I can't decide if I like it, but I don't think I do.....what ever happened to the whole idea of earthquake proof buildings!?

I'm not entirely sure if I like it either but I will say thing: it's the type of building that will be recognized and put us on the map.

I mean I can't really think of any building in Vancouver where people are like "uh yeah, that's in Vancouver". There's no really distinctive tower, and our highest building (for a little while still) One Wall isn't exactly something that most people from outside Canada would recognize (possible even within Canada depending on where you're from).

This is the type of building that would stand out as a landmark. We don't have any tall buildings that do that in Vancouver. The most iconic sites are not even buildings with Stanley Park at the top of my list, followed by the Lion's Gate bridge, and Science World sadly.

Does anyone know what they are gonna build at the south west corner, where they destroy this building:

Thanks for the pics - the project at Homer & Robson is "L'Atelier", a condo tower (28 or 30?) with a 5 storeyish podium.

They couldnt be seriously proposing that for the Sutton Place, they just built an addition to the hotel... Nice design btw. It would look killer in our cbd.

For Vancouver artists, an Olympic challenge

With the Games just over two years away, the city is facing a stark shortage of venues to show off Canadian culture

VANCOUVER -- At a recent event at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, respected former Vancouver city planner Larry Beasley informed the audience that, while the city may be world-renowned for its urban planning, it has almost no international cultural reputation. "Honestly, we are not even on the charts in terms of the growth and support of our cultural institutions," he told the crowd. "[It's] an issue I think we are far behind on."

He won't get much argument there - even if the idea is embarrassing for the local arts community. In a city known for its mountains, ocean and breathtaking views, cultural institutions are fighting to get on the map. That fight has taken on new desperation as the 2010 Olympics approach. "We are going to be all over the world's radar," says Tanja Dixon-Warren, president of the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance. "We should be taking advantage of that and showing off."

But "showing off" requires something the Vancouver arts scene doesn't have: space. All over the city, arts groups are outgrowing their homes. "As the city gets bigger, you automatically get more artists coming to the city," says Dixon-Warren, who is also a theatre producer. "As a result, you need more spaces. That's just math."

The problem is particularly acute in the theatre community. Beyond the construction of a new 100-seat studio theatre at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, where Beasley made his frank remarks, there isn't much good news these days for the more than 100 production companies in the city looking for space to put on their shows.

Dixon-Warren has been personally navigating the underequipped theatre scene for years. She has built sets in her garage (most recently for Angels in America) and lost money on productions she was forced to run in non-theatrical venues - because those venues didn't come with chairs or washroom supplies, which she was forced to furnish herself.

Last week, Dixon-Warren was among the speakers who gathered downtown at the Vogue Theatre (a 1940 art-deco classic that has been dark for almost for two years) to launch a "call to action." Hosted by Heritage Vancouver, a non-profit advocacy group for heritage conservation, the event focused mainly on efforts to save historical theatres from the wrecking ball.

The crux of their argument is this: It doesn't make sense that, while theatre companies are struggling to find performance and even rehearsal space, several historical theatres in the city remain dark.

Take the York Theatre. Tom Durrie, a passionate theatre lover who spoke at the Vogue forum, has been fighting since 1981, on and off, to restore the York. The theatre, on the city's east side, opened in 1913. Most recently, it was known as the Raja Cinema, and showed Bollywood films. It closed last year, and the building was put on the market. "When it came up for sale," recalls Durrie, "I thought, 'My golly, now's the time to act.' "

For a year, he tried to raise enough money to buy the theatre (the asking price was about $950,000, but renovations would likely cost around $10-million). But the day after the forum, Durrie received crushing news: The theatre had been sold. In an e-mail sent to members of the Vancouver theatre community titled "Too Late!" Durrie wrote that "unless [the buyer] has philanthropic intentions, we can say goodbye to one of the finest and most historic theatres in Vancouver."

The news comes on the heels of the demolition of another old east-side Vancouver theatre. The Imperial on Main Street opened in 1912, but had fallen far from its former vaudevillian grandeur, operating for the last 20 years or so as a pornographic theatre called the Venus. For the last few weeks, crews have been dismantling the theatre and excavating the site. Condos will take the theatre's place.

There is some optimism, though, about a major effort under way to save another historic theatre in a spot that seems unlikely to attract condominium developers. The Pantages is smack in the heart of Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside. A group interested in revitalizing the troubled area has been working diligently to restore and reopen the theatre. It's promising a big announcement on January 6, 2008 - the 100th anniversary of the Pantages's opening.

As for the Vogue, its current owner wants to tear out the seats and replace them with tables and booths, and turn the place into a supper club featuring musical performances, guest speakers and - maybe - some theatre. He's in the process of applying for a liquor licence.

Properly restoring any of these old theatres would cost millions. But at last week's forum, Don Luxton of Heritage Vancouver put it in perspective: If people think it's expensive to buy and renovate a theatre like the Vogue, he said, "try building a new one."

In fact, people have tried. In the early 1990s, the city and province announced with great fanfare a new theatre complex in one of the city's prime real-estate areas. The Coal Harbour Arts Complex was to include two theatres - a 1,500-seat lyric hall and a 350-seat studio theatre to be used primarily, but not exclusively, for music. But those plans fell apart when the provincial government decided to expand the Vancouver convention centre onto the waterfront site instead. (The city and province are holding almost $20-million earmarked for the arts complex, with the next steps to be announced by year's end.)

The lack of musical-performance spaces has never been as evident as in recent weeks, during the civic strike. The dispute affected the 2,800-seat Orpheum, and such organizations as the Vancouver Recital Society and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra found themselves with few or no options for alternative venues.

For musical performances targeting smaller audiences, meanwhile, it is almost impossible to find an appropriate space. Those types of concerts generally end up in a church.

As for theatre, the size of needed space varies, depending on whom you talk to. Dixon-Warren says the city desperately needs more small theatres, in the 60-to-300-seat range. Durrie says a dearth of 500-seat theatres (about the size of the York) is the big problem. And at last week's event, Luxton mused that it's theatres about the size of the Vogue, with 1,100 seats, that the city could really use most.

The turnout at the Heritage Vancouver forum was hardly spectacular, with only 50 or so theatre types in attendance. However, there were a few suggestions that came from it: talk of creating a fund that would require developers to contribute to cultural infrastructure; a voluntary theatre-improvement fee, through which patrons could donate money at the same time they buy tickets; and involving sports personalities in the drive to save theatres.

Durrie suggested the group take a (recycled) page out of the environmental movement's handbook. "Maybe," he mused, "we have to chain ourselves to theatres."

The suggestion came too late for his York Theatre - and for the Imperial, whose demolition progressed on the very day the save-Vancouver's-historic-theatres forum was held.

Still, there is some good news coming for Vancouver's cultural growth. The Vancouver Art Gallery - which has outgrown its current site, an old provincial courthouse on Robson Street - is about to announce details of a much-anticipated move to a new space.

The new facility will more than double the gallery's size to 300,000 square feet (about 28,000 square metres) and will likely be in the city's planned "cultural precinct" - the heart of which will be in what was once a bus depot (currently a parking lot) next to the city-run Queen Elizabeth Theatre (and also the planned site of one of two live stages which will operate during the 2010 Olympics). The VAG will make its announcement in the next few weeks.

But with only two years and four months to go before the 2010 Games, it seems unlikely there will be many shiny new buildings or tangible cultural change in time for the arrival of the Olympic flame - and the world's gaze. "I do think we need to look at [solutions now]," says Dixon-Warren. "If we go away with a reputation of being a dud, it would be a big bummer."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071013.SPACE13/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Theatre/

From the North Shore News:

http://www.canada.com/northshorenews/news/story.html?id=a1ae384f-75b9-4fb7-beb5-95d78c31d581&k=38354

400-foot waterfront tower proposed
Lower Lonsdale plan includes art gallery, floating swimming pool

Heidi Castle, North Shore News
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007

A 36-storey residential tower inspired by the Princess Louise, a 1921 luxury passenger liner built in North Vancouver's Wallace Shipyard's, is the signature piece in a new development proposal for the foot of Lower Lonsdale.

If approved, the city will enjoy an A-list of public amenities in exchange for a density transfer from public to private land. Besides a LEED silver-certified residential and commercial tower hooked up to the Lonsdale Energy Corporation's geothermal heating grid, those amenities include a new, prominent, waterfront home for Presentation House Gallery, a public floating swimming pool built on a new public wharf extending into the harbour south of Lonsdale Avenue, a unified city seawall walk and public art opportunities. Long-range plans call for a new home for the Whistler Rocky Mountaineer, a repositioned SeaBus terminus and bus loop, and an east-west route for the city's historic streetcar 153.

The area under consideration includes land held by Millennium Developments and the City of North Vancouver. Combined, the property is referred to as Site 8 and sits north of Carrie Cates Court, south of Esplanade Avenue and east of Rogers Avenue.

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/157ccc88-d038-4a4c-b40b-818d8519d682/400footwaterfront.jpg?size=l
A conceptual illustration of a proposed 36-storey tower, art gallery and floating swimming pool just west of the foot of Lonsdale Avenue.
graphic supplied

Site 8 will be further combined with other city-owned property at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue for a total area of 11,076.2 square metres (2.75 acres).

The proposal is to transfer the density off both city-owned parcels and concentrate it on the Millennium property and then use the city land for amenity development.

That density shift would see a potential 7.1 FSR (floor-space ratio -- a ratio that determines the building footprint relative to the lot it sits on) in the one corner of the combined parcels up from the current 2.6 FSR of each individual site.

The city's official community plan designates the land as "town centre mixed use" with a building height of 40 feet. The Lower Lonsdale planning study suggested upping the height limit to 75 feet but retained the 2.6 FSR.

"This is an important site in the history of North Vancouver," Gregory Henriquez of Henriquez Partners Architects told city council Monday. "The goal of our design is to try and bring back a resolution to this historic water's edge and find a way in the 21st century to make North Vancouver as significant and important a city as it can be."

This proposal is about community and will enliven the city's waterfront, he said. "The poetry for our architecture always comes from the nature of the site."

Initial view studies show less than 10 per cent blockage which is less than the 15 per cent acceptable in the City of Vancouver, said Henriquez.

The proposal builds on a concept that originated with a five-year-old city-driven study, known as "Where the mountains meet the community and the sea," he said.

Highlights of the four-phase proposal begin with building the residential tower, relocating the Railway Museum to Waterfront Park, while developing some of the city land for public space, a new home for Presentation House Gallery, and the proposed new wharf and pool.

The subsequent phases and longer term vision anticipate the Whistler Mountaineer Station move to Waterfront Park, building the route for the city's historic street car, the relocation of the SeaBus terminal to the foot of Lonsdale and a renovated and repositioned bus circle.

Joining Site 8 with the foot of Lonsdale is something council has endorsed, said Coun. Craig Keating. It's something the city has encouraged for a long time, he said.

"It's a very intriguing proposal," said Keating. However, there are many hurdles and a lot of hard work ahead for the developer, he said. "The community has to put this in some kind of context. If this were a proposal pure and simply for a 40-storey building and nothing else that would be a different thing."

The amenity list needs to be considered he said. Keating said he likes a pool in Lower Lonsdale, a stop for the Rocky Mountaineer, a hook up to LEC and a new home for the Presentation House Gallery.

"That gallery has done more in a sense to advertise the City of North Vancouver internationally than anything else," he said. "It's a world class photo arts gallery that has received many awards and to have a new waterfront home for that would be terrific."

"I don't know that your current plan makes the best use of that whole area," said Coun. Bob Heywood. "I think there's a lot of work to be done in reshaping the presentation of this very important area for the city."

Heywood said he's not convinced the city needs another public plaza when one is part of the Maritime Museum proposal just east of the foot of Lonsdale.

Additionally, the half-block of business to the east of Site 8 is excluded from the plans, he said. "It would seem to me that if we're going to create some space down there we need to involve that half of the block."

"The scope of amenity that's going to lend any support to this kind of project is going to be pretty significant," he said.

"We are in the genesis of this design stage," said Henriquez.

On the issue of the small scale buildings to the east, Henriquez said his design responds to their scale and that they are integral to the heritage of the neighbourhood and should be left or possibly restored in similar scale.

"I gasped a little," admitted Coun. Barbara Perrault at the 400-foot proposed tower. But, she said she likes the amenity list. "This (Presentation House Gallery) is a very sophisticated and very, very substantial gallery that we have in this community and we have not sung it's praises loud enough," said Perrault. "It needs a decent home."

She also supported the concept of the pool, but would like to see a 50-metre version if possible.

Coun. Pam Bookham said unless the public strongly supports the proposal she could not support that level of height on the city's waterfront.

"The doubling of the height of this building, even for the very worthwhile amenities that have been proposed I think is going to be a very difficult public sell," she said.

Council carried a motion for an Official Community Plan amendment and rezoning application, with Bookham opposed, that will see the proposal move to the public discussion stage.

Coun. Sam Schechter was absent.

© North Shore News 2007

Reach for the sky

North Shore News
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007

THE ramifications of the latest development proposal for Lower Lonsdale before City of North Vancouver council are huge.

A 400-foot tower where zoning exists for 40 feet (and only a suggestion for 75 feet) is going to make some upslope residents unhappy about their loss of view.

On the other hand, the benefits that the development would provide the city are enticing: a waterfront home for Presentation House Gallery which has long wanted a move to a purpose-built home in a higher traffic area as well as another waterfront pier with the novel concept of a floating swimming pool.

Residents adjacent to Waterfront Park will not be thrilled about the concept for the park to be the Whistler Mountaineer's terminus, but the plan makes commercial sense in terms of attracting tourists to North Vancouver. Reorienting the SeaBus terminal and our incredibly ugly bus loop should also improve the North Van experience for visitors.

But the bigger picture is whether the size of the proposed 36-storey building is appropriate for its Rogers Avenue location and whether the tower block is the appropriate defining image for Lower Lonsdale. It would be a bold statement not just from a North Vancouver perspective, but also as seen from the Vancouver side of the inlet.

We have written recently about the need for citizens to participate in local government. The public process on this one requires all city residents to get involved -- and council to assess that response accurately.

© North Shore News 2007

Sept 20th, 2007 - Global Air Photo of the area. The site is just above the red roofed buildings in this pic:

http://www.globalairphotos.com/images/bc/north_vancouver/2007/nvh2007_130.jpg

^ holy crap!

that pic makes north van look so flat - kinda funny

looks like a nice development for that grungy area

3 words: Henriquez Partners Architects :applause:

I think this could be a terrific project for a neighbourhood undergoing a serious transformation. It could also change the character of the North Shore -- for the better.

With that being said, I would expect plenty of Nimbyism since this is a 400-footer, and we are talking about the North Shore, afterall -- but I think the quality of the architecture and the excellent amenities should temper that.

Never been to BC. What are the negative attributes of the North Shore, as you see it?

Rain, rain and rain (more rain than other areas of the lower mainland)

*****

If there's going to be a tall tower, then that is the site for it. Right in the heart of Lonsdale. BUT - anyone think that should be an office tower at that location?
Looking at the pic, you realize that there's not much room left in Lonsdale to build office space - other than the sprawling Harbourside Business Park to the upper left of the pic. Lonsdale should really be developing like Jersey City, New Jersey is to New York City.

I don't think an office tower would work economically -- if only because the North Shore has higher office vacancies traditionally that downtown Vancouver.

As a place to locate a corporate firm, North Vancouver is less desirable than Vancouver -- except for some of the outdoorsy/athletics companies clustered at the Harbourside Office Park. The major tenant in Lower Lonsdale is ICBC, while BC Rail left their headquarters after the CN Rail purchase several years ago -- which opened up a lot of space in the area.

