Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project | Completed

[Yume-sama]

A sparkly orca


http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncle_buddha/4637763617/

[Waders]

Wow. It looks much better at night.

[Spork]

Indeed it does. Great new wallpaper. Thanks!

[TwoFace]

Apparently the FloatPlanes may not be moving to their "new" location anytime soon. Here’s an exert from the CHRA (coal harbour residents association) newsletter…

Dear Neighbours,
We have recently been advised the the Sea Plane operators have applied to remain at their temporary facility in front of Harbour Green Park for two more years.
They say there are delays in their negotiations regarding the construction of their new terminal at the Convention Center.

[SpongeG]

so we get some eyesore partially constructed bits too look at for a lot longer? and an incomplete seawall?

[Locked In]

Gordon Price mentioned that in a recent Price Tags post:

Rumour has it that the City may renew the lease for this site, at least until third parties can agree on terms for a new location. But will they require the seawall to be connected, even with a temporary link? - a policy that Councils have had in place since the Expo site was first being developed.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

Apparently the FloatPlanes may not be moving to their "new" location anytime soon. Here’s an exert from the CHRA (coal harbour residents association) newsletter…

Dear Neighbours,
We have recently been advised the the Sea Plane operators have applied to remain at their temporary facility in front of Harbour Green Park for two more years.
They say there are delays in their negotiations regarding the construction of their new terminal at the Convention Center.

YESSS!!!!! I hope it's canceled altogether.

[TwoFace]

Originally Posted by mr.x

YESSS!!!!! I hope it's canceled altogether.

Huh, you prefer the current arrangement of mobile homes and trailer shacks to a professional terminal in the CC and an open seawall?

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by TwoFace

Huh, you prefer the current arrangement of mobile homes and trailer shacks to a professional terminal in the CC and an open seawall?

I prefer if they build a permanent terminal at their existing location. The proposed marina plus seaplane terminal in front of the convention centre would be aesthetically terrible.

[LeftCoaster]

You would rather look at an unfinished underside of a pier than a marina housing mega yachts and a seaplane terminal?

How strange.

Anyway it will not be canceled all together, there is just a funding issue. The contractor has walked from the project for now but it will resume eventually.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by mr.x

I prefer if they build a permanent terminal at their existing location. The proposed marina plus seaplane terminal in front of the convention centre would be aesthetically terrible.

I still don't know why that can't move the entire floatplane terminal over to the east side of Canada Place where HeliJet has their heliport already.

[officedweller]

Probably because of conflicts with the cruise ships and other boat traffic (including Seabus). I think that the landing strip is closer to Coal Harbour.

[jlousa]

The reason I've been told is the the cruise ships need space to manoeuvrer, but it never made sense to me there are only a few cruise ship manoeuvres per day for only part of the year, it would be easily manageable. The seabus I could understand but even that could be worked around. Seems like it would be such a better location, heck the current location is pretty awful from a commuting standpoint.

The squabble between the different seaplane companies seems to have hit a stalemate. Perhaps the answer is to have an agency like YVR step in on government request and take over airport management. Tie in Helijet with a new airport and have all of them share check in/loading facilities.

[SpongeG]

did anyone go to EAT! me and my friend walked around in the convention centre but never went to EAT!

Canada’s largest consumer food show boasts record attendance

The Eat! Vancouver Food and Cooking Festival set record attendance this past weekend thanks in part to a new venue and rainy weather.

Show manager Heather Angeard told BIV on Monday afternoon that 38,956 people attended the three-day event at the new Vancouver Convention Centre, surpassing last year’s record attendance of 31,016 by more than 25%.

“We’ve never done more than a 21% increase in any year,” she said.

The festival, which ranked ninth on BIV’s list of top trade and consumer shows in Metro Vancouver last year (Issue 1035, August 25-31, 2009), was reportedly expecting roughly 33,000 attendees.

Angeard noted, however, the rainy weather was the key contributor to the surge in attendance this year.

“The rain was a huge incentive for people to seek out something [to do] indoors.” She also cited people’s curiosity about the new convention centre as another reason for increased attendance.

The unexpected turnout led to fairly long lines for popular exhibitors and some of the scheduled programs and events including the wine, beer and spirits tasting area and the cheese seminars produced by the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

The restaurant sampling area was amongst the most crowded even with expanded 20-foot-wide aisles.

...

http://www.bivinteractive.com/index....2553&Itemid=32

[wrenegade]

My gf and I did. It was a fucking zoo. You could barely walk around the place (this was sunday afternoon). Thank god she got free tickets because I don't think it was worth paying the $15 or whatever it was to get in. You could hardly take part in what was going on because there were so many people. I guess it was successful though.

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by awvan

My gf and I did. It was a fucking zoo. You could barely walk around the place (this was sunday afternoon). Thank god she got free tickets because I don't think it was worth paying the $15 or whatever it was to get in. You could hardly take part in what was going on because there were so many people. I guess it was successful though.

And it was a fucking mess. It was disgusting in there. I went Saturday evening, around 7pm, and the place was just covered in litter and the few garbage cans you could find were overflowing and rank. It was like walking on a carpet of discarded toothpicks and Dixie cups with the ever present odor of a dumpster.

You pay $15 to get in, then pay for tickets to try some of the food. At least the smart businesses had small free samples and I did buy some things from those booths where I got to sample for free. The beer and wine sampling area was so small it had a line to get in. That was rather pathetic so I didn't bother, I'll just have to check out the actual beer festival at UBC this year.

The restaurants that were selling food samples through the ticket system had tables and chair set up so people could sit down and eat. But there weren't enough and they were too closely spaced, and the tables were just covered in trash. It was like not a single piece of trash was picked up all day.

Personally I would call it a disaster. It could have been a lot better. They could have easily used the entire basement, not just the one section. All the booths were so closely spaced that not only was it almost impossible to walk around, but the vendors themselves didn't have any show space to show off their wares or talk to customers. For the amount of money that walked through the door, you think they could have hired a few extra people to pick up garbage.

It felt haphazard and unprofessional. A real disappointment. It doesn't come close with comparing to the actual professional and commercial food expos Vancouver hosts.

I attended Epic last year, and didn't go this year. Last year I was rather impressed with Epic, but felt it too could have used the whole basement. But Eat! this year was a real let down. They should have been on different weekends and each occupied the entire bottom floor.

I don't say this a lot, so I really mean it, but I hope some people lose their jobs over this. I could have planned it better.

[Locked In]

^ That's disappointing. Hopefully some lessons are learned for the next time around.

--------

The latest post on Price Tags mentions the extension to the floatplane terminal lease at the site west of the Convention Centre.

On June 10 at 9:30 am, Council will be considering a two-year extension for the floatplane terminal . But the report recommendations say nothing about requiring a seawall connection.

THAT the Director of Planning be advised that Council would favour the approval of Development Application Number DE413848 for the continued use of the Temporary Float Plane Terminal in Coal Harbour for a further period of time, not to exceed two years from permit issuance or the completion of the new permanent facility at 1001 Canada Place, whichever is first.

[officedweller]

I think this would be the appropriate detour route for cyclists and roller bladers (in green):



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[nobase2010]

They were adding water to the pool at the base of the Cauldron today. It is only a test.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/3420676...36913/sizes/l/

[Waders]

Last week staffs from Terasen Gas were busy reconnecting and sealing the yellow gas pipes to the cauldron. I guess they have to ensure everything is waterproof and water from the pool won't seep into the gas pipe itself.
It looks like the base of the cauldron will be below water surface. I hope there is no long term corrosion problem.
Only 3 more weeks to complete all the work!