601 Beach Crescent | 166m | 56 Fl | Proposed

Byron · #1 Posted **May 7, 2018, 9:56 PM**

I'm personally hoping it's a mirror tower to Vancouver House. Anyone else going to check this out on May 14th? I'm curious if they have any renders or further details on height, etc.

whatnext · #2 Posted **May 7, 2018, 10:23 PM**

More details on the site can be found in Changing City's excellent recap in the Rental Thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Changing City

If you mean the 601 Beach Crescent site, by Granville Bridge, the City put the site on the market in June 2016, Concord sued in August 2016, alleging that land they transferred to the city for use for "charitable public purposes" would now be developed into high-rise condos that would compete with the developer's own housing projects. In November 2016 the City announced they had sold the site to Pinnacle International Inc. As part of the sale, Pinnacle agreed to develop and transfer "turnkey" 152 units of affordable housing to the City on that site.

It was a complex financial deal: to quote:
•$20 million: base purchase price
•$44.5 million (estimated): design, financing, and development costs to provide the “turnkey” 152 affordable housing units to the City of Vancouver
•An adjustment price of $365 per every additional buildable square foot above the current zoning that may be approved as part of a future rezoning and development of the property. For example:
•If 200,000 additional buildable square feet were approved at rezoning, the adjustment price would be an additional $73-million payment to the City of Vancouver
•If 350,000 additional buildable square feet were approved at rezoning, the adjustment price would be an additional $127.75-million payment to the City of Vancouver

These amounts are only examples and the actual amount of the adjustment price will depend on the approval of an application to rezone the property for future development, which is subject to a public hearing.

Since then no rezoning has (yet) been submitted. There doesn't seem to be any record of the case coming to court. The sale didn't seem to include any time limits, but the site is valued at over $20m and presumably the City are getting taxes from it as Pinnacle haven't built a 'tax avoidance park'. Frances Bula reported the sale, and suggested Pinnacle might have a get-out clause, but she couldn't get any confirmation when she ran the story. Presumably given market changes in the past year or two the City would get even more if they offered it for sale again.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/newr...eply&p=8178085

LeftCoaster · #3 Posted **May 7, 2018, 10:26 PM**

Hmm, JYOM Architecture.

Never heard of them. Is this the first major Vancouver project proposed by a Chinese architecture firm?

I'm certainly very curious, definitely mark me in attendance at this open house.

Changing City · #4 Posted **May 7, 2018, 10:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

Hmm, JYOM Architecture.

Never heard of them. Is this the first major Vancouver project proposed by a Chinese architecture firm?

I'm certainly very curious, definitely mark me in attendance at this open house.

Hm, I have no idea how whatnext made that appear straight after I put the site history summary on the rental thread, as he noted.

JYOM seem to have another project in Richmond for Pinnacle called Capstan Village Center and a mysterious "Decotiis Residential Villa" is listed with no details. Almost all their other work seems to be in China, although their website (which shows a very young group of people) says "Completed design projects are located in the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia, and China". They list an office on Cambie Street.

officedweller · #5 Posted **May 7, 2018, 11:15 PM**

Note that the 601 Beach Cres. site comes right to Beach along its southern border,
so the tower may be oriented more to the south than Vancouver House.

There are a couple of sleek looking towers on the JYOM website - (Civil Aviation Center and Marriott Wuxi).
Looking at Pinnacle's One Yonge project in Toronto for guidance (as opposed to Pinnacle's Vancouver projects),
I could see them proposing a sleek tapered tower with a conventional floorpate (square with curved corners)
on the southern end of the site.

It'll be interesting to see if they propose a tower as wide on it's southern face as Vancouver House - to form a symmetrical gateway.
If they do that, that may mean a triangular floorplate - but the angled side of a triangular floorplate would face northwest, rather than directly to English Bay.
A square or rectangular floorplate (of the same width as Vancouver House) would require a lot more FSR to get to the same height as Vancouver House.
A square floorplate building closer to Beach Ave. than Vancouver House could catch views of English Bay to the south of Vancouver House.