But for living, many people would actually argue in favour of North Van -- particularly at this waterfront location. Thus, a developer would get much more bang for the buck building residential.

By the way, OfficeDweller, I appreciate your comparison to Jersey City, but shouldn't we be a bit more ambitious. I think the area should strive to be the next Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong.

Anyways, there has been a lot going on in the neighbourhood over the past few years -- a new hotel is due to be opened, several new condominium low-rises/highrises, the proposed maritime museum. But this 400-footer would be the ultimate project to launch this area to the next level.

Yeah, it would be nice if Lonsdale was developed more ambitiously. What I see now is more like the Olympic Village site in scale rather than a a regional town centre (esp. one so close to downtown Vancouver, though with accessibility problems from the rest of the region).
Of the current development, the Pinnacle towers definitely make an impact on the view from Vancouver, due to their width.

Actually, Lower Lonsdale by itself is not a "regional town centre". I believe that distinction goes to the entire Lonsdale corridor, stretching 30 blocks, from the waterfront to way up the hill.

the regional town center is most definatley just lower lonsdale. look at the LRSP

^ I disagree. Please see the Metro Vancouver website for their description of the Lonsdale Regional Town Centre:
http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/livablecentres/lonsdale.htm

Or read below -- sounds like they are referring to more than just Lower Lonsdale:

North Vancouver - Lonsdale

Resting on the shores of Burrard Inlet and rising up towards the North Shore mountains, Lonsdale offers its residents convenient access to both Downtown Vancouver and some of the region's finest wilderness and outdoor recreation areas. With a wide variety of shops, services, and entertainment, Lonsdale has established itself as the North Shore's institutional, commercial and cultural centre. Its traditional grid of streets gives the centre an urban feel and helps make it the most densely populated town centre in the region.
The town centre is divided into two separate neighbourhoods, Lower and Central Lonsdale. Lower Lonsdale is centred around the mixed use shopping and office complex, Lonsdale Quay, on Burrard Inlet. The Central Lonsdale planning neighbourhood is located further up the hill and runs along Lonsdale Avenue from 13th Street up to the TransCanada highway.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/malcolmstooke/lrsp.jpg

From rusty gull:

Here are proposal photos from the recently held Open House for Foot of Lonsdale-Site 8 -- held at North Vancouver City Hall.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2329/2036294403_815b6fe9ea.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2324/2037096164_68a2f13c47.jpg?v=1195193946

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/2037089690_7c68366bf0.jpg?v=0

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2220/2037099454_24d0a59906.jpg?v=1195193895

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2135/2037105244_d8be311684.jpg?v=0

^^ Wow! I love it! Are these the plans for North Van? Sorry, I am unfamiliar with where this is...

That building is really cool and seems to be unique in Canada!

^^ Wow! I love it! Are these the plans for North Van? Sorry, I am unfamiliar with where this is...

That building is really cool and seems to be unique in Canada!

Those are plans for North Van at Lonsdale by the SeaBus terminal.

its suppossed to look like a ship hull?

neat

Here is an article about the expansion of the main freeway from Vancouver up the Fraser Valley,

http://www.theworldedition.com/government/vancouver.php

that was a pretty interesting article although he did get a bit opinionistic near the end. he did make some valid points though

I dont understand. Are they widening the freeway or not

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2220/2037099454_24d0a59906.jpg?v=1195193895

The other two high-rises visible...what are those?

I dont understand. Are they widening the freeway or not


yep. i have no idea why though

Because you cant expect Vancouver, which is expected to grow to 3 million people in 20 years, to live off a 4 lane highway. It wont work. And maybe widening it will bring more traffic, so will an extra million people...

Because you cant expect Vancouver, which is expected to grow to 3 million people in 20 years, to live off a 4 lane highway. It wont work. And maybe widening it will bring more traffic, so will an extra million people...

We could toll all of our bridges and the one tunnel we have, and invest $15 billion into transit over the next few years.

Not to mention that's the only way the province can achieve its goal of a 22-24% transit ridership in Metro Vancouver from a present 11.5%....its greenhouse reduction goals rely on this.

Because you cant expect Vancouver, which is expected to grow to 3 million people in 20 years, to live off a 4 lane highway. It wont work. And maybe widening it will bring more traffic, so will an extra million people...


why not? i see no reason why we should try and accommodate cars for any reason. they already have more than enough space on the road.

they should have expended the WCE to areas south of the fraser before even considering a new bridge/lane expansions.

what they should do is build the perrimiter roads for truck only. widen the highway to 4 lanes each way but only 2 for car travel. make the other lanes for trucks and transit.

i completely agree with the new pitt river bridge and the golden ears bridge though.

We could toll all of our bridges and the one tunnel we have, and invest $15 billion into transit over the next few years.

Not to mention that's the only way the province can achieve its goal of a 22-24% transit ridership in Metro Vancouver from a present 11.5%....its greenhouse reduction goals rely on this.


I would be nice if Falcon would have enough common sense to push for removing the non-tolled alternative policy enforced in this province. Oh wait, he's heavily supported by everyone south of the fraser....

Remember that to residents in the southeast, crossing the Fraser River is like crossing False Creek to Vancouverites. There simply isn't the connectivity across the river.
I've mentioned it before, but for a population of over 500,000 south of the Fraser River to have 5 lanes on the Port Mann, 4 lanes on the Patullo and 6 lanes on the Alex Fraser, it's inadequate.
Compare that to the False Creek crossings that exist in half the distance - 6 lanes on Cambie Bridge (which the City of Vancouver refused to narrow for surface LRT), 8 lanes on Granville Bridge and 6 lanes on Burrard Bridge (which the City of Vancouver refuses to narrow for bikes).
The distance between the Port Mann and its nearest alternative is almost as far as the distance between the Lions Gate and the Second Narrows (which serve a much smaller North Shore population).
So knock down the Granville Bridge, Cambie Bridge and close Main Street and Quebec Street, then take a lane off the Burrrad Bridge. That's what exists at Port Mann.

We could toll all of our bridges and the one tunnel we have, and invest $15 billion into transit over the next few years.

Not to mention that's the only way the province can achieve its goal of a 22-24% transit ridership in Metro Vancouver from a present 11.5%....its greenhouse reduction goals rely on this.

but do you honestly expect people to just not use there cars? You live in a City like Van you cant expect people to bus to work everyday. If i had a car i wouldnt take the bus.

why not? i see no reason why we should try and accommodate cars for any reason. they already have more than enough space on the road.

they should have expended the WCE to areas south of the fraser before even considering a new bridge/lane expansions.

what they should do is build the perrimiter roads for truck only. widen the highway to 4 lanes each way but only 2 for car travel. make the other lanes for trucks and transit.

i completely agree with the new pitt river bridge and the golden ears bridge though.

Do you expect ppl who are visiting for the olympics to bus into town?

but do you honestly expect people to just not use there cars? You live in a City like Van you cant expect people to bus to work everyday. If i had a car i wouldnt take the bus.

people won't use their cars as long as their's a competent transportation alternative, that being transit. as a result of tolling and an increase in transit service, London saw a 24% decrease in car traffic. Same with Stockholm. Both cities also saw their transit usage skyrocket.

but do you honestly expect people to just not use there cars? You live in a City like Van you cant expect people to bus to work everyday. If i had a car i wouldnt take the bus.

The buses in Kamloops to downtown from Aberdeen don't take much less time than most of the buses to downtown right within Vancouver proper's city limits. Kamloops is the epitome of urban sprawl, and so everyone drives. Metro Vancouver as a whole is pretty bad, but any area within the reach of Skytrain (and soon the Canada Line) is better travelled by transit imo.

Remember that to residents in the southeast, crossing the Fraser River is like crossing False Creek to Vancouverites. There simply isn't the connectivity across the river.
I've mentioned it before, but for a population of over 500,000 south of the Fraser River to have 5 lanes on the Port Mann, 4 lanes on the Patullo and 6 lanes on the Alex Fraser, it's inadequate.
Compare that to the False Creek crossings that exist in half the distance - 6 lanes on Cambie Bridge (which the City of Vancouver refused to narrow for surface LRT), 8 lanes on Granville Bridge and 6 lanes on Burrard Bridge (which the City of Vancouver refuses to narrow for bikes).
The distance between the Port Mann and its nearest alternative is almost as far as the distance between the Lions Gate and the Second Narrows (which serve a much smaller North Shore population).
So knock down the Granville Bridge, Cambie Bridge and close Main Street and Quebec Street, then take a lane off the Burrrad Bridge. That's what exists at Port Mann.
There's also the 6-lane behemoth Golden Ears Bridge which will be done within 1.5 years.

Isn't it interesting that Surrey and Langley are only now - when faced with choking traffic - really shaping their town centres? I wonder if that would have even happened if the Port Mann were twinned some time ago...

The South of Fraser is currentlly filled with absolutely unsustainable cities, built using the "classic" North American model of perpetual SFH sprawl and road construction. As a result, Surrey is a chaotic mess of gridlock and monster houses that makes it the butt of jokes. Building up their town centres is their only hope, and I believe that highway expansion will slow these centres' development.

Why pit connectivity vs. sustainability by focusing on highway expansion rather than public transit? Rapid transit expansion would speed up town centre development and achieve connectivity in a sustainable manner.

Surrey was shaping its town centre long ago - when the Skytrain was extended to Whalley in 1993 - the Whalley Ring Road around the Surrey centre was laid out at that time too. The first 4 Gateway Station towers (3 Intrawest condo and one office) were built at that time, and one condo tower with lowrise (The Balmoral, where the 6 people were killed) was the first phase of the King George Park project - where Infinity is now being built. Busby & Associates' designed Revenue Canada Building was built on King George Highway about the same time. Many of the newer subdivisions in Surrey and Langley are actually built denser than single family homes in Vancouver.
The reason it didn't take off was the economic climate and demand wasn't there. With studio condos in downtown Vancouver selling for $89,000 and one bedrooms at $129,000 as recently as the mid to late 1990s - there wasn't as much demand for condos farther out. Now with prices in Burnaby even being high, people are looking farther out, so Whalley makes more sense. Plus there's more population and jobs out there now. These things take time.
Langley (like the other regional town centres, including Richmond, Brentwood, Lougheed, Metrotown) is centred on a mall that was built in the 1970s - Willowbrook Mall. Plus Langley City is quite an old farming community in its own right. (It's like New Westminster being a "suburb", when it is actually older than Vancouver.)
Here's an ad for the original King George Project:
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1963/kinggeorgeparkadvertisemw9.jpg

The other thing to remember is that Greater Vancouver traffic patterns are very diverse and only 20% of Port Mann traffic goes to Vancouver. Those patterns are very difficult to serve with rapid transit - so there's a large segment that you simply cannot serve. A large proportion of the jobs in the suburbs are light industrial/warehousing jobs forced out of Vancouver due to high costs - those types of areas are low density and hard to serve with transit. I think that an LRT system focussed on Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge would do well to serve the eastern suburbs' needs.
The following document shows that employment centres are becoming more dispersed - not more concentrated, presenting a challenge to the region.

http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/growth/workinggroup/LRSPReviewEmpLocationIssues-OptionsBckgrndPaper.pdf

Slide presentation:
http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/growth/workinggroup/TACEmpLocWkshpPresentation(060525).pdf

Also, here are a couple of joint MoT and Translink studies conducted in 2004 regarding travel patterns within GVRD and FVRD.
They show a good breakdown of trips (both commuting and throughout the day) and reflect the dispersion of travel in the region.
For example, of Surrey/Delta/White Rock trips, 79% remain within the sub-area and only 5% go to Vancouver (the same amount as go to Langley).

2004 Greater Vancouver Trip Diary Survey
http://www.translink.bc.ca/files/board_files/meet_agenda_min/2005/06_22_05/4.4tripdiary.pdf

2004 Fraser Valley Trip Diary Survey
http://www.translink.bc.ca/files/board_files/meet_agenda_min/2006/05_24_06/4.9report.pdf

A diagram on page 2 of this Gateway South Fraser Perimeter Road document shows the changes in commuting patterns graphically on a map of the region:
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/gateway/presentations/stage2_SW_Delta/403090web.pdf

The Ministry of Transportation and the Greater Vancouver Transportation
Authority (TransLink) completed a travel survey of Greater Vancouver
residents in 2004. One of the key trends from this survey shows increased
job growth outside downtown areas. For example, in the past decade,
growth in Vancouver residents working in other municipalities exceeded
the growth of other municipal residents working in Vancouver by a factor
of 9 to 1. This type of job growth creates a greater need for travel from
Vancouver to other municipalities, and for inter-municipal travel, which is
not easily served by transit.

The buses in Kamloops to downtown from Aberdeen don't take much less time than most of the buses to downtown right within Vancouver proper's city limits. Kamloops is the epitome of urban sprawl, and so everyone drives. Metro Vancouver as a whole is pretty bad, but any area within the reach of Skytrain (and soon the Canada Line) is better travelled by transit imo.

I know, I guess I kinda forgot about Skytrain. I live in Aberdeen too, and when i take the bus to or from downtown it takes me 25 minutes, during rush hour it takes me about 40. But If I lived in Langley and worked in Burnaby or Van I would drive.

but who would want to live in langley?

people won't use their cars as long as their's a competent transportation alternative, that being transit. as a result of tolling and an increase in transit service, London saw a 24% decrease in car traffic. Same with Stockholm. Both cities also saw their transit usage skyrocket.

That's precisely the problem. Both London and Stockholm have well-developed transportation networks, while transportation alternatives in Vancouver apart from the car are very limited once you get outside the downtown core (I used to live on King Edward near Cambie. Getting to UBC by car was 15-20 min. Taking the bus was closer to an hour).

That said, it's worth noting a few things: (1) traffic in Central London is appalling; (2) the further out one goes, you ideally still need a car to get around as well; and (3) unlike Van, there IS a developed network of motorways to funnel goods and people around (for example, the M25 orbital is 6-8 lanes).

Candidly, Vancouver gets hit from both sides: the lack of a good arterial road system and the lack of truly viable non-car transportation alternates.

why do so many people assume people want to get from Langley - surrey into downtown Vancouver?

its probably the smallest percentage of people that need to or want to

and as of today there are no transit options that are direct between the north and south side of the river other than skytrain

so if someone wants to go from surrey to coquitlam - which can be a 10-15 minute drive has to make a good 60 minute transit trip that just doesn't cut it

Do you expect ppl who are visiting for the olympics to bus into town?


i guess i should remind you that gateway wont be finished until 2013... theyve barely even started other than a small part of #1 and the golden ears bridge. theres a long way to go.

it has nothing to do with the olympics

Oh, I didn't think it would take that long to widen that stretch of freeway.

well they do actually have to build a new bridge. and its not even close to started yet

why do so many people assume people want to get from Langley - surrey into downtown Vancouver?

Because the press and commentators are Vancouver-centric. If you look at the trip diaries I posted above, Surrey and Langley have the highest proportions of trips that stay within their municipalities. Burnaby is much worse for trips leaving the municipality.

Pacific Coliseum hopes to open patios

Christina Montgomery, The Province
Published: Sunday, November 25, 2007

There'll be double vodkas along with the double axels if the Pacific National Exhibition can persuade Vancouver to revamp the Coliseum's ancient liquor licence -- and let it open two outdoor patios.

The 40-year-old stadium, which will host figure-skating events during the 2010 Winter Games, wants to update the rules under which it serves liquor for sports events, trade shows and concerts.

"The applicant is making this application in order to better serve the customers at its venue," says a staff report heading for Vancouver city council Thursday.

"Also, this change is being made to facilitate events that will be held at the Pacific National Exhibition during the 2010 Olympic Games." The stadium's present licence, issued in 1980, sets a capacity of 6,000 people in a floor space generally known as the beer-garden area. When it hosts events with other requirements, a temporary permit is issued.

