Pacific Metropolis: What Exactly is Triangle West?

It's definitely not Bayshore Gardens, and it's not quite Coal Harbour (although that doesn't stop realtors from saying it is), so what exactly is the Triangle West neighbourhood?

Well, according to planning guidelines from the City of Vancouver (link to pdf), Triangle West is roughly located to the west of Bute street, to the north of Alberni, and to the south of West Hastings. A sort of northerly hypotenuse stretches from Cardero street up to West Cordova, forming a border along the Coal Harbour lands.

When the City planning department considered the area in 1990, it decided to take an incremental approach to new development, rather than designing the area with a master plan. It did, however, seek to encourage the creation of a commercial 'high street' along Bute between Melville and West Cordova, which would provide shops and services to local residents. (Click on map for a larger version).

Among the new buildings that are currently going up in and around this neighbourhood are the Melville, the Ritz, the Cielo, the Flatiron, and the Sapphire. In addition to these five, there's also a proposed two-building development for 1409 West Pender, which is currently going through the approval process.

Meanwhile, in answer to the call for more local amenities, a new Urban Fare is set to occupy the ground floor of the Cielo (at West Hastings and Bute) when it's completed in early 2007. For further details, have a look at this article from the Vancouver Courier here.

For maps and pictures of the Triangle West neighbourhood, check out page 14 of this (link to pdf) planning document.