Context Plan from Vancouver House rezoning application.
Seems like there's a bias for a trapezoidal / triangular floorplate.

http://rezoning.vancouver.ca/applica...howe/index.htm

whatnext · #6 Posted **May 7, 2018, 11:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Changing City

Hm, I have no idea how whatnext made that appear straight after I put the site history summary on the rental thread, as he noted.

JYOM seem to have another project in Richmond for Pinnacle called Capstan Village Center and a mysterious "Decotiis Residential Villa" is listed with no details. Almost all their other work seems to be in China, although their website (which shows a very young group of people) says "Completed design projects are located in the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia, and China". They list an office on Cambie Street.

I wish I had such power!

phesto · #7 Posted **May 8, 2018, 12:22 AM**

Pinnacle have a very poor reputation for designs in Vancouver (they are notoriously cheap "value engineers"), so hopefully the new architect and prominent site mean they are treating this one differently.

mcminsen · #8 Posted **May 8, 2018, 1:44 AM**

Feb.26 '18, my pic

whatnext · #9 Posted **May 8, 2018, 5:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by phesto

Pinnacle have a very poor reputation for designs in Vancouver (they are notoriously cheap "value engineers"), so hopefully the new architect and prominent site mean they are treating this one differently.

Because one always turns to a Chinese company when you’re looking to build in quality rather than cut costs?!

city guy · #10 Posted **May 8, 2018, 6:01 AM**

their work looks abysmal

officedweller · #11 Posted **May 8, 2018, 7:25 PM**

This is what Pinnacle is building at One Yonge in Toronto, using Hariri Pontarini Architects.

http://urbantoronto.ca/database/proj...acle-one-yonge

I'm hoping the Vancouver tower is similar.

Westbased · #12 Posted **May 9, 2018, 6:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

This is what Pinnacle is building at One Yonge in Toronto, using Hariri Pontarini Architects.

http://urbantoronto.ca/database/proj...acle-one-yonge

I'm hoping the Vancouver tower is similar.

Wow those towers look spectacular!

rofina · #13 Posted **May 9, 2018, 7:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by officedweller

This is what Pinnacle is building at One Yonge in Toronto, using Hariri Pontarini Architects.

http://urbantoronto.ca/database/proj...acle-one-yonge

I'm hoping the Vancouver tower is similar.

These are amazing.

What a game change on the Toronto skyline too!

Canucks223 · #14 Posted **May 9, 2018, 7:46 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rofina

These are amazing.

What a game change on the Toronto skyline too!

I'm feeling pretty jealous. Imagine something like that in Vancouver, even on a smaller scale.

rofina · #15 Posted **May 9, 2018, 9:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canucks223

I'm feeling pretty jealous. Imagine something like that in Vancouver, even on a smaller scale.

Here is to hoping someone like Holborn does something this scale on Hudson Bay site and carpark next door!

Prometheus · #16 Posted **May 9, 2018, 10:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rofina

Here is to hoping someone like Holborn does something this scale on Hudson Bay site and carpark next door!

How can they (or anyone else) do anything ambitious in Vancouver if the city’s so-called leaders won’t allow them?

Metro-One · #17 Posted **May 9, 2018, 11:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prometheus

How can they (or anyone else) do anything ambitious in Vancouver if the city’s so-called leaders won’t allow them?

Well if we really want to start seeing such projects or something closer to them in Vancouver we really need to start making our voices heard much more than we already are, especially after just learning that the Butterfly and adjacent tower were going to be our city's tallest towers until another layer of shadowing height restrictions were arbitrarily slapped onto them (despite the fact the areas they would have shadowed are already shadowed by tree canopies)

Especially given all the new development potential around our major hubs (and so not be major hubs) something needs to give.

trofirhen · #18 Posted **May 10, 2018, 12:12 AM**

Any renders?

Feathered Friend · #19 Posted **May 10, 2018, 1:55 AM**

Nope. I did my best, but they understandably don't want to release any images, or even a description yet. That said, I'll be posting some information, likely tomorrow morning, that will make more than a few people here rather happy.

osirisboy · #20 Posted **May 10, 2018, 3:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

Nope. I did my best, but they understandably don't want to release any images, or even a description yet. That said, I'll be posting some information, likely tomorrow morning, that will make more than a few people here rather happy.

Huh? Wasn't this a public meeting?