In 2006, that happened for every Vancouver Giants hockey game, for the beer garden at the Pacific National Exhibition Fair and for 22 other concerts, trade shows and sporting events.

This week, council will be asked to endorse an application by the PNE to license the Coliseum's boxes, concourse, arena floor and general seats -- to a total of 17,903 -- and allow liquor service from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. The change would bring the Coliseum into line with licensing at other major stadiums in the city.

The PNE also wants to open a 200-seat outdoor patio on the north side of the stadium and a 734-seat patio on the south side. The patios could be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, in conjunction with events at the stadium, but would have to close at the end of the last intermission -- or 11 p.m. at the latest.

cmontgomery@ png.canwest.com

but who would want to live in langley?

Housing that is less expensive may be a factor....

Langleys not too bad - the township is really nice - rural yet close to the city - has vinyards, some good parks, close to the beaches of white rock and the us border

has some great shopping

I don't like Langely. It reminds me of typical small town America with everything all spread out and all over the place.

I go through phases of liking big city life and smaller city. Langely is crappy cause it isn't quite one or the other. If I wanted to live in a big city like Vancouver I would live in Vancouver or close by (Burnaby, maybe Richmond). If I wanted to be a in smaller city I'd move back to Kamloops, not live in some distant suburb of a big city.

Wow! all pictures are great and awesome. :)

I don't like Langely. It reminds me of typical small town America with everything all spread out and all over the place.

I go through phases of liking big city life and smaller city. Langely is crappy cause it isn't quite one or the other. If I wanted to live in a big city like Vancouver I would live in Vancouver or close by (Burnaby, maybe Richmond). If I wanted to be a in smaller city I'd move back to Kamloops, not live in some distant suburb of a big city.

i like it cause its close enough yet far enough from the city

my friends live in the township and its so nice and quiet out there yet you can be downtown in in an hour :banana:

the city of langley isn't that bad but it has exploded the last 5 years

http://www.pci-group.com/
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5979/marinehy1.png

that looks like a very promising development. thanks.

officedweller, thanks for all the links. Sorry for the delayed response. That was a ton of info to digest. However, I'm still not certain what your position is. I am guessing you like highway expansion + eastern LRT network. If so, we are actually very close in our positions. You do make a valid point about trip dispersion, and how hard to serve that is with transit. I do not actually mind highway expansion, BUT it must be tolled significantly to effectively manage demand.

Overall though, the LRT network would get priority funding if it were up to me, which is why I disagree with Gateway being built first. Like the GVRD documents seem to indicate, it's better to develop a few-to-few node transportation network, rather than perpetuate the many-to-many node network of today. I don't think there's a better way to achieve that than some new LRT lines. In this way, you'd concentrate rather than further disperse trips.

Anyway, I'd still like to dispute a couple of your points.

Many of the newer subdivisions in Surrey and Langley are actually built denser than single family homes in Vancouver.
Perhaps, but it's safe to say the damage has already been done - just have a look at a map of Surrey. There are so many cul-de-sacs with such a low population density overall that it will be extremely difficult to serve with transit for many, many decades to come. Surrey & Langley have sprawled themselves into pure gridlock.

What's more, the extent of pent-up demand for automobile infrastructure in Surrey is incredible - the people I talk to at work are absolutely salivating over the new overpasses/underpasses being constructed and the thought of more, more, more lanes. It's a culture of sprawl that's only encouraged by Gateway.

With that in mind, I figure a massive highway expansion will quickly unleash a lot of the gridlock in Surrey & Langley onto the rest of the Lower Mainland. But Surrey/Langley roads will soon clog up again as demand quickly ramps up - these people will eat it up... fast, unless it is tolled heavily (and I'd really wonder if $3 will be enough; that is only the same cost as a transit ticket, yet the transit on that side of the Fraser is not an alternative since it's so bad - again, a case for why I think LRT should be built first, given limited transportation funds). Even if the new highways can handle it, Surrey's puny arterials certainly can't. So they'll be expanded (partly within Gateway, but I'd say most of the expansion will be beyond Gateway's scope), which will spur demand even moreso, into perpetuity. It's an absolutely unsustainable model of development.

I don't even see the great difficulty in serving industrial areas with transit, as you say. I work in Port Kells and there are several thousand people working within two blocks of 96 Ave. It's undoubtedly more dense than all but a few neighbourhoods in Surrey. An LRT from Surrey Central along 104 Ave. by Guildford, then crossing the highway to go along 96 Ave. through Port Kells (and hitting the edge of Walnut Grove) before going south to Langley Centre would work quite well. And there's already Scott Road SkyTrain station near Surrey's other big industrial area.

The reason it didn't take off was the economic climate and demand wasn't there. With studio condos in downtown Vancouver selling for $89,000 and one bedrooms at $129,000 as recently as the mid to late 1990s - there wasn't as much demand for condos farther out. Now with prices in Burnaby even being high, people are looking farther out, so Whalley makes more sense. Plus there's more population and jobs out there now. These things take time.
Relative price is only one factor behind demand. Whalley was left to rot for so many years without adequate attention, and only now is it starting to turn around with the crime problems reduced a bit. Also, you mentioned the 1993 plan, but 14 years later, what do we have? We can only hope the brand new Transit Village plan works out better and curbs some sprawl.

Housing that is less expensive may be a factor....

but in reality your transportation costs would be through the roof. also the amount of time spent traveling would have a cost... what is your time worth?

Too expensive and unpredictable to build in Vancouver, even with high priced pre-sales in hand!
From today's Sun (partial article).

Development costs continue to take a toll
Eden Group cancels two condo projects. Presale buyers will get refunds
Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Vancouver-based Eden Group has cancelled two city condominium projects, citing rising construction costs that would have created huge losses if they were to proceed.

"We're not in a financial position to proceed for a variety of reasons," company owner Bill Eden said in an interview.

The projects include the $65-million, 119-unit Elyse at East 7th Avenue and Scotia Street and the $30-million, 31-unit Montgomery Estates townhouse project at Oak Street and 43rd Avenue.

Fifty-five buyers made pre-sale purchases of Elyse units earlier this year, and their deposits will be refunded. No pre-sales were conducted on the Montgomery Estates development.

Eden plans to sell off both sites.

He noted that most of the pre-sale buyers in the Elyse development were investors in the project itself, who had the right to pre-purchase units.

"They're not public third-party people," Eden said.

He said the civic workers strike caused costly delays this year, and rising labour and materials expenses made construction costs prohibitive.

"There's also the uncertainty about the future of those costs and whether we can get enough people to build the building," Eden said. "If I have those factors in play, I have no idea when I can complete, which means I have no control over my costs whatsoever."

He said he wanted to save investors' money and prevent "purchasers' anguish" by shelving the projects now.

Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association chief executive Peter Simpson said Eden probably did the right thing under the circumstances.

"He looked down the road and saw endless problems with these projects. So he wanted to terminate them now, sooner than later, out of respect to his customers," he said in an interview.

The project cancellations follow similar recent developments in Metro Vancouver -- including the controversial cancellation of 32 pre-sale contracts on the Riverbend project in Coquitlam after the developer claimed rising costs had raced ahead of pre-sale prices.

"This obviously concerns us, but we don't believe it's a trend," Simpson said. "We're going to start about 19,000 homes [in Metro Vancouver] this year, and three-quarters of those are condominiums and the overwhelming majority are completed without incident."

He said Eden's costs mounted this year following delays caused by the civic workers strike, but the strike did not cause the projects' demise.

"The problem was rising costs and the onerous development process in Vancouver," Simpson said. "Builders obviously need to plan for all this stuff, but sometimes you have the best-laid plans and they just don't work out.

"In this case, his costs just got too out of hand for him to continue. [Eden] could have hid his head in the sand and gone ahead with it, but he believes the outcome would not have been very positive."

Perhaps, but it's safe to say the damage has already been done - just have a look at a map of Surrey. There are so many cul-de-sacs with such a low population density overall that it will be extremely difficult to serve with transit for many, many decades to come. Surrey & Langley have sprawled themselves into pure gridlock.

I think that the major arterial / infill road system isn't that bad a pattern. Granted there aren't the alternate routes that you have with a pure grid system, but Vancouver has spent a lot traffic calming in neighbourhoods to mitigate the effects of the pure grid. Buses will run on major arterials like they do in Vancouver, and the newer subdivisions (and probably some of the older ones) have walking paths to get about within the subdivisions (i.e. cut the walking distance). One thing is that the majority of arterial roads in Surrey are not as wide as the 6-lane major arterials that you see in Vancouver - i.e. Burrard, Granville, Oak, Cambie, Main, Knight. A lot of them are still country roads that now have to serve a population almost as big as Vancouver's. I don't think that Surrey should be criticized for bringing itself up to "urban" standards (i.e. Surrey is building a city in its own right, not solely to funnel commuters to downtown, and much of its infrastrcuture will be used for local travel, as they are in Vancouver.)

In terms of large lots, I think that you may see the suburbs being more receptive to internal redevelopment than Vancouver is. Stephen Rees posted pics on his blog of redevelopemnt (intensification) along one of the major arterials in Richmond. I also know of friends in Richmond where large lots have been subdivided for multiple narrow lots. If you look at some aerial shots of Vancouver, you'll see low density too - like this one next to the King Edward Station:

http://www.canadaline.ca/uploads/Gallery/1528.JPG
(Jim Jorgenson Photo from Canada Line website)

Relative price is only one factor behind demand. Whalley was left to rot for so many years without adequate attention, and only now is it starting to turn around with the crime problems reduced a bit. Also, you mentioned the 1993 plan, but 14 years later, what do we have? We can only hope the brand new Transit Village plan works out better and curbs some sprawl.

When the Gateway Station towers (by Intrawest) were first built there was a strong demand for them - but then the real estate market tanked in the late 1990s and suburban towers were the first to feel the hit. (Intrawest also got out of the condo development business so that impacted the projects too.) So the reputation of the area didn't have an initial impact on the saleability of the units. King George Development didn't proceed with its project beyond the first phase because of the market and/or financing and eventually sold the land (in a way that was a good thing because the first phase is a stucco tower and has leaked). But you may be right in that the whole drug problem - crack, etc. - really took off after the mid 90s - both in the DES and in Surrey - so that probably delayed the uptake for the Surrey projects coming back on line.

More of that Marine Drive Station/transit loop/ICBC redevelopment from LeftCoaster:

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/MW1.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/MW2.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/MW3.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/MW4.jpg

It's a fair point about low density in Vancouver. I'm not saying that Surrey should not have any low density development though, but that it should do a better job managing its population growth - at least put more people closer to amenities & transit.

It's politically easy, maybe especially since Falcon's a resident of Surrey, to give the people the roads and bridges they want - the bandaid for their traffic woes. Unfortunately, by unleashing Surrey's road horde via highway expansion, Falcon is encouraging more auto-oriented, spread-out development at the expense of higher density, more sustainable development.

In the future, ever-growing demand for roads in Surrey & Langley will make rapid transit funding even more politically difficult to obtain. I worry that putting highways before transit today could set the tone for many more road vs. transit funding allocation decisions down the road. For today, we are saying that we can outbuild congestion, despite knowing we cannot. Surrey has no real alternative to the car now, and it looks like it's going to stay that way for a long time to come. By instead starting on an eastern suburb LRT network, the town centres should rapidly develop (given better planning & attention this time around), and this trend could be reversed.

I do agree that we need more road capacity (especially for freight), but right now congestion is the only thing keeping Surrey mildly under control in terms of its growth management. Take that away, and it could get really ugly.

I tend to think that the twinning of the Port Mann just plays catch-up to a basic level of infrastructure. i.e. Portland is looking to replace the current I-5 bridges over the Columbia (2 x 4-lanes, one over 80 years old, the other from the 1950s, I think) with a new 12 lane structure.

In terms of housing and commercial growth patterns, that manner of growth is ultimately controlled by City Hall through zoning.

Surrey does have some "town centre" areas (like Vancouver does) without the rapid transit - the obvious historic ones being Whalley, Guildford, Cloverdale and Newton, but also smaller ones like that are developing too around projects like Morgan Heights and the one on Hwy 10 near the YMCA.
I don't think it's a forgone conclusion that you can't reverse / redevelop auto-oriented developments with transit-oriented developments when rapid transit arrives. I think that you're seeing that along No. 3 Rd. in Richmond with newer planned higher density projects coming to the sidewalk. I think it may be a problem if you are building multi-storey tower projects in a form that cannot be altered, but strip malls, etc. are a dime a dozen and can easily be replaced with higher uses when feasible. One concern could be ownership structures - i.e. strata-titled commercial space and lower density condos (4 storey) may take longer to redevelop since it would require all owners to vote and agree.

theres nothing worng with 4 storey condos. we need a mix of heights and densities. the only problem would be is it was built with shitty planning principles. ie... a big parking lot out front

True, but it depends where they are located.
i.e. a new 4 storey condo right on No. 3 Rd (i.e. downtown Richmond) would not make sense - and it would be hard to redevelop the site because you'd need a vote of strata council to dissolve the strata and sell. I tend to think that the relatively new lowrise condos on Garden City Way & Alderbridge seem out of place for downtown Richmond. Granted, there are similar structures on Lansdowne in the area, but those are older, built before the push for densification in the core areas.
The same would apply to King George Highway in Whalley or Kingsway in Metrotown.

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

2007TRAN0053-001530

Nov. 27, 2007
Ministry of Transportation



$16.5-MILLION CONTRACT AWARDED FOR UNDERPASS PROJECT


SURREY – A $16.5-million contract has been awarded to launch design and construction of the 156th Street Underpass project in the City of Surrey, announced Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts today.

“We are always looking at ways to develop infrastructure to meet transportation needs, and incorporate eco-friendly solutions at the same time,” said Falcon. “This underpass will help connect Surrey neighbourhoods separated by Highway 1 and will pave the way for future rapid bus service on Highway 1, connecting Surrey to communities north of the Fraser River.”

Last month, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Province and TransLink to ensure rapid bus service across the Port Mann Bridge. The $180-million cost-sharing project will provide reliable, fast, frequent bus service between Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey and Langley, with connecting buses to Abbotsford and communities north of the Fraser River via the new Golden Ears Bridge.

“The 156th Street Underpass will provide a much-needed direct link between Fraser Heights and the rest of Surrey,” said Watts. “It will greatly reduce congestion and provide quick and convenient access for pedestrians, cyclists and commuters alike.”

This project, a partnership between the ministry and the City of Surrey, will construct an underpass running under Highway 1 at 156th Street and upgrade 156th Street between 104th and 108th Avenues to two lanes (expandable in the future to four lanes south of Highway 1). The underpass will also allow for the future addition of median ramps to provide access between Surrey and Highway 1 for HOV and transit vehicles, including highway rapid bus service across the Port Mann Bridge.

The design-build contract has been awarded to BA Blacktop of North Vancouver. Design and survey work will take place over the winter, and construction is expected to start in the spring.

“This underpass will improve vehicle, pedestrian, and cyclist access for residents of the Fraser Heights community north of Highway 1,” said Surrey-Tynehead MLA Dave S. Hayer. “This project is one more step towards this government’s greater vision of reducing traffic congestion and air pollution.”

The total cost of the project is $19.6 million. The ministry is providing $11.8 million, and the City of Surrey, which is managing the project, is providing $7.8 million. The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2009.

http://www.gov.bc.ca/tran/

The underpass will also allow for the future addition of median ramps to provide access between Surrey and Highway 1 for HOV and transit vehicles, including highway rapid bus service across the Port Mann Bridge.

