Pacific Metropolis: Canada Post Building For Sale

Last week, the Province reported that downtown Vancouver's Canada Post sorting facility has been put up for sale.

Since the building sits on a rather large, juicy chunk of land, there's no doubt that the pending sale has several property developers rubbing their hands with glee.

The site won't be vacated before 2009 though, so development fans shouldn't expect a gleaming new skyscraper anytime soon (if at all).

Located at 349 West Georgia, the building is right smack dab in the middle of Vancouver's future cultural precinct - an area that will be substantially transformed over the next 10 to 15 years. (For a closer look at the neighbourhood, click here for the Google map.)

Which of course begs the question, what will the City wind up doing with the land?

While some might argue that we ought to keep the building, others would probably be quite glad to see the ugly thing torn down.

And of course, there's been plenty of talk about whether this property should be allowed to go condo, or if we should use it to bolster Vancouver's dwindling supply of office space instead.

Those who seek balance in the universe have suggested that the City re-zone the site for mixed-use residential, retail and commercial.

Because of its close proximity to both the Vancouver Public Libarary and the QE Theatre, the Canada Post site would naturally make an ideal location for one or more of the three proposed museums for the area - among which is a larger facility for the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Since the property is federally-owned, our bet is that it'll go to some public use.