be a 110-room hotel, with office space on floors 11-42. The total density of that proposal was 21.75 FSR or 660,000 SF, so I would think Oxford is targeting a similar density with this proposal (ie. 33 storeys x avg. 20,000 SF per floor = 660,000 SF).

I haven't heard of an actual application for this, so the model could just be a presentation item to try and attract tenants. Perhaps not the final design...

To be clear, Oxford will absolutely be maximizing the density on this site, just perhaps not the height.

I worked on the construction of the Hotel right next door. They built that building, with knock outs in the elevator shaft so it would connect to the new building in the future. as well places for the hallway to connect to it.

[officedweller]

Cool.

Those will probably go unused, since Amacon (developer of the Melville & Loden Hotel) no longer owns the 1133 Melville site
- unless they can work a deal with Oxford(?) for hotel space.

[Delirium]

Not bad at all! I certainly have a good view of the site.
I wonder how viable this proposal is though. there's currently a glut of office space available (and sublet space increasing) and more coming on stream so i wonder how committed Oxford is with going through with this.
Do the have a committed 'lead tenant' in the works?

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Delirium

Not bad at all! I certainly have a good view of the site.
I wonder how viable this proposal is though. there's currently a glut of office space available (and sublet space increasing) and more coming on stream so i wonder how committed Oxford is with going through with this.
Do the have a committed 'lead tenant' in the works?

This is definitely a next cycle building. This isn't even part of a formal application or render release, and I'd wager Oxford isn't too happy these pics are floating around.

With regards to the current office market, vacancy is rising, but it is a supply related issue, as demand is currently very strong. I'd expect vacancy to peak next year then trend downwards as this development cycle gets absorbed.

It's worth noting that Vancouver had it's second highest quarter of absorption on record last quarter and the highest since 2000 with over 820,000 sq ft absorbed. If high numbers continue, at even a fraction of this pace, I'd expect to see the next cycle kick off in a year or two, rather than 4 or 5.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

This is definitely a next cycle building.

For what it is worth, one of our members said the following in 2013:

Originally Posted by phesto

They can't demo the existing building until mid-2015, but there are tenants that could essentially make this project a "go" regardless of the cycle.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Caliplanner1

LOL..so one could argue thus that the view cone policy is in essence egalitarian and therefore socialist?????

To a certain extent, yes! Socialism is good for stuff like healthcare but definitely bad when it comes to the arts.

[Metro-One]

I am not going t lose any sleep over it.

it is a nice looking proposal, but given how so many other office projects have had their tops copped off due to view cones, it would be nice for this tower to take advantage of the higher height that other office projects have attempted and been denied.

I don't even need to see the full 550 feet, even just to 500 feet would be nice.

Of course, it would also be nice for the city of Vancouver to relax their bizarre arbitrary height limit for signage on this project if it were to go higher.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I won't be giving an more info on the potential 750ft building as it could jeopardize the proposal. I suspect we'll here about it by year end, or spring/14.

Hmmm, it's now the summer of 2015 and the election has been over for a long time.

Can you at least tell us by how much it was "chopped" down by? Just a tiny bit? Or to the same level of everything else?

[Metro-One]

I think it was one of the recent proposals we have seen or has been alluded to around 130 to 150 meters.

It really seems Vancouver is destined to never have a new tallest (while every other city in the country seems to be able to push over 200 meters now, Edmonton, Ottawa I believe has a proposal near or over that mark, even Quebec City has a proposal well over 200 meters).

Not even a new tallest office given the recent news above.

I am not one of those who think height is everything (personally I find 140m / 150 meters towers to be plenty tall) and there are many designs under 100 meters that I love being built / proposed in Vancouver, but for a city our size it would be nice to have 1 or 2 towers around the 210 meter mark.

Also, what is the status with that black tower with the red wounds on it (the Australian looking one). I love that design, I hope that is a serious proposal and not just a place holder we see once on a render and then that is it forever.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

I think it was one of the recent proposals we have seen or has been alluded to around 130 to 150 meters.

No, I do not believe that is true. My guess is that the 750 foot proposal Jlousa alluded to is most likely for the Bay parkade site, and we have not heard anything about it beyond what Jlousa has mentioned.