Cool. The EAO filed documents had shown this as an overpass (or maybe that IS an underpass shown?):

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3600/24118167ph9.jpg

Cool. The EAO filed documents had shown this as an overpass (or maybe that IS an underpass shown?):

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3600/24118167ph9.jpg

No, actually that is an overpass of Hwy 1 shown. For comparison's sake, look at the eao document for the Golden Ears Connector east of 176th St., which is an underpass of Hwy 1.

Instead, it looks like they have now decided to have twin 3-lane bridges crossing over 156th St. If memory serves me correctly, a slight depression exists on the south side of Hwy 1 in that area as well as at the neighbouring 160th St. interchange - that's probably why they went with the revised design during the detailed design stage.

Thanks for the info.

nice

160th and 104th can be a mess at rush hour

Hey,
Does anyone know what they're gonna built at the corner of Davie & Burrard. They just destroyed the gas station and some of the shops along Davie. But I have no idea of what is gonna be built, no indication on the fences so far.

^ 24 storey condo tower with retail at grade, and possible space for a new and expanded gay & lesbian centre (to relocate from Davie & Bute). The land will likely sit for a few years, so its not likely to see marketing on site anytime soon.

^^ Thanks for the info Westcoast604 :)
But how comes they already destroyed it (especially the existing retails on Davie) if they're not gonna built it soon? It sounds strange to me!

The rezoning for 999 Seymour (@ Nelson) is before City Council next week. The podium is 5 storeys and includes 3 or 4 half floors of office space.
The site is constrained by the same view cone as Freesia, H+H, 1022 Seymour, Sutton Place, etc.

BTW - anyone know about the mid-rise project shown on the Kripps Pharmacy site in the last rendering?

http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20071211/documents/p1.pdf

Renderings from the City Council Report:

http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/5503/999seymour1ga2.jpg

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8031/999seymour2ls6.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1534/999seymour3ez2.jpg

Metro Vancouver boasting the most housing starts in 30 years

Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, December 10, 2007


VANCOUVER - Builders in Metro Vancouver started hammering up more homes in November than in any month in the last 30 years, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Monday.

However, more and more of those homes are condominiums and townhouses. Up to the end of November, the growth in housing starts was driven by a 30-per-cent surge in multi-family-housing construction.

"Construction of single-family homes has declined in all communities except North Vancouver, where infill building has this district bucking the trend," Robyn Adamache, a market analyst with CMHC said in a news release.

Builders started work on 2,704 homes in Metro Vancouver in November, compared with 1,405 in the same month a year ago.

For the first 11 months, Metro Vancouver contractors started on 19,491 units, and only 3,826 of them single-family homes. In the first 11 months of 2006, builders had started on 17,398 new homes, with 5,386 of them single-family homes.

Peter Simpson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association said the results to date already make 2007 the most active year for residential construction in more than a decade.

Province-wide, November housing starts reached 3,718 in November. Nationally, the pace of new-housing construction reached an seasonally adjusted average of 227,900 units for the year.

"Housing starts remained strong in November and are consistent with our new-home construction forecast for 2007," Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist.

However, unlike Vancouver, Dugan said housing strength in the rest of Canada "is attributable to the good performance of single-detached home starts, which reached their highest level since March, 2006."

thats good news for us. interesting though cause in the vancouver sun on friday the front page news was home prices down across the fraser valley. prices were down more than 16% in white rock

Good.

If ya got the jobs, and ya need the people, ya need more affordable housing. The more prices drop the better....

Storyeum recommended to be a Fitness Center instead of a homeless shelter.:banana:



City prefers fitness centre for Storyeum site
Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, January 24, 2008
VANCOUVER - City staff is recommending a proposed homeless shelter at the former Storyeum building in Gastown be rejected in favour of a fitness centre.

The Downtown Eastside Residents' Association suggested the failed Storyeum site at Water and Cordova streets be turned into a 24-hour shelter to house the downtown poor and get them off the streets.

But a staff report suggests this plan -- as well as a proposal by Xcalibur Bowling & Entertainment Ltd. to turn the site into a 48-lane bowling alley -- are too "expensive and impractical" and would not provide the necessary financial returns.

Instead, city staff is recommending council lease the 31,000-square-foot site to Eco Fitness Ltd. Partnership, which is expected to provide $750,000 revenue to the city each year for the first five years of the 10-year term.

DERA, by comparison, has cited the financial returns as "lessening the heavy financial demand on social and municipal services," while Xcalibur said its revenue would be about $600,000 a year.

"The design, zoning and built form condition of the premises would be prohibitive challenges to implementing the uses of a homeless shelter and bowling alley, respectively," the city report by John Breckner states.

The report will go to council next Tuesday for approval.

At least two councillors say they doubt the site, which is zoned commercial and was vacated by Storyeum in November 2006, is appropriate for a homeless shelter.

The city terminated the lease with Storyeum's parent company, Historical Xperiences, after it sought bankruptcy protection in August 2006 and became insolvent.

NPA Coun. Kim Capri said Wednesday she hadn't read the staff report but said there are a number of reasons why the city is reluctant to put a homeless shelter at the Gastown Parkade. She said most of them stem from concerns from neighbouring businesses, which argue they already have enough challenges to boost business and tourism and create economic vitality in the area.

As part of its proposal, Eco Fitness has said its 24-hour, seven-day-a-week facility will generate 25,000 member visits each month, increasing pedestrian traffic in the area.

Members of the Downtown Eastside Residents' Association couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Vision Coun. Raymond Louie agreed the site is more appropriate for commercial uses. "It has been empty for a while and we [need] to ensure we realize some value for our citizens," he said.

He said there are better areas for a homeless shelter, such as closer to the Woodward's development, and said the provincial and federal governments have to step up in the battle against homelessness.

Storeyeum as a homeless shelter....that's the DERA solution to everything. Would probably make it to the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest homeless shelter.

^ Then would come the cries of "warehousing the homeless". I can understand DERA's pitch but it would have been a suicide pill for the area. Any act by the City is inherently political and I think they made the right call in this case.

Here are a number of photos I took today downtown. I posted the photos of some of the projects in their respective threads but I thought I would aggregate everything here too.

The Ritz

The retail podium is turning out quite nice. Is there a specific term for the small "rims" of concrete that protrude out above and beside the window? I like it. I also the like the sloping glass on the second floor and the crisp cornice line it creates. Also, note that the wrapping is being taken off of the red panels. Some of the wrapping was torn off of the building during our last wind storm to reveal a sort of ruddy red colour but thankfully the real red is better.
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/9216/p1050381kz9.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Red panel detail and that nice glass on the Pender elevation.
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7751/p1050383fs2.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

The retail podium along Bute. Imagine living in the condo beside those big HVAC units on the roof of the podium. I bet that "view" was not in the sales brochure.
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/4496/p1050385de5.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Lastly, a shot of the Ritz and the Flatiron. It isn't the greatest picture. I don't know how to get the most out of my camera on days like this when it is bright outside but overcast.
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/5517/p1050384nh6.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)


Flatiron

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/3752/p1050376gy0.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)


Woodwards' W43 Tower

Looking east from the pedestrian bridge at Granville and Cordova.
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/3884/p1050354lm8.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/6184/p1050356aj9.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)


Jameson House

Pender street elevation. The two heritage buildings are fully braced now. The cream coloured one on the left is only having its facade preserved while the old mining museum building beside it is being saved in its entirety.
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9859/p1050361ky2.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Detail of the bracing and I guess a nice promo BelPacific (For all your excavation and shoring needs, call BelPacific today!)
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2094/p1050364hb1.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Why is BelPacific on site? Because there is excavation underway. Finally. For real this time.
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7194/p1050363jb8.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)


Shangri-La

Looking south on Thurlow.
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1723/p1050367od6.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

The "box" near the top of the tower now has glass on two of the two-storey floors.
http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/5719/p1050369uo4.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

The now-classic flatiron view.
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/668/p1050386yn7.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Looking south from Harbour Green Park. The other two buildings under construction are The Ritz and The Flatiron.
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/7002/p1050372kg2.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)


Fairmont Pacific Rim

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2959/p1050359yj6.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)


Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion

From Canada Place.
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/870/p1050358ny0.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Looking north from the driveway of the Shaw Tower. The Fairmont Pacific Rim is to the right.
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2853/p1050365aj4.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Looking northeast from the walkway to Harbour Green Park.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/9819/p1050370qb0.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

Looking east from Harbour Green Park.
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3708/p1050374ab2.jpg
(My photo, taken February 4th, 2008)

For comparison, I took the following picture in late spring last year.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9706/habourgreenparkandvcecpff1.jpg
(My photo, taken June 29th, 2007)

posted by vancouverite

Wall Centre False Creek

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7031/wallctrfalsecreek2xf3.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/2456/wallctrfalsecreek3gc0.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3862/wallctrfalsecreek1ui0.jpg

www.wallcentrefalsecreek.com

Pure
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1907/purefeb132008p1050400lb5.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)


Patina
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/2458/patinapitno3february132od5.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2237/patinapitfebruay132008plc1.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)

That's a deep pit. The guy at the bottom gives one a sense of scale.


Shangri-La
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5011/shangrilaburrardandhelmek0.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/7236/p1050413ew4.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/5862/p1050417fp9.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)


Canada Line Waterfront Station Switch
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/3373/canadalinewaterfrontstaow6.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)


Woodwards
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9123/woodwardsfebruary132008wk4.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6773/woodwardszoomfebruary13bk5.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)


Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9925/vccepno1february132008pzi9.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)


Fairmont Pacific Rim
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5568/fairmontpacificrimfebruoh8.jpg
(My photo, February 13th, 2008)

^ Very good updates of all the Vancouver projects. Nice pics. :)

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for about a month, and thought I'd finally put my feet in the water. Before I start I have to say, you guys are awesome. I'm really impressed with some of the detective work ppl have done to dig up info on developments and projects, and some of the pics are just awe-inspiring. Cheers to you :cheers:

Anyway, with regards to the convention centre, like a lot of people I was less than impressed when the first images/models came out. "What's that bunker doing in Coal Harbour??!?" Compared to the sails of the original CC, it seemed like a total cop-out. But now that's it's coming together, I may be changing my mind. It's got a certain westcoast modernist elegance (what with all the smooth glass and the curving roofline that hints of Asian influence). And I suspect it may actually be quite an experience to be there, because of all the floor-to-ceiling windows that would offer unobstructed view of the incredible harbour. Or imagine standing out on that green roof, like on a platform to see 360 deg of pure Vancouver spectacular-ness....

(Plus, with all the multi-million dollar cost-overruns, I'm sure the interior will be encrusted with jewels and the like :nuts:)

Anyway, with regards to the convention centre, like a lot of people I was less than impressed when the first images/models came out. "What's that bunker doing in Coal Harbour??!?" Compared to the sails of the original CC, it seemed like a total cop-out. But now that's it's coming together, I may be changing my mind. It's got a certain westcoast modernist elegance (what with all the smooth glass and the curving roofline that hints of Asian influence). And I suspect it may actually be quite an experience to be there, because of all the floor-to-ceiling windows that would offer unobstructed view of the incredible harbour. Or imagine standing out on that green roof, like on a platform to see 360 deg of pure Vancouver spectacular-ness....

I was of the same ilk when it started and it is definitely growing on me as having alot of elegance for it's understated visual impact and letting the "sails" next door continue to be the trademark of the area. I think it will be fabulous when finished.
And a big WELCOME to adamjuice!

It's growing on me too. A lot of its appearance depends on the glass and they've done a great job of it. It's supposed to look like a lantern all lit up at night, so that'll probably be it's best attribute - as a nighttime focal point on the waterfront (versus the patchy lighting of condos or the darkness of the park).

i find the new convention center "nice" but not really inspiring. hopefully when its done, i will be convinced of its grandeur.

personally, i think the convention center looks like a huge version of the McGill Burnaby Public Library seen from Confederation Park.

I hope when its done, we can play a soccer game on its grass roof.:nuts:

I hope when its done, we can play a soccer game on its grass roof.:nuts:

i wish it had public access -_-

^ wouldn't the homeless flock there though? i could see quite a few squats and protests happening there if it were open.

Lake City Centre - 100,000 sqft office bldg at the Production Way-SFU SkyTrain Station.
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/6392/p1050502ib0.jpg
(My photo, taken February 22nd, 2008)

Brentwood Gate - Low-rises
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6138/p1050490wh5.jpg
(My photo, taken February 22nd, 2008)

Brentwood Gate - High-rise
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8471/p1050499kc8.jpg
(My photo, taken February 22nd, 2008)

Citi & Motif - Office tower and residential high-rise
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/9584/p1050482go3.jpg
(My photo, taken February 22nd, 2008)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4996/p1050486qq6.jpg
(My photo, taken February 22nd, 2008)

L'Hermitage

I really like this building. I think it turned out great, especially the podium. It has a lot of presence and weight and yet does not feel overbearing.
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/2782/p1050635ue1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) (My photo, taken March 1st, 2008)


Capitol Residences

It looks like they have finally finished excavation.
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/6602/p1050636xr1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) (My photo, taken March 1st, 2008)

There is now a Potain crane at the site and the sidewalk passes directly beneath it. This affords pedestrians an unusual view.
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/6654/p1050639wc4.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) (My photo, taken March 1st, 2008)


Dolce & Vita
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/3761/p1050644gg9.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) (My photo, taken March 1st, 2008)


Woodwards
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1448/woodwardsatnightmarch12wm4.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) (My photo, taken March 1st, 2008)

i wish it had public access -_-

I was under the impression that the roof of the convention centre was going to be more or less a park. I haven't really looked into it, but it's pretty surprising to hear you guys talk about there not being any public access up there. I thought I'd heard something about the seawall path leading up to a big public space on the roof, somehow...
Anyway, it's shocking that a large area of green space in the middle of downtown (that the public paid a pretty penny to create) isn't going to be treated as a public park. If there were concerns about squatters or people trying to live up there you'd think that limiting access to the roof and clearing out the area after it was closed for the day would be easier there than with just about any other park in the city.

I realize there are other benefits to a green roof beyond having nice green space, but are they planning on doing anything else with that roof? Or is it just going to remain green and pretty and unused?

There's a big public plaza planned for street level next to the Convention Centre Expansion. The plants on the roof (it's not grass, there'll be sedums and other drought tolerant plants) will be too sensitive to handle foot traffic.
The primary reason for the green roof relates to energy conservation - keeping it cool in summer and keepig heat in in winter. The soil mix and plants will also help moderate stormwater runoff from the roof.

i bet drunktards will make it up there

Haha agreed. I might just end up being one of them.

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/6602/p1050636xr1.jpg

These look like toys :)

Crossroads
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8186/p1050741vi3.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 11th, 2008


Cooper's Quay Precinct
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1465/p1050840ai1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 12th, 2008


Olympic Village
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5678/p1050827gx7.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 12th, 2008

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5561/p1050843sc0.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 12th, 2008


Foundry
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/8822/p1050816fk0.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 12th, 2008


Vancouver Hilton (Robson and Cambie)
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/79/p1050850dn1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 12th, 2008


Raffles on Robson
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9799/p1050849wd5.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 12th, 2008

There's something wrong on these pics!!!!! How come I see blue sky so frickin often!!! Not that I'm jealous of you guys cause I'm not! I'm happy you get to enjoy blue sky but I'm in Paris now and I've "enjoyed" rain the Vancouver classic way so I'm getting grumpy about it!

There's something wrong on these pics!!!!! How come I see blue sky so frickin often!!! Not that I'm jealous of you guys cause I'm not! I'm happy you get to enjoy blue sky but I'm in Paris now and I've "enjoyed" rain the Vancouver classic way so I'm getting grumpy about it!

It's been a pretty good winter - not too much rain. Still get some, but not the classic "14 days of straight rain".

Good to see a Hilton in downtown Van...

I did not know the ol' Dufferin on Seymour is a swanky boutique hotel now...


