Downtown Vancouver Updates

[giallo]

Some nice mid-rise infill on Howe St. and Abbott St. Much needed.

[eduardo88]

i really am liking those buildings on howe and abbott! it seems liek those two and the new social housing buildings are similar designs, which in this case isnt a bad thing as i really like the style, so much better than bland concord pacific designs

[mr.x]

I really love 1237 Howe, there's something to that building that screams different.....probably because of the black?

[SFUVancouver]

^ That's the social housing project that will be going in where The Odyssey is now.

All 12 of the Province's social housing projects that will be built on City land will achieve a minimum of LEED Gold, and all are being built with high quality, long-lasting materials, including concrete structure, brick, window-wall and high-quality metal panel exteriors, and all must have a minimum 60-year design life before major renovations are required. Each building is being designed in collaboration with the non-profit that will operate it and the program of the buildings are entirely defined by the mandate of the non-profit.

For example, the Abbott and Pender project is for women and single mothers with children. Those needs are very different than the building going in at 17th and Dunbar, which is for Mental Health Services BC. The former has 110 self-contained suites, all with kitchens, lots of outdoor space on the landscaped podium and setbacks, and a secure entry that is staffed 24/7. The latter has 37 suites, an quasi-institutional program of shared dining room and recreational space, and an extensive on-site support staff. Both buildings will have retail at grade and the Abbott and Pender one will have a restaurant at the corner, facing Pender.

The building at 7th and Fir is for the 'hard to house' homeless who will live there for a medium- to long-term period. The building will also include a mandatory life-skills and empowerment centre for the residents and the non-profit has had very high success rates over its muli-decade history.

The point is that these social-housing projects are going to be very different the schlock that was built in the 80s and 90s.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

^ That's the social housing project that will be going in where The Odyssey is now.

ohhh.....never mind. -_-

[eduardo88]

I really love the look of these new social housing buildings, its great to see they're thinking ahead in using high quality materials too. i hope more buildings (especially around SEFC) take up their design cues and the use of high quality materials.

[SFUVancouver]

^ They won't come cheap. I know several are likely to touch $300/sq.ft for their construction costs, which is at, or approaching, market rates for many condos. (People in the biz, please feel free to correct me.)

Of course the similarity of these projects with the market end quite quickly. The land for the projects is 'free' from the city on 60-year in-kind leases and it never has to be paid off by the project in any shape or form. The same is true for the professional expertise that goes into the design and engineering of the buildings in that the Province is picking up the tab. There is no marketing or sales centres, nor financing costs that need to be carried.

There will be at least two of these high-quality social housing buildings in the SEFC area. One at 1st and Main, which was lauded by the Urban Design Panel as a genuinely extraordinary project for its architecture, green building performance, and the nuance with which the program of the building informed its design. The other is on 2nd at ...something. On the other side of the hinge park from the western edge of the Olympic Village precinct.

[eduardo88]

yeah i know about the social housing in SEFC, those look great too, i meant i hope that the market condos also follow this design style and quality

[Delirium]

1237 Howe looks great!

came across this on the newswires today...

Jun 13, 2008 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) -- RSDV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- June 13, 2008 (FinancialWire) Rancho Santa Monica (Current Market Cap. US$7.00 Mil.) has signed a letter of intent with the Onni Group of Companies to build, joint venture, and develop a hotel site in Vancouver.

Onni, one of Western Canada's largest builders of residential and commercial buildings and the builder of the 225 suite Delta Pinnacle Vancouver and the new 77 suite Loden Hotel in Vancouver is working with Rancho Santa Monica Developments to create this development.

The Onni Group of Companies formed over 35 years ago have built over $10 billion dollars worth of developments across Canada.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1682871/

[deasine]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

ohhh.....never mind. -_-

Wow you change your mind fast... =P Oddly enough, I like the Abbott Street one: very simple and clean. =)

[jlousa]

Another new one.

1372 Seymour St
To construct a 33 storey tower residential building containing a 37 space child daycare on the ground floor of the podium level. The proposal includes a 10% heritage density transfer and a additional density for the daycare.

Designed by Hotson Bakker Architects

[SFUVancouver]

^ That is the Onni project at Seymour and Pacific, where the temporary community garden stands now. It used to be some sort of roadhouse restaurant.

[flight_from_kamakura]

thanks for the updates.

man, it's just fantastic that the abbott and pender project will have retail at grade. it's very pleasing the way that part of pender street is shaping up. now, if we could just get to some of the other victory square buildings...

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

^ That is the Onni project at Seymour and Pacific, where the temporary community garden stands now. It used to be some sort of roadhouse restaurant.

Carlos n' Buds! Good place for a cheap burger and beer.. sad to see it go.

[entheosfog]

A couple quickies of the Robson Street Safeway, moving along quickly:

[sacrifice333]

Originally Posted by entheosfog

A couple quickies of the Robson Street Safeway, moving along quickly:

Is the Robson Safeway going to have a residential component and/or further retail?

[Hed Kandi]

Originally Posted by sacrifice333

Is the Robson Safeway going to have a residential component and/or further retail?

No residential, however there is planned retail for the ground floor. Anyone still have a render of this project?

[jlousa]

The renderings have been posted in this forum, probably in this thread somewhere. There will be a liquor store again if I'm not mistaken.

[osirisboy]

i hate this project. why didnt the city make them have a residential component, not very "ecodensity-ish" dont get me wrong though i'm happy to see that old safeway getting replaced with a new one. also, i had always assumed that little crap building with the starbucks in it on the eastern part of that block was going to be torn down. oh well

[quobobo]

If you want to know why they didn't go taller with residential, just look at the zoning for Robson (C-6): http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/BYLAWS/zoning/c-5&6.pdf

I'm sure residential there would be profitable but there's only so much that can be done in 18 metres of height (and there's setbacks so only 7 to 11 metres at the street). I'm guessing the low height limit is to give shoppers some sunlight, but I agree that the COV really should have allowed more.