[jlousa]

It is not the bay parkade site, the proposal I alluded to is still active but will probably surface closer to the 550ft mark. The 750ft was never really realistic, but a play to be negotiate to where they would be happy with. I suspect we'll hear about it next year as I don't see it going forward before year end, market has softened and there is too many other projects lingering ahead of it.

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by jlousa

It is not the bay parkade site, the proposal I alluded to is still active but will probably surface closer to the 550ft mark. The 750ft was never really realistic, but a play to be negotiate to where they would be happy with. I suspect we'll hear about it next year as I don't see it going forward before year end, market has softened and there is too many other projects lingering ahead of it.

Thank you for the response. Residential or commercial?

[LeftCoaster]

Hmm, that's too bad. I was hoping the site in question (I'm assuming the cathedral site) would go taller.

bay parkade is limited by 3 view cones to around 100M. That doesn't mean it can't try to go taller, but it will a long fight to get through.

[LeftCoaster]

Also, I noticed this while on the KPF webstite:

In the United States, he is completing two residential towers along the Atlantic Highway in San Diego, a 50 story residential tower in Vancouver, and 75 Rockefeller Plaza, a major overhaul of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Headquarters built in 1945.

http://www.kpf.com/bio.asp?id=19

First thought is this is the Station Square towers, but there are two of them and the site only mentions one, so now I'm not too sure. Could this be a yet unannounced tower?

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Hmm, that's too bad. I was hoping the site in question (I'm assuming the cathedral site) would go taller.

Cathedral site? You're not talking about the well-known First Baptist Church on Nelson sites, which allow for 60 story towers under the West End Community Plan?

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Cathedral site? You're not talking about the well-known First Baptist Church on Nelson sites, which allow for 60 story towers under the West End Community Plan?

Which site is this? The parking lot/Hobbit House behind the church?

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Prometheus

Cathedral site? You're not talking about the well-known First Baptist Church on Nelson sites, which allow for 60 story towers under the West End Community Plan?

That'd be the one.

[officedweller]

Changing City Updates has picked up the 1133 Melville tower:

They quote 33 storeys and 524 ft to the top of the parapet - so about 75 ft taller than Bentall IV down the block.

1133 Melville Street
Posted on July 24, 2015



...

Currently there’s a rather ugly and somewhat oddly designed 500 space parkade from the early 1980s, with office space on the top on this mid-block Melville Street site. Now Oxford Properties have hired Kohn Pederson Fox to design a 650,000 sq ft office tower, 33 storeys tall – which translates to 524 feet to the top of the parapet.

The site could, in theory, have a slightly taller building, but the economics of developing office space in Vancouver (and the added costs of taller buildings) presumably led to the decision to build to this height.

The same architects designed the MNP Tower for the same developers – but while that was a slim tower squeezed into a very tight site, this proposed rezoning would see one of the largest office spaces in the city (we think only Park Place has more office space). The building, if allowed at this density, would be over three times the base density allowed here – the Metro Core Study some years ago allowed the potential for rezonings for commercial uses. Kasian Architecture are the local firm working with KPF. There will be retail space at the bottom of the tower, including an outdoor restaurant patio above a water wall feature.

http://changingcitybook.com/2015/07/...lville-street/

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

That'd be the one.

Thanks for the response. We recently had a bunch of renders show up for those projects. The one closer to Thurlow was highly detailed and the Gillespie mystery tower directly behind First Baptist Church was in silhouette.

Here they are:

Originally Posted by Delirium

Came across this by accident on the World Architecture Festival website and whoa! very impressive. is that height achievable there? architects are IBI, Nick Milkovich and Chris Doray.

It's shortlisted (along with Vancouver House) for best future residential project.
more images on their submission page:
https://www.worldarchitecturefestiva...ubmission/6332




















All images are screenshots from https://www.worldarchitecturefestiva...ubmission/6332

Originally Posted by Klazu

I counted a bit over 60 floors. Daym!

[Prometheus]

Originally Posted by officedweller

They quote 33 storeys and 524 ft to the top of the parapet - so about 75 ft taller than Bentall IV down the block

But, officedweller, that height figure substantially contradicts the information that your own "engineer friend" has provided and is obviously inconsistent with the height of a 33-storey office tower:

Originally Posted by officedweller

From my engineer friend -

Latest concept for 1133 Melville:

• 132m to top roof slab
• 143m to top of roof windscreen.