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/447442935_a15ad2fc40.jpg?v=0


http://modahotel.ca/

Good to see a Hilton in downtown Van...

I did not know the ol' Dufferin on Seymour is a swanky boutique hotel now...


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/447442935_a15ad2fc40.jpg?v=0


http://modahotel.ca/


yup its also not gay anymore - its a str8 bar and club now

the renos of the former skanky lounge look really nice from looking in the windows anyway

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9853/downtownwithweirdlightabq1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/6805/downtownwithweirdlightmxp0.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.

(Zoomed in on the Shangri-La)

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4843/shangrilainweirdlightmaqk6.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


Half an hour later the skies had cleared.

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/6791/northshoremountainsfromml3.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


The Olympic Village construction precinct from the Cambie Street Bridge.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6360/olympicvillagefromcambiqm6.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


The Dragon Boat people are out on the water, one more sure sign that spring is upon us.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9053/dragonboatsinfalsecreekgw9.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.

(here is another sure sign)
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6016/cherryblossomsonvictoritu1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 17th, 2008.


We had a very low tide today and it made the new habitat Island appear to have doubled in size. The daylighted stream will empty into False Creek through this micro bay so there should always be some water present here in the future. For now the stream is damed and the water is being pumped into the creek on the other side of the island.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1379/habitatislandatlowtimeszd6.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.

Some dark metal obelisks have been added to the south side of the mini-bay in the new part of the Seawall in front of the Olympic Village. I like the enclosure they offer and I believe there are also lights.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/347/olympicvillagemainbaycomy0.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


A closer view of the sentinals. They appear to be quite shiny and almost a dark, burnished maroon brass colour. I like them. They are my favourite element of the industrial motif of the site, public memory and all.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4839/olympicvillagesteelsentoq9.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.

A single steel sentinel. The glass tube in the centre sure looks like a light to me.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5610/olympicvillagesteelsentjr1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


Construction happenings on the eastern half of the Olympic Village as seen from 1st Avenue, looking east. There was a fairly big pour going on when I was by. A pair of those giant semi-trailer-type concrete ready mix trucks were feeding the pumper and two more were waiting in the wings with their engines roaring.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3139/olympicvillagesecornerndi4.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


The Salt Building and the western half of the Olympic Village from 1st Avenue, looking west.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3020/saltbldgandwesternolympoi0.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


A block or two west one comes across some of the first projects going up in the larger Southeast False Creek precinct. On the left is Foundry, a mid-rise tower and townhouse podium. On the right the red brick building is part of The Exchange, a new heritage conversion project that will incorporate a new mid-rise building and convert the old building into lofts. That building was once housed one of Vancouver's original telephone exchanges, hence the name.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9413/foundryandtheexchangeseqz0.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.


I noticed this on my way home tonight and snapped a picture of the nice new mural beneath the Granville Street Bridge. I like it a lot.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9271/firstnationsartmuralbencc7.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/9853/downtownwithweirdlightabq1.jpg
.

Height-wise, Shangri-la actually fits perfectly into the skyline from this view. They need to fill up the airspace between it and Wall centre =)

There's something wrong on these pics!!!!! How come I see blue sky so frickin often!!! Not that I'm jealous of you guys cause I'm not! I'm happy you get to enjoy blue sky but I'm in Paris now and I've "enjoyed" rain the Vancouver classic way so I'm getting grumpy about it!


some people only take pictures when the sun shines...

no, it just never rains in vancouver

From the national posts (March 29, 2008): http://www.nationalpost.com/life/travel/story.html?id=407570

Van's new vibe
Vancouver's hospitality boom defines a new sense of luxury

Joanne Sasvari, Financial Post
Published: Saturday, March 29, 2008

Steve Bosch/Canwest News Service
Just the other day, international supers tar chef Daniel Boulud was in town cooking a lunch rich with scallops, truffles and crispy roast piglet.

"Coming to Vancouver, I am very intimidated. And a little scared, too," says Mr. Boulud, who was offering local taste-makers a nibble of his first Canadian venture, DB Bistro Moderne Vancouver, which will open here in July. "This city is very vibrant with energy around food."

You could say this city is very vibrant with energy around everything these days.

Not so long ago, Vancouver was a laid-back city of Birkenstocks, Cowichan sweaters and fish-and-chip joints. It was a nice place to live, but not a particularly luxurious one.

How things have changed. Today, the city in the rain forest is the very definition of modern luxury, the sort of casual elegance and graceful quality of life Vancouverites have come to take for granted.

Now the rest of the world is taking note.

Vancouver's skyline is bristling with cranes as more and more high-end hotels and condo complexes are built. Famous faces mingle with the crowds shopping at international luxury retailers. New restaurants open almost every week. And housing prices continue to skyrocket as more newcomers move to town.

It seems that everyone is rushing to join the party before February, 2010, and the Olympic Winter Games.

But while the Olympics have set an important deadline for construction, the games are not the only reason for the boom.

"I believe the Olympics are just one more catalyst in Vancouver's evolution," says Steve Darling, Shangri-La Hotels' regional vice-president for North America.

"There's no question in my mind that the 2010 Olympic Games are a catalyst to make the industry stretch to the next level. But had we not had the Olympics, we would still have the demand."

The Shangri-La, scheduled for completion in January, 2009, is just one of a number of new hotels under construction in Vancouver's downtown, but it is the one that towers -- literally -- over the rest. If it is true that the tallest building in a city symbolizes what is most important to that community, then this 61-storey hotel makes it clear Vancouver prizes hospitality above all else.

Also coming to town are the Ritz-Carlton and the Kor Hotel Group's first Canadian location, the Loden.

Fairmont is building the new five-star Fairmont Pacific Rim, next to the new convention centre, making this its sixth property in the region.

Perhaps most exciting, at least for those who long to preserve some of Vancouver's heritage amid the towers of glass, is the project at the Hotel Georgia, a historic Art Deco property that once played host to the Queen, the Beatles and Elvis Presley, but in recent decades had fallen into neglect.

"It's going to create something Vancouver hasn't seen in a really long time," says Bruce Langereis, president of the Delta Group, which is developing the $400-million hotel renovation and an adjacent 48-storey condo tower as "a place to stay and a place to socialize."

Although the hotel won't be completed until late 2009, Mr. Langereis already has his first guest booked for the Olympics -- famed director Steven Spielberg. But he notes the project didn't come together because of the Olympics. In fact, it was in the works even before Vancouver won the bid. "This is evolving because that's the way the city is evolving," he says.

Vancouver could use the extra accommodation. This city already has the second-highest occupancy rate in Canada, next to Calgary, and few of its 25,000 hotel rooms could be considered luxury accommodation.

That leaves plenty of opportunity for newcomers -- and plenty of reason for existing hotels to renovate, as the Four Seasons has done with its stylish new Yew Restaurant + Lounge.

Of course, the Four Seasons is also competing with the city's explosion in dining options. Last year alone, more than 100 significant new restaurants opened in the city. No wonder the international culinary community has taken note.

Recently, TV's Gordon Ram-say was spotted around town looking for a location. Already his compatriot, Michelinstarred chef Warren Geraghty, moved here from London's famed L'Escargot to take over at West when David Hawks-worth departed to open his own place at the Georgia.

And then there's Daniel Boulud. The French chef who introduced New York to the $150 burger is not only opening his own restaurant in the old Feenie's location, but will be overseeing one of Vancouver's best known fine-dining rooms, Lumiere.

"I do believe Vancouver is ready for this type of dining experience. Both DB Bistro Moderne Vancouver and Lumiere are very different and yet speak to the luxury-minded guest," says David Sidoo, co-owner with his wife, Manjy, of the two locations.

He adds: "Luxury retailers and hoteliers and real estate developers are targeting this audience as well in Vancouver and see the potential for growth in this vibrant market."

Mr. Boulud has certainly figured that one out. At the lunch he hosted recently at Lumiere, between the Black Tie scallops and the Quartet of Young Quebec Pork, he told Mr. Sidoo, half-jokingly, "David, you're going to have to get me a little condominium nearby. I forgot to tell you that."

He would be wise to get into the market sooner rather than later. Already, prices are so high that $1-million will get you a tear-down in a borderline neighbourhood.

"Vancouver is built out. It's over," Mr. Langereis says. "In 15 to 20 years, we've built out most of the land. There's no more supply. People think it's expensive here now, but wait 10 years."

Vancouverites may be mortgaged to the hilt, but that's not stopping them from shopping, and retailers have taken note.

Almost every major label has a boutique here: Tiffany, Chanel, Agent Provocateur, Coach, Ferragamo, Hermes, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, among others. Michael Kors just opened one of his two flagship Canadian stores here (the other is in Montreal). Luxury retailer Holt Renfrew recently spent untold millions to open a massive new flagship store downtown. And the market for gourmet foods, fine wines and high-end housewares just keeps growing.

In the new definition of luxury, it's not about formality and grandeur, but about style, authenticity, hospitality and a certain quality of life. Vancouver has become the epitome of all that and now, it seems, the world is catching on.

As Mr. Langereis says, "It's just confirming what we all know about our lovely little town."

Downtown Vancouver towers tend to get most of the attention, yet the more modest infill projects throughout the city actually account for the majority of our population growth. It was a nice day today, until it started hailing like crazy (the weather has been bizarre this week), and I decided to do an update of some of the out-of-sight, out-of-mind projects in Vancouver's South Granville neighbourhood.

South Granville is the catch-all name for the neighbourhood that revolves around Granville street between 16th and the Granville Street Bridge. It is a thiriving commercial high street and gallery district anchored by the Arts Club Theatre Company's Stanley Theatre. The neighbourhood is very similar to the West End in downtown Vancouver in that it is almost exclusively comprised of apartment buildings, new and old, and many of the old manor homes in the area have been lovingly converted to apartments. There have been apartment buildings in the area almost as long as there has been a Vancouver and because of this it is very amenable to new infill development. It is a pedestrian and bicycle oriented neighbourhod and traffic on side streets ranges from light to non-existent. Enjoy.


Sakura | mid-rise tower on 11th at Birch
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8366/sakurasouthgranvillevante9.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

Coco | mid-rise tower on 14th at Spruce
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5086/cocosouthgranvillevancoen3.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

The Zone (u/c) and Spruce (app) | mid-rise towers on Broadway at Spruce
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5655/thezonefairviewvancouvejs8.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

Infill mid-rise tower | 13th between Hemlock and Birch
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/6732/southgranvilleinfilltowmo0.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

A new retail building on Granville between 11th and 12th
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9803/newretailbuildingongranmh8.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

Infill mid-rise tower | Pine at 8th
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/848/infillmidrisetoweronpinrg5.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

Camera | mid-rise tower at Pine at 8th
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3142/cameraonpineat8thmarch2ut4.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

Mantra | slab (C2) low-rise on 4th at Pine
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3786/mantrac2midrisemarch292tp6.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

Lumen | infill low-rise on 3rd at Pine
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8490/lumeninfilllowrisemarchjg3.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.


A Bonus

One Kingsway | mid-rise tower and community centre/library on Kingsway at Main
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5480/onekingswayvancouvermarlz5.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 29th, 2008.

TV Towers

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/858/tvtowersapril132008smalbe7.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 13th, 2008

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2133/tvtowersglassapril13200hd5.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken April 13th, 2008


The Erickson

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8691/ericksonapril122008smalhd4.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) Taken by SFUVancouver (SSP (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/index.php)) / Vancouverite (SSC (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/)), on April 12th, 2008.

Question, what's going on at 1155 W Pender across from Sapphire? Went by yesterday and it looks like something has almost reached grade.

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/6976/89252707vb1.jpg

EDIT: Boo, nevermind, it's just the Coast Hotel, what a waste of such a central location...thought there was a new 300-400 footer no one knew about...
http://coasthotels.ca/images/hotels/canada/bc/coast_coalharbour/photogallery/ccc_hotel_model.jpg

Meurrr.... still hugely disappointed... dunno why the city is still allowing 200 foot stubs within blocks of buildings like Melville and Shangri-la. Wow wee it's the same height as the other 4-5 stubs across the street, but I thought we're supposed to be building taller??? Not to mention that this one is way shorter than the big black Sierra building obstructing its view.

I noticed this on my way home tonight and snapped a picture of the nice new mural beneath the Granville Street Bridge. I like it a lot.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9271/firstnationsartmuralbencc7.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) My photo, taken March 27th, 2008.

thats awesome, i love the artstyle. got a haida sun tattoo recently!!

^^
That mural looks like it was meant to stand vertically, maybe it's just being stored there temporarily?

'stored temporarily'? isn't it painted onto the cement?

lol yes

no its the right way

its head is on the right and it has wings at the top and feet at the bottom

its sort of like this thing but the opposite way around...

http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/griffin5.jpg

So the Hills development is on Nanaimo & Kingsway. Near that site just west of it along Kingsway is a large tract of land under excavation by Thind Development projects. Checked their site but it only states "We are preparing to announce an exciting new development that includes 84 concrete Residential Units and 14 Commercial Units. Pre-register now to be the first to get more information about our latest project."

Anyone here ever see the UDP or city documents on this site. Curious as it's a large hunk of land.

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/developmentservices/devapps/2300kingsway/index.htm

He's not refering to the hills but the old london guard motel site, it will be 84 condo units overtop of 14 retail units, there will be a back half developed later which will probably be townhouses. The project is 4 stories and will be broken up and include a pathway that will Kinsgway connect to General Brock park which is one block north of the project. The presentation centre is under construction at the site where Wallys burgers was. Should open up shortly.
The minutes for the UDP and DPB would be on the citys website, you'll have to search as it would've gone thru last year. Here you go

UDP minutes
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/planning/udp/2007/minutes/jul18.htm

whoops sorry

Thanks so much!

The website for the above project is now up, has a render as well.

http://www.thind.ca/projects/the-scene/index.html

Love this vintage postcard from flickr
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/401517393_cb549f9582.jpg?v=0
Office buildings make the skyline back in the early 80's.

What's with the windows on that Skytrain. I've never seen one like that. Were the early models like that - with the windows around the service door?

They're just black panels, not windows.
That's just a render - SRT in TO has them like that (well, SRT has a driver's window there, but the other side is a panel).
Hmm. Makes you wonder how they see ahead when they operate MKI Skytrains in manual mode if the controls are to the side.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarborough_RT_(TTC)

Museum of Anthropology will re-launch for Olympics
MARSHA LEDERMAN, Globe and Mail

September 1, 2008

Vancouver -- The Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver will close down after today for six months, to accommodate a major renovation. The museum, on the campus of the University of British Columbia, is expanding its size by 50 per cent in a $55-million plus renovation.

Phase two of the project - renovating 75 per cent of the museum's existing spaces - will require the museum to close for the extended period. It will partially re-open on March 3, 2009, with a grand re-launch planned for January, 2010, to coincide with the Cultural Olympiad.

The first phase of the renovation involving the construction of a new research wing was completed in May.

The museum made headlines this year when it was the site of a break-in and theft of 15 works, including 12 by the iconic Haida artist Bill Reid - most of them gold. All of the works have since been recovered, with the exception of a fragment of a Reid argillite pipe panel. No charges have yet been laid.

Before the museum closes its doors this afternoon, it will hold a Closing Time party from 1 to 4 p.m.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/ubc.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/oct2gon/ubc1.jpg

lots more info here. click on "building plans" for additional renderings -
http://www.moa.ubc.ca/renewal/index.php

Credits to Delirium

I wish they would completely demolish the old Plaza of Nations. The east office building has not been abandoned.

The Miramar towers in White Rock:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2026/2449933298_9839c4a3dd_b.jpg

They don't seem to fit in with the area... mid-rise development like Fairview/Broadway/South False Creek would have been more appropriate.

It's the beginning of increasing density in White Rock... I'm sure we'll see more projects like this in the future.

aren't those towers technically in surrey? i think they are right where the border is

This pic is a year old from some blog... all I know is the building's from Burnaby and they're adding floors to the building. Anyone know where it is?
http://bp3.blogger.com/_f3PUktO_5d0/Rk_wSY0N-8I/AAAAAAAAApM/VZ30WCtD_N8/s400/kingsway+mackay.jpg

thats pretty old now its complete

its the tower above the staples on kingsway

ah, thanks

Article from Smooth on SSP:

No extra height for Extra Foods
3 councillors alter vote; tower's bylaws fail 4-3

Stephanie Mosley
North Shore News

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

In a surprising turn of events Monday night, City of North Vancouver council failed to adopt the bylaws to redevelop the Extra Foods site at 17th Street and Lonsdale Avenue.

Couns. Bob Heywood, Bob Fearnley and Barbara Perrault all reversed votes originally cast in favour of the redevelopment at a Sept. 8 council meeting.

The proposal will be sent back to city staff for further consultation.

The councillors listed community outcry over the project's height, traffic safety and amendments to the official community plan as reasons for reconsideration.

"I certainly want the project to go ahead, but I think we are doing it in this situation without the consent of the community," said Heywood.

The redevelopment, which passed second and third reading of its bylaws 6-1 following the Sept. 8 public hearing, called for rezoning that would result in roughly 200,000 square feet of residential development including a 240-foot (73-metre) highrise -- 60 feet above the current official community plan limit. The plan also outlined the replacement of the existing 25,000-sq.-ft. grocery store with one nearly double its size as well as right in, right out parking access from Lonsdale Avenue.

A public plaza area and the inclusion of between 12 and 13 units of non-market housing, in exchange for extra density and height, were also part of the proposal.

"When an issue is this contentious, I think it's important that we stand back and use the tool that we have -- and that is reconsideration," said Perrault, adding that she doesn't want to see the project lost, but built within the OCP.

"Those six extra floors will not be housing for people who are down and out, they will be housing for people who can well afford expensive condos and only 12 families will be provided housing," she told council.

At the core of the discussion, however, was a disagreement over details of a confidential or "in camera" meeting about the project.

All three councillors who amended their votes said they now want to see money made available by the project put into the city's affordable housing fund and the tower brought back down six storeys.

Fearnley and Perrault referred to the city's sale (at an undisclosed amount) of an adjacent laneway as one revenue source, while Heywood referenced a $5-million payment that he said was once on the table.

"If the building was dropped to the level of the OCP and the city was to gain $5 million, which I believe was the proposal that was up before us at one stage of the game, that $5 million dollars would go a lot farther to build affordable housing," Heywood said.

However, Couns. Craig Keating and Sam Schechter refuted claims that the city was going to get any money without the additional height.

"If this thing comes in at 180 feet that is there in the OCP, there is no extra money, there is no contribution to the city," Keating said. "The question was whether or not those six storeys and the contribution should be in the form of direct cash or those units built in. That was the option.

"I cannot understand (why) people who have been on council this long . . . cannot understand the basic economics of this situation," he said, adding that two community surveys in a row have indicated that affordable housing is the number 1 issue in the city.

Schecter agreed. In an interview with the North Shore News Tuesday, Schechter said council decided at the in camera meeting that it was going to hear the applicant's proposal that included affordable housing units, rather than a proposal where the developer would contribute roughly $5 million to the city's affordable housing fund. Both were proposed as options to council in exchange for rezoning to increase height and density.

"If we vote with the OCP, there is no housing benefit, not for the affordable housing fund, not in cash, not in units, it's just gone. That is a tragedy," Schechter said.

Sylvia Yung, vice-president of communications for developer Anthem Properties, said Heywood's claims over a possible payment to the affordable housing fund without an increase in density must have been a "misunderstanding."

She said that the company does not have to provide any public benefit if the building comes within the OCP height because the development would not require any rezoning to be approved by council.

"It is an unfortunate turn of events, but if that's what city council wants we have to abide by it," she said of Monday night's decision.

Despite Keating and Schechter's comments, Heywood, Fearnley and Perrault were not persuaded.

"People said they wanted the food store, not the six extra floors," said Fearnley. "You still have to respect what the people of the City of North Vancouver want."

The amendments to the bylaw were defeated in a 4-3 vote. The three councillors joined Coun. Pam Bookham in opposition to the bylaw amendments.

Mayor Darrell Mussatto said the decision was "a big loss for the city."

"It is not easy trying to provide affordable housing units for people, and the city was trying to look at different tools," he said. "We have a fundamental responsibility to house people first. I'm very disappointed."

Council also voted 4-3 to direct the project back to city staff for further consultation, including re-examining the building's height and parking access.

Richard White, director of community development, told council that the city could lose out on the affordable housing element of the project.

"I think it's accurate to say that there will be less affordable housing, less money to the city if the reduced height building is built," he said, adding he believed a reduction in tower height would still be acceptable to the applicant.

Anthem Properties' Yung said the company still desires to see the project go ahead but will wait and see "if the numbers work" after meeting with city staff.

"We are very disappointed because we were looking at providing a community benefit in the name of affordable housing," she said.




Gotta love the way North Shore works. "180 feet is too tall! Lower it by 6 stories, and give us $5 million" Sounds like each floor has 2 units... how much does a 14-storey condo tower cost to build anyway... 25-30 million?

^^
NIMBY's everywhere. Shame.

lots of great projects in Vancouver.
Can't wait to visit this beautiful city.

aren't those towers technically in surrey? i think they are right where the border is

These towers are at Russell Ave and Johnston Rd. Within White Rock city limits Surrey's numbered street grid has names instead. So Russell is the equivalent of 15th Ave and Johnston is the equivalent of 152nd St. 16th Ave is the southern border of Surrey in that area so these things are about a block in on the White Rock side of Semiahmoo Town Centre. :)

It seems development in Vancouver has ebbed...what will the next major tower be? A tall office tower? Another mixed-use? Toronto is experiencing quite the building boom (many of which are signature towers)...what will Vancouver see in the near future?

^^ Sadly, nothing.

The Ritz in Vancouver is still going up, isn't it? It's the second-biggest something hight-wise in the city, ever!

I am hoping for a 70 storey office tower downtown....

Ritz Carlton is up in the air it seems:

Update: Construction and sales suspended on Ritz Carlton hotel/condo

http://rogersradiointernet.com/BC/CKWX/images/2007/ritz-carlton.jpg
Artist's conception of Ritz-Carlton Hotel

http://rogersradiointernet.com/BC/CKWX/images/2007/ritz-carlton%20construction%20oct2108.jpg
Construction equipment left at empty work site
News1130 Photo

Tuesday, October 21 - 03:20:00 PM
Jim Goddard/Mike Hanafin

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Construction and sales have been halted at the massive Ritz-Carlton hotel/condo development in downtown Vancouver. But a prominent real estate promoter says the project is not falling victim to the world-wide credit crunch.

Bob Rennie says construction was halted while the developer (the Holborn Group) re-evaluates design changes to the structure and attached parkade. Right now the 58-storey, $500 million project is only a hole in the ground along Georgia (between Thurlow and Bute), as work stopped last Friday and all signage promoting the building has been removed.

The City of Vancouver says all the plans for the site were approved, and nothing has changed at their end. Speculation has questioned the financial health of the project (20 storey hotel/38 storey luxury condo), considering the recent financial downturn and squeezing of credit markets.

Rennie admits the condo project is only 50% sold, and about 50% of the foundation excavation was complete. There is no indication as to when construction work, or sales will resume. Rennie says similar concerns have been raised at other projects in the past, but there's no reason to believe the project won't go ahead.

I am hoping for a 70 storey office tower downtown....


me too... me too.... Im going to university
for urban planning so maybe one day I'll get
in there and smack these old people across the face

LOL--pls do...how about a double smack?

Can someone plz take some pictures of the excavations for RC, Jameson house, Georgia, Capitol Residences... I love excavation photos, for most projects it's the most interesting thing IMO until construction reaches a significant height above ground.

B.C.'s got the real estate blues

Most home-price decline pessimists here, survey finds

Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

VANCOUVER - Almost half of British Columbians believe real estate prices will continue to drop in 2009, which is the highest rate in Canada, according to a new poll by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals.

Nationwide, the association's survey of more than 2,000 people found the number of people who think prices will fall more than doubled since spring.

Association president Jim Murphy, in an interview, said B.C. has always had the highest home prices and highest levels of mortgage debt, so that in a slowing economy "clearly there is a cautionary note from Canadians with regard to price expectations."

British Columbians weren't overly pessimistic about the prospects for buying real estate, though. Some 35 per cent of B.C. respondents said they believed it is a good time to buy a home, compared with 33 per cent who believed it wasn't a good time (the balance of respondents were neutral).

Nationally, 38 per cent of respondents said now is a good time to buy vs. 32 per cent who did not. And on balance, CAAMP survey found people weren't stressed about their mortgages despite the declining prices.

The survey, conducted by Maritz research in an online survey conducted in mid-October, found that 84 per cent of respondents are satisfied with their mortgages. Murphy said he believes that relates to mortgage rates and the state of the general economy.

While both unemployment and interest rates are higher than they were a year ago, Murphy said they both remain at relatively low levels on a historical basis.

"In a broad sense, it really comes down to where people's personal situations are," he added. "If they feel their job is pretty solid and things are good on that front, and their [mortgage] rates are low, then they're in a fairly good position."

The CAAMP survey also found that Canadians borrowed more against the equity in their homes this year - 22 per cent compared with 17 per cent in 2007.

They also borrowed more, $41,000 in 2008, up 20 per cent from the previous year. More than half of those respondents used the money to consolidate debt.




© Vancouver Sun 2008

From Delirium on SSP:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/3038242221_57fa3e07bc_b.jpg
What's the deal with having a 2 storey building on a large downtown site...

CBC owns that site, so I guess they can build whatever they want. I know it is kind of waste.

atleast it doesn't look as bad anymore... but definitly wasted space

Damn the cbc, if they were smart enough to get any developer to help them stick a couple towers above it, we might not have to subsidize them with a billion dollars annually.

Anyway, here's a social housing proposal for 215 W 2nd Ave:
As much as I hate the idea of handouts and housing lazy bums and appeasing the APC, one can't help but get a kick out of the fact that Vancouver probably has the fanciest social housing in the world, and the fact that they look nicer than market condos in Toronto, rofl. LEED gold? Green roofs? This one reminds me of the skinny tower at1255 W Pender.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4576/215w2bim3.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1835/215w2aro0.png
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5848/215w2cgf4.jpg
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/444/215w2deh1.jpg
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/2655/215w2fsy7.jpg
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/6193/215w23vm4.jpg

Edit: photo of the model from Leftcoaster on SSP:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i305/mattcav/W2ndmodel-2008-09-03023.jpg

Anyway, here's a social housing proposal for 215 W 2nd Ave:
As much as I hate the idea of handouts and housing lazy bums and appeasing the APC, one can't help but get a kick out of the fact that Vancouver probably has the fanciest social housing in the world, and the fact that they look nicer than market condos in Toronto, rofl. LEED gold? Green roofs? This one reminds me of the skinny tower at1255 W Pender.

Lol, morally similar to here in the states where prisoners get better health care than working, tax paying citizens. Where's the justice?

Anyway, nice proposal. The little yellow color stripe and bits of orange color thing is starting to look a little dated and tiresome to me though.

As much as I hate the idea of handouts and housing lazy bums and appeasing the APC, one can't help but get a kick out of the fact that Vancouver probably has the fanciest social housing in the world, and the fact that they look nicer than market condos in Toronto, rofl.

May be I should quit my job and apply for the social housing. :D

Here is another completed social housing project.
From the Sun:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/460/hastingsandcarrallrestoah1.png (http://imageshack.us)


Lighting up the Downtown Eastside

By John Mackie, Vancouver Sun
January 7, 2009 2:03 PMBe the first to post a comment

You wouldn’t think a sign would have that big an impact on a street. But a new three-storey-high neon sign for the Pennsylvania Hotel has completely transformed the corner of Carrall and Hastings.

What had been one of the most dingy, decrepit corners in the Downtown Eastside is suddenly vibrant and beautiful, a potent symbol for the long-awaited rejuvenation of the troubled neighbourhood. Moreover, the neon sign is the coup de grace on one of Vancouver’s most extensive heritage restorations.

“The neon is almost like the jewelry on the building,” said Don Luxton, the heritage consultant on the Pennsylvania restoration.

“It’s the finishing touch, the thing you have to have to make it complete.”

The sign is a replica of the Pennsylvania’s original 1920s neon. It has cool, clean, elegant art deco lines, with white neon letters and amber and reddish-orange neon borders. Built by Knight Signs, it’s probably the first neon sign to be erected in the old downtown since neon went out of fashion in the 1960s.

The $47,000 sign is part of an $11-million restoration of the Pennsylvania, which opened in 1906 as the Woods and also operated as the Rainbow and Portland. The official reopening was Wednesday.

The five-storey building was purchased by the non-profit Portland Hotel Society in 2001 for $2,178,000, but has sat empty for the past eight years while the PHS lined up funding sources for the restoration. That money came from all three levels of government, along with $3.6 million in heritage bonus density transfers the PHS sold to Concord-Pacific.

When it closed, the hotel had 70 tiny single-room occupancy units. The upper floors have been remodelled and expanded into 44 bright, airy bachelor suites with their own kitchenettes and washrooms.

“The residents are people from the Downtown Eastside who were at risk of homelessness, or homeless,” said Tom Laviolette of the PHS.

“Some folks came from older SROs, and some came from the street.”

Among them is Ron McFarlane, who said the new units are “great.”

“It’s nice moving in here, it’s clean, and hopefully it’s quiet,” said McFarlane, 44.

“You’re influenced by your environment — you’re influenced by the company you keep and your environment. I find living down here sucks in general, it just pulls on you. There’s not very many, if any, people you can develop a trusting rapport with at all, it just doesn’t exist. This is a step in the right direction for me, now I’m going to try and get some work happening.”

The neon sign is the last piece in a detailed restoration that included the rebuilding of a turret for the roof, the first turret to be erected on a Vancouver commercial building in a century.

The exterior of the building is almost completely clad in metal sheeting, which had badly deteriorated and has largely been replaced. Some missing cornices and dentil work also went back up, and the old “areaways” under the sidewalk have also been resurrected.

Areaways are small spaces underneath those small squares of purple glass you see dotting the sidewalks in the old downtown. They were basically a way for merchants to expand their businesses underground. In this case, the PHS imported new, reinforced glass from Florida to go with a new, structurally reinforced sidewalk.

“Those light wells were shipped from Florida,” Laviolette said. “A truck can drive over them and they can withstand the weight.”

The areaways are one of the key features in a two-storey, 2,200- square-foot space at the back of the hotel that the PHS hopes to rent out as a 130-seat restaurant. The restaurant space also contains the Woods Hotel’s elaborate metal “bird cage” elevator, which doesn’t work anymore but is drop-dead gorgeous.

The building was designed in a popular San Francisco style of the time which featured rows of bay windows up and down the length of the building.

“The bay windows make it light,” said artist Hank Bull, who runs an art gallery across the street.

“This was the equivalent of the glass tower [of today]. This was the first glass tower in Vancouver.”

Bull has been working in and around the Downtown Eastside for decades. He hopes the Pennsylvania restoration, and its neon sign, will spark a resurrection of what was once a very happening area.

“I watched them put the sign up in the middle of a blizzard around Christmas time, and they did a great job,” he said.

“They worked right into the night and had the lights on by 7 p.m. in the dark. Look at the way it goes with the Only Seafoods [neon sign]. Let’s bring the neon back to Hastings Street! This was the street of light, and now it’s coming back.”

pic from flickr

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3249/3145011289_81ffbbb933.jpg?v=1230511381
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laniwurm/3145011289/

It attractive but shouldn't have been built in the first place. Another low-income housing project in Canada's only urban slum. With current plans from the City the DE is going from an ugly slum to a nicer lookking slum...........horrid city and urban planning.

it wasn't built - it was restored

Any way someone can copy the West Pender Place thread into the vancouver section?

Updated today:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=30868166#post30868166

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/282673bf-1acf-417f-ac0c-192ad0df93e0/surrey_sry_mar13.jpg http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5792/surrey.jpg

This will be Surrey in 2075.
It's an ambitious plan and if anyone can pull it off, Surrey's mayor can. But are families going to feel safe raising their children among all these high rises?
Beau Simpson, Surrey Now
Published: Friday, March 13, 2009

The mayor has a fantastic plan to entice development in Surrey's city centre.

As an economic investment zone, any business development applications received during the next year, with construction beginning by the end of 2010 and in excess of $10 million, will get big tax breaks.

The city wants to eliminate property taxes for the first three years after completion of construction. It will also cut development cost charges by 33 per cent and defer those payments until later in the building process. The city will also reduce building permit fees by 50 per cent.

And high-density residential development applications for City Centre, valued at more than $50 million, will receive similar breaks.

It's a plan to get more people working and living downtown. And that's the right thing to do.

But one question still dogs me - how safe will our city centre be for all these families and businesses we are trying to lure? How safe is it now?

Let's stop kidding ourselves. We can talk about building a metropolitan core until we're blue in the face. We can give tax breaks to businesses and build brand, spanking new high-rise condominiums in the heart of our city and call it our new 'Yaletown' all we want .

Don't get me wrong - doing all of that will go a long way in rebuilding our downtown and cleaning up its image.

But it won't get me and my family to live there. That won't happen until we do one thing - clean up our city centre.

***

Rest of Article: http://www2.canada.com/surreynow/news/story.html?id=29b85344-d4c4-4dac-a54d-50be618864a0

--------------------------

I really really hope it doesn't (and I doubt it will) take 70 years for a suburban skyline to become slightly bigger than today's Metrotown... I might not be around to see it! More like 2030 hopefully?

NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release

2009HLS0032-000753


BC Games Society


CITIES CHOSEN FOR 2012, 2014 BC SUMMER & WINTER GAMES

VICTORIA – The cities of Surrey, Vernon, Nanaimo and Mission have been chosen to host the 2012 and 2014 BC Summer and BC Winter Games, Minister of Healthy Living and Sport Mary Polak announced today.



“B.C. already has an international reputation for excellence in sport hosting and the BC Games will give these four communities the opportunity to gain valuable experience in hosting, while showcasing their cities to the rest of the province,” said Polak. “The BC Games bring thousands of athletes, coaches, officials, spectators and visitors to the host community, bringing significant benefits with them.”



Surrey will host the 2012 BC Summer Games; Vernon, the 2012 BC Winter Games; Nanaimo, the 2014 BC Summer Games; and Mission, the 2014 BC Winter Games. The BC Games are the province’s largest multi-disciplinary organized competitions and contribute to community, volunteer, and sport development. Host communities welcome athletes and coaches but also build volunteer capacity, engage local business, and realize a direct economic impact of over $2 million.


“Having a competitive process to host the BC Games is of great benefit to the provincial sport system,” said BC Games Society president and CEO Kelly Mann. “Communities are proud of their facilities and their volunteers, and want both to shine as they host the next generation of elite-level athletes, coaches and officials. The BC Games Society congratulates our winning cities and thanks all those who competed for the right to host in 2012 or 2014.”



“The BC Games are a vital step in the sport development pathway for B.C. athletes striving to represent our province and Canada at national and world competitions,” added Polak. “These games bring together the best young athletes in the province and offer an opportunity for the host communities to see some great sports talent in action.”





B.C. spends $2 million annually to support the BC Summer and BC Winter Games – part of the over $40 million invested annually to encourage British Columbians to be physically active and to support our “performance pathway” for athletes, coaches and the practitioners supporting them.




contact:
Anne McKinnon

Communications Director

Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport

250 952-2387
Lia Threlfall

Communications and Event Manager

BC Games Society

250 387-4688





For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.

Update on Emery Barnes Park:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_2syn56cxREE/SeGhqcrl7cI/AAAAAAAAEFg/OfmaQWxWGt8/s800/P1050361.JPG
Taken by Deasine ∙ April 10 2009 ∙ Hosted on Picasa (http://picasaweb.google.ca/lh/photo/cs-fW5RIvIA8CetKySjc2g?authkey=Gv1sRgCLenk4L5vqve8AE&feat=directlink)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2syn56cxREE/SeGhrNqQ0SI/AAAAAAAAEFo/tna6ySCDKQ8/s720/P1050362.JPG
Taken by Deasine ∙ April 10 2009 ∙ Hosted on Picasa (http://picasaweb.google.ca/lh/photo/cs-fW5RIvIA8CetKySjc2g?authkey=Gv1sRgCLenk4L5vqve8AE&feat=directlink)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_2syn56cxREE/SeGhzVSIqUI/AAAAAAAAEHY/VuVeejd7jZI/s720/P1050376.JPG
Taken by Deasine ∙ April 10 2009 ∙ Hosted on Picasa (http://picasaweb.google.ca/lh/photo/cs-fW5RIvIA8CetKySjc2g?authkey=Gv1sRgCLenk4L5vqve8AE&feat=directlink)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_2syn56cxREE/SeGh0PgSX-I/AAAAAAAAEHg/wKvoLlq0npw/s800/P1050377.JPG
Taken by Deasine ∙ April 10 2009 ∙ Hosted on Picasa (http://picasaweb.google.ca/lh/photo/cs-fW5RIvIA8CetKySjc2g?authkey=Gv1sRgCLenk4L5vqve8AE&feat=directlink)

^ Thanks, but two photos didn't show up :(

^^
I love pocket parks.

Amazing website with neighbourhood demograhpics of Vancouver, down to age/type of dwellings, race, income, etc.. all in fun graphs!

http://www.blocktalk.ca/vancouver-map.php

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/994/shaughnessyi.png

Other fun facts:

-44% of residents in the Arbutus neighbourhood are Chinese.
-The most popular mode of transportation in Coal Harbour is walking at 46%
-Most of False Creek's dwellings are built between 1996 and 2001, while in Coal Harbour most are built after 2001.
-Average incomes for False Creek and Coal Harbour are $110K and $97K respectively, showing that apartment living in Vancouver is more than anything a lifestyle choice.

the new sidewalk and pavement on granville street yesterday

http://i40.tinypic.com/rr40i8.jpg


http://i43.tinypic.com/2wdxee0.jpg


http://i40.tinypic.com/2j26ah4.jpg

What kind of paving is on the sidewalk?

I dont know why they put those orange pieces of metal on the sidewalk ,its strange to me.

I dont know why they put those orange pieces of metal on the sidewalk ,its strange to me.

They're not permanent, are they?

This is the City of Vancouver's Granville Street Revitalization Project,so I think they are trying to make Granville street look more colorful I guess,have no idea.:ohno:

There's still a lot of fixtures that haven't been installed yet, so we're just going to have to wait to find out what the final look is going to be.

Pic of the work at Georgia & Granville.
Pic taken by officedweller at SSP
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5968/p4020968.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p4020968.jpg)

They're not permanent, are they?

No, I think the wooden boards are covering recesses where the granite inserts will go.

They are not permanent...:)

I bet that you guys have seen the following rendering before. And for that to come into reality, there must be lots of developments going on. This thread would be suitable to contain alll those information regarding the City's plan and vision. Let's get the ball rolling :)


This will be Surrey in 2075

It's an ambitious plan and if anyone can pull it off, Surrey's mayor can. But are families going to feel safe raising their children among all these high rises?

Beau Simpson, Surrey Now
Published: Friday, March 13, 2009

full article; http://www2.canada.com/surreynow/news/story.html?id=29b85344-d4c4-4dac-a54d-50be618864a0

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/282673bf-1acf-417f-ac0c-192ad0df93e0/surrey_sry_mar13.jpg
An artist’s rendering shows what Surrey is projected to look like in 2075.
Photograph by : Bing Thom Architects/For the Now
This is now...
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5792/surrey.jpg
http://www2.canada.com/surreynow/news/story.html?id=29b85344-d4c4-4dac-a54d-50be618864a0

North Van Updates from SFUVANCOUVER at SSP

The Pier
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6209/thepierapril1609p111075.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) Taken by SFUVancouver, April 16th, 2009


The Lower Lonsdale Hotel at The Pier
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8112/pierhotelapril1609p1110.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) Taken by SFUVancouver, April 16th, 2009


The Lower Lonsdale Hotel at The Pier
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/741/pierhotelno2aptil1609p1.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) Taken by SFUVancouver, April 16th, 2009


Vista Place
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4162/vistaplacenorthvancouve.jpg
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ca/) Taken by SFUVancouver, April 16th, 2009

few pics of Vandusen garden today

http://i43.tinypic.com/9tickz.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/w0nggg.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/2vxoyhd.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/ive0q9.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/psrow.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2gtvudy.jpg

^ Nice

Thanks Allen for bring some SSP material over here. I try to do the same, lol.

Thanks Allen for bring some SSP material over here. I try to do the same, lol.

Oh yea, I see you have brought a lot over. Thanks!

Surrey's GETS NEW SIGNS with NEW LOGO


BEFORE
http://www.beans-around-the-world.com/photos/surrey1.jpg


AFTER
http://www.whiterocksun.com/images/surrey-sign.jpg

Hate the meaningless swooshes on all those signs... why does our metro have such terrible taste in that department...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1245/1299700939_cbc546142b.jpg?v=0

Why can't we just forget the colours, take a sheet of copper, punch out the letters and mount it on a rock...

This one takes the cake tho:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2120/1832011384_6745721725.jpg?v=0
"You suburbanites better leave your damn nuclear weapons at home... we will have none of it here!"

^^
by dleung
"You suburbanites better leave your damn nuclear weapons at home... we will have none of it here!"


Funny.

We'll let Kim Jong-il build nuclear weapons and bomb the crap out of that sign with his ICBM's. :lol:

Yes indeed, I love "do gooders".

That stupid sign actually wasted a few minutes of city council time as councilors debated whether nuclear conflict was within municipal jurisdiction, not to mention the cost of the sign itself. Yep, our tax dollars at work.

Coquitlam used to have those no nukes here signs

westend model.

http://i43.tinypic.com/n4i3it.jpg

Stanley park winter 2008

http://i41.tinypic.com/21bltlt.jpg

^ Nice models!

What the... where are those models located?

^^
Those look too real to be "models". I think maybe it's a camera or photoshop effect.

C'mon, please tell us vanboy.

hahaha.I just play with my camera using Tilt shift lens,Tilt-shift miniature style photos are pictures of real-life scenes that are manipulated to look like model photographs.yeah,those pics are real building.Hope you are enjoyed.

^^ Lol, you got me. :lol:

^^Lol, amateurs.

Pic of Level, with Donovan behind it to the right, from ckkelly from SSP
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3555/3504628459_160ece9fca_b.jpg
The building makes no sense to me. Wtf is with the massing on Level, and why is part of the podium ultra-modern and the rest traditional brick? Enough with the faux-heritage, just go modern all the way!

I wish Donovan were a pair of little towers instead of a fancy slab.

The dark glass looks like it's for commercial, while the brick facade is residential.

This one takes the cake tho:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2120/1832011384_6745721725.jpg?v=0


I always loved that one but always wondered why it was not facing south, you know down the border!

Haha

I don't know why we aren't doing this in Vancouver... policy-wise, the mechanism (buying density with good architecture) is already there, why not make a provision for highrise/vertical landscaping?

Rooftop landscaping gets $8m boost

30 Apr 09

NParks launches 3-year co-funding scheme; URA starts landscaping for urban spaces plan

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2009-04-30/BT_IMAGES_EYGREEN30.jpg

(SINGAPORE) Hot on the heels of a sustainable development blueprint released on Monday, the National Parks Board (NParks) yesterday announced a three-year $8 million scheme to co-fund rooftop landscaping in the city.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also launched its landscaping for urban spaces and high-rises (Lush) programme to help meet the blueprint's goal of creating another 50 hectares of 'sky-rise' greenery by 2030.

'Despite Singapore being land scarce, greenery can be pervasive in our urban spaces,' said URA chief executive Cheong Koon Hean. From September this year, NParks will give cash incentives to owners who install green roofs on existing buildings in the downtown and Orchard planning areas. The scheme will first target low- to mid-rise developments that are highly visible, and those surrounded by little street-level greenery.

NParks hopes to create nine hectares of green roofs over the next three years. The incentives will cover up to half of installation costs, capped at $75 per sq m. According to the agency, the typical cost of installing a green roof ranges from $150-$180 per sq m.

Gardens on the roof cost more than those on the ground for every square metre, said Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects' president Henry Steed. 'But once you have built it, the asset is there and the land usable, whereas a plain roof is not.'

In conjunction with NParks' scheme, URA will offer owners who install green roofs bonus gross floor area (GFA) above the master plan permissible intensity. The additional space - limited to half of the roof area or 200 sq m, whichever is lower - can be used for outdoor refreshment areas.

Developers will have to pay a development charge (DC) or differential premium, but URA believes the bonus GFA offer is sufficiently attractive.

The current DC calculation formula creams off 70 per cent of the enhancement in land value, but 'there's still a 30 per cent gain for developers,' said URA's urban design deputy director Cheng Hsing Yao.

The GFA incentive scheme is part of URA's Lush programme, which includes other existing and revised measures to enhance the urban landscape.

For instance, developers applying to exclude sky terraces from GFA computations now have to submit detailed plans on landscaping and communal facilities at the terraces.

Developers housing car parks within raised decks must also put up earth berms for plants on at least 60 per cent of each side of the deck wall, and should surround the area with see-through fences rather than solid walls.

In the strategic areas of the Downtown Core, including Marina Bay, Kallang Riverside and Jurong Gateway, new developments also have to put in place 'sky-rise' greenery or ground-level landscaping equivalent to the site area in size.

For very small plots where buildings have to be tall to maximise the plot ratio, 'replacement is typically not too difficult,' said Singapore Institute of Architects immediate past-president Tai Lee Siang.

Both Mr Steed and Mr Tai believe more can be done to promote urban greenery.

Mr Steed, for instance, envisions it will ultimately be possible for all roofs to have green features ranging from gardens, water catchment areas and even mini-farms.

By EMILYN YAP
Business Times

http://img312.imageshack.us/img312/7127/gshole8jw.jpg
The scale is a bit massive for vancouver, but I like a lot of things about this pic specifically the texture of the facade

The proposed tower for 1372 Seymour (35 stories)

Mini-Shangri-la
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3749/1372a.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9081/1372b.jpg

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/6863/1372c.jpg

This one could really use another 10 stories. It looks slick from the first angle and stumpy in the last pic.

That's not a Cheng, is it?

No, it's by Hugh Condon Marler Architects

Pretty sure it's actually by Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden

Oh yeah, that's what I meant, lol. You can see why it's easy to mix the two up...

A listing in the Flatiron condo for only $1000/sf. Some rare interior shots:

lestwarog.com
http://www.6717000.com/listings/images/vancouver/427/wm/4388-0.jpg

The next 3 shots shows how narrow the building is. The floorplate is only as wide as the living room and the glass-enclosed study. Also notice how far away the floorplate and balcony cantilevers a full 5 metres away from the nearest column (behind fireplace)
http://www.6717000.com/listings/images/vancouver/427/wm/4388-1.jpg

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/5633/flatiron.jpg

http://www.6717000.com/listings/images/vancouver/427/wm/4388-2.jpg

The foyer. I love it when they use concrete and DON'T paint over it:
http://www.6717000.com/listings/images/vancouver/427/wm/4388-10.jpg

looks good

^^
The Flatiron building turned out beautifully.
Lobby simple but elegant.
I remember the pre-construction prices were alot lower than 1k/foot.
I could kick myself for not having bought there pre-construction.

Yea the prices are much cheaper than i expected, considering it's one of the more exclusive buildings in the area, while all the new condos around it go from $900/sf. Still hated the way they resolved the roof canopy tho.

I read the Plaza 500 will be converted to a Hotel Indigo...a very cool brand!

I can't find the ritz carlton thread, so I'll stick it here:

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - A downtown Vancouver condo and hotel project that was halted in the market slump could be coming back to life in a less-grand form. The developer of the 600-foot Ritz-Carlton put the project on hold in February as others were cancelled.

Holborn Group President and CEO Joo Kim Tiah says "the project is going forward", but will be different inside the spiralling tower of almost 60 storeys, designed by the late Arthur Erickson. The plan now is for a smaller hotel and more condos, with units that are smaller and more affordable to suit the current market.

Tiah adds it might not be under the same banner. The Ritz-Carlton was originally at the top of the market: one pre-sale was for $28 million. Tiah hopes construction can begin this fall, but it could be affected by the City of Vancouver wanting construction halted for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He says he doesn't want to wait until next March to begin construction.

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/m...708_183544_976



It's weird we have 4 other ultra-luxury towers that basically started in this recession (georgia, west pender place, 3 harbour green, jameson house), but only the ritz failed to move forward.

It would be an excellent news if this project is going forward. I don't care what will inside looks like as long as its still the same height and same exterior design.


Mods, please re-open the RC thread!

good shot

Luma a beacon for younger households


Polygon highrise in Burnaby attracts big crowd on first day of selling

By Steven Threndyle, Special to The SunOctober 24, 2009

Project Location: Kingsway and Sperling, Burnaby

Project size: 200 apartments and townhouses, 26-storey building

Residence size: 2 bed, 2 bath, 744 sq. ft. - 935 sq. ft.; penthouses, up to 1,164 sq. ft.

Prices: $354,800 - $699,000

Developer: Polygon

Architect: Buttjes Architecture


http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/PolygonHomes.jpg



http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr71/yellowfever_2008/3990649001_6f3d979f16.jpg



There is a giant hole in the ground at the corner of Kingsway and Arcola, right in the heart of Burnaby.

And in the wee hours of Saturday, Oct. 3, prospective purchasers of the homes that will rise from that hole in the ground started lining up around the block to put down a deposit on a condo in Luma, Polygon's newest highrise project. It looked like 2007 all over again, as deposits were taken on over 100 units, which are scheduled for occupancy beginning in July 2011.

The target market is comprised of first-home buyers tempted by low interest rates, and purchasers are coming from Burnaby, Vancouver and Richmond, says Ralph Archibald, Polygon's senior vice-president for sales and marketing.

"Luma will be the only new highrise in the area in the foreseeable future," he says.

It is part of a neighbourhood that's emerging between Metrotown and the updated Highgate Mall, along the SkyTrain route connecting Surrey, New Westminster and Burnaby with downtown Vancouver.

Polygon's advance marketing and advertising promoted a number of suites for as low as $888 per month; definitely an attention-getter. Those 774-square-foot units were gobbled up quickly, but so, too, were the majority of two-bedroom/two-bath units ranging in size from 817 to 935 square feet, with 1,100-square-foot units on the penthouse floor.

Once completed, this 26-storey concrete highrise between Metrotown and Highgate Mall, to the east, will truly stand out -- especially at night. The building's signature feature will be a vertical blue LED light strip that will run the entire length of the building from the penthouses to the lobby.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

wow its tough to find a decent render of this building.

some pics of various things in the area

citi & motif in burnaby - nov 6ish
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/7623/dsc06394.jpg

a new 7-11 for downtown - pender & bute
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2605/dsc06395z.jpg
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/92/dsc06397.jpg

new beard papa for Robson street
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/november%202009/DSC06344.jpg

new japa dog for robson street - not a cart!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/november%202009/DSC06345.jpg


dolce and vita (is it?)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/november%202009/DSC06346.jpg

capital
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/spongeg/november%202009/DSC06347.jpg

here's a rendering of 700 West 8th
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/Toronto416/eNews03title06.jpg
At 700 West 8th Vancouver, construction is slated to begin in spring on 130 modern living spaces designed by Henriquez Partners Architects.
Promising huge views this sustainably designed project will launch to private release through Magnum Projects www.magnumprojects.ca (http://www.magnumprojects.ca).

Vancouver rejects downtown high-rise proposals, But three new towers approved in Chinatown and Gastown.

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2009/05/06/bc-generic-vancouver-downtown.jpg


Vancouver city council has rejected a controversial plan that could have dramatically blocked some downtown views with four new high-rises.

Councillors voted against the downtown proposal on Tuesday, saying any new towers must obey existing rules protecting view corridors and must also use green building designs.

Developers had argued that increasing the height limitations would have added about one million square-feet of residential and commercial space to the downtown core.

Three of the towers would have been built on West Georgia Street, with the fourth on Burrard Street.

The tallest downtown building is the Shangri-La condominium, hotel and retail tower on West Georgia, which stands at the current height limit of 62 storeys, or 197 metres.

But the new towers would have blocked several existing view corridors of the city's North Shore Mountains and residents made it very clear they did not want their views jeopardized, said Coun. Heather Deal.

"When you're out there on the streets talking to people, people love the views," said Deal.

New towers approved in Chinatown and Gastown

Council did approve a proposal to allow high-rises of up to 12 storeys in Chinatown, raising the old limit of nine storeys, while two buildings in neighbouring Gastown were allowed to go to 15 stories.

Coun. George Chow said he is counting on higher density to help with Chinatown's revitalization.

"I'm hoping that if you build them, they will come, and all our social problems and other problems will be resolved," said Chow.

But Coun. Ellen Woodsworth, disagreed, saying the changes don't include protection for the area's current low-income rental stock.

"70 per-cent of Gastown is low-income residents. We're going to see more people on the streets, whether they're Chinese seniors, students, the artists who live in Gastown, or the welfare recipients," said Woodsworth.

"We are a council that is committed to ensuring low-income housing. I think what we've proceeded with, is going to increase our problem," she said.



Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/01/27/bc-vancouver-rejects-towers.html

The Beasley, in Yaletown, yesterday:

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/1628/img8416w.jpg (http://img709.imageshack.us/i/img8416w.jpg/)

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/913/img8415n.jpg (http://img341.imageshack.us/i/img8415n.jpg/)

Alto, yesterday;

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3425/dsc06152b.jpg

http://www.dailycommercialnews.ca/cgi-bin/top10.pl?rm=show_top10_project&id=77dd4c1a5395fb28b2a20f96bd7cea201dda885f&projectid=7224771&region=national

ART GALLERY Proj: 7224771-10
Vancouver, Greater Vancouver RD BC PREPARING PLANS
Vancouver Art Gallery Re-Location, Larwill Park site, off Georgia St (across from Queen E)
$200,000,000 est
Note: A new site location has been chosen as the previous site was not feasible. Project is in schematic design. Working drawings and construction schedules are undetermined. Further update in Sept/Oct 2010.
Websites: www.vanartgallery.bc.ca & www.partnershipsbc.ca.
Project: a new public art gallery which will be twice the size of the current facility; the new site may be on the Larwill Park site (former bus depot). The False Creek site was abandoned due to costs and the inability to have underground storage.
Scope: 250,000 square feet
Development: New
Category: Public bldgs
First report Mon Feb 23, 2004. Last report Thu Oct 22, 2009.
This report Mon Mar 15, 2010.

Aquilini Group's GM Place Tower back on the books

Construction could be first major downtown office project in almost a decade

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver SunMarch 18, 2010


http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af28/Hongkongese/gmplace.jpg

Vancouver's Aquilini Group has put its 22-storey GM Place Tower project back on the drawing board, with plans to start construction this year on what could be downtown Vancouver's first major office building in almost a decade.

David Negrin, president of Aquilini's development and construction firm, said Wednesday the company had tenants lined up for the building and that he was in final discussions with the city to obtain a development permit for the 230,000-square-foot tower, which would rise over the General Motors Place hockey arena on Georgia Street.

Negrin said the building will have three over-height levels of retail space from Expo Boulevard to the height of the Georgia Viaduct, where the office building's main lobby would be, then at least another 19 storeys of offices.

The company hopes to add a few storeys to the tower as it is developed. Negrin said adding some height to the building would still fit within the city's height restrictions for view corridors.

Negrin said he expects the development to include new restaurants and other entertainment options as well as incorporate a few private stadium boxes that open into GM Place.

"Right now we have two large, well-known companies that are interested in taking space," he said in an interview.

Negrin declined to name the firms, but said that with major tenants willing to lease a significant amount of space, "we're ready to move."

Moving on the tower's construction would represent a shift from Vancouver's pre-recession office development market, which saw developers consider and then shelve projects on expensive downtown sites while building large amounts of new office space on cheaper suburban land along the Broadway corridor and in Burnaby.

The Bentall 5 building at Burrard and Dunsmuir, which was completed in two phases between 2002 and 2007, was the last major purpose-built office tower downtown.

The Aquilini Group proposed the GM Place Tower in 2007, but shelved it in 2008, at the same time that Bentall Capital was proposing to build 25-storey tower for the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. at Alberni and Thurlow.

Bentall is also seeking a development permit for its project, which is scheduled to go before the City of Vancouver's development permit board May 17.

The recovery of downtown's office-leasing market is likely giving developers the incentive to put their projects back on the books, according to Nicholas Westlake, a senior research analyst for commercial realtor CB Richard Ellis.

"Certainly the market indicates we are going that direction in terms of needing more space," Westlake said.

Downtown's notoriously tight office vacancy rate eased somewhat during the recession, rising to 5.8 per cent at the end of 2009. But Westlake said more tenants are back in the market looking for downtown space.

"I think there is going to be demand out there [for new space], and we'll start to see pre-recession levels regarding vacancy come 2011."

The Aquilini Group shelved the project in 2008 because it couldn't find tenants willing to pay rents that would justify building it.

Negrin said potential tenants started looking at the tower differently after the city completed its official community plan for Northeast False Creek in 2009.

"Two years ago, we couldn't get anybody interested in it," Negrin said.

"It's not triple-A [quality], it's not going to get you $45 per square foot [in rent]," Negrin said. "But there's definitely interest."

However, the company has seen "unbelievable interest in the tower over the past six months."

"I'm hoping to start construction in September and we're working with all our sub-trades right now," Negrin said.

The British Columbia Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), meanwhile, is poised to announce another major commercial development nearby by the southwest corner of BC Place Stadium.

PavCo chairman David Podmore said in February the Crown corporation was in the final stages of negotiating an agreement that would see a tenant lease rights to develop 700,000 square feet of development space to help finance BC Place's $563-million roof replacement project.

depenner@vancouversun.com

Thanks. Couldn't easily see any drawings of the proposed project. Got any?


http://www.dailycommercialnews.ca/cgi-bin/top10.pl?rm=show_top10_project&id=77dd4c1a5395fb28b2a20f96bd7cea201dda885f&projectid=7224771&region=national

ART GALLERY Proj: 7224771-10
Vancouver, Greater Vancouver RD BC PREPARING PLANS
Vancouver Art Gallery Re-Location, Larwill Park site, off Georgia St (across from Queen E)
$200,000,000 est
Note: A new site location has been chosen as the previous site was not feasible. Project is in schematic design. Working drawings and construction schedules are undetermined. Further update in Sept/Oct 2010.
Websites: www.vanartgallery.bc.ca & www.partnershipsbc.ca.
Project: a new public art gallery which will be twice the size of the current facility; the new site may be on the Larwill Park site (former bus depot). The False Creek site was abandoned due to costs and the inability to have underground storage.
Scope: 250,000 square feet
Development: New
Category: Public bldgs
First report Mon Feb 23, 2004. Last report Thu Oct 22, 2009.
This report Mon Mar 15, 2010.

It's nice to hear you guys could finally be getting some new office space. I'll have to keep an eye on this!

I was mentally going through a list of buildings I deem to be sufficiently damaging to the skyline to warrant a few tons of dynamite, and it included the 3 tallest u/c... if only patina wasn't on such high ground... of only fairmont wasn't on the waterfront... if only capitol wasn't so freaking huge...

Maybe that's too extreme. But I'm not the typical "better than a parking lot" kinda guy... 3 Ritz Carlton empty pits right now will be better than the results so far.

:(

Nice to see an Office is back in the plans. Are there any other office towers being thought of right now , that are close to going ahead?



what could be downtown Vancouver's first major office building in almost a decade.


so sad.

Cambie corridor development plans shock locals

video report (http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100609/bc_cambie_corridor_development_100609/20100613?hub=BritishColumbiaHome)

Nice to see an Office is back in the plans. Are there any other office towers being thought of right now , that are close to going ahead?






so sad.

there have been plenty of office buildings built in burnaby, richmond, surrey etc

they build em where they are needed and people don't want or need em downtown

HSBC just opened a huge office in burnaby

harbour green 3 - pic by me today

http://a.imageshack.us/img716/4605/dsc00486qh.jpg
http://a.imageshack.us/img825/9830/dsc00501z.jpg

Aquilini Group's GM Place Tower back on the books

Construction could be first major downtown office project in almost a decade

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver SunMarch 18, 2010


This statement is quite incorrect. Bentall 5, the largest office building in the city, was built within the past five years.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/1880494090_95d4efb829.jpg
http://cohga.net/flickr/cattell/

But don't forget that the Bentall 5 was built in 2 phases. The initial 22 floors of the office tower were completed in 2002 during the first phase, but 13 floors were added five years later. So the 13 floors that were constructed during those five years should not be considered a major project, since they were simply an addition to a previously existing tower.

However, was not Bentall 5 built within the past 10 years, which is the length of time stated in the the new article above?

How could Bentall 5 not be considered to be a major downtown office building built within the past decade?

I agree that the Bentall 5 was a major project in the past decade, but you stated that it was built in the last five years when it was already erected in 2002. The construction that occured during the last five years was only an addition to the tower, not really a brand new office project.

hmnn interesting..how did they come up with the name "Bentall"? like Ben wants to build tall bldgs..lol!

Hey guys sorry to spam in your forum but I recently went to your absolutely beautiful city of Vancouver and there was one building that caught my eye and I want to know the name of it. I think it was near the intersection of w Georgia and Pender and it is in the late stages of construction. The shape kind of reminded me of the Hotel Georgia expansion. Thanks:)

Jameson?? But its on west Hasting.


http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/811/james2nk1.png

If you're thinking about the 2 tower development with angular facades near Georgia/Pender, that's West Pender Place.

thanks ozonemania that is it:)

i still can't get over how beautiful vancouver is! it definately is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, at least in my book. i love that every city has highrises like burnaby, new westminster, and richmond. why cant they do that in the us? the sandman hotel in richmond is pretty nice but the antennae on top are discusting, i wish they made some kind of spire to make it look better.

anyways sorry for spamming your thread and thanks for answering my question:)

I agree that the Bentall 5 was a major project in the past decade, but you stated that it was built in the last five years when it was already erected in 2002. The construction that occured during the last five years was only an addition to the tower, not really a brand new office project.

Aren't you splitting hairs - no pun intended? The article was definitely misleading - whether 8 years or 5 years - still within a decade.

I am interesting in the model. well, including the building





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