Pacific Metropolis

Infernal Tootling

A couple weeks ago, Metroblogging Vancouver innocently asked what was up with the empty lot located at the corner of Davie and Howe streets, which had become somewhat of an ugly pit.

Apparently, the site was once occupied by a Texaco gas station, which was torn down in 1989. Soil remediation ensued.

It's now slated to go condo, under the name of Alto Life.

According to this (link to pdf) Development Permit Staff Committee report, the new building will be 15 storeys (164 feet) high, and contain 109 new residential units.

At least 30 condos will have two bedrooms, making them appealing to families. And as might be expected, there will also be some kind of retail space at ground level. Maybe a saxamaphone shop.

Shangri-La Construction Video

For some rare footage of the freshly-created views atop the Living Shangri-La building, check out the following video, which was shot by one of the construction crews that's working on the project.

The film opens with about one minute of still photos, showing the initial phases of construction. However, things get better by the 1:40 mark, once the video starts up.

Besides offering a few glimpses of the million-dollar views, there's also some shots of the so-called 'flying of the forms' - a unique sight in nature.

The video was taken in late September, at around the 46-47 storey mark. Apparently, the Newway Group is completing one floor every four days, as it closes-in on 61 storeys.

The Shangri-La is due to top out sometime in December.

The Leaning Towers of Coal Harbour

For those who complain that Vancouver doesn't have enough interesting architecture, we can add another new building to our rebuttal (along with the Ritz Carlton, Jameson House, and Grace, among others).

Once it's completed in 2009, West Pender Place will be located a couple streets back from the waterfront, and a few blocks down from the Triangle West neighbourhood - a little closer to Stanley Park.

As for the details, the current proposal is for a taller building at 36 storeys high, and a shorter tower at 10 storeys. The buildings will consist of 145 residential units, with the middle section containing live-work townhouses.

Marketing for West Pender Place was rolled out this past September, with full page ads in the Vancouver Sun (link here, to pdf).

Surprisingly, the final plans haven't yet been approved - the building application won't be going before the Development Permit Board until December 17th of this year.

For a look at the ugly buildings that who will be replaced by the new towers, check out Twarog's site here.

Trevor Linden's New Office

In answer to the regular cries for more downtown Vancouver office space (the latest vacancy rate came in at a record 3.5%), a new 22-storey office tower is soon to be built next to GM Place.

Somehow, they're going to shoe-horn this thing into the northwest corner near the stadium, at 800 Arthur Griffiths Way, across from the new Costco.

Frankly, we were surprised that they managed to squeeze the four Spectrum buildings and the Costco in there to begin with - this one's going to make things even cosier amongst the viaducts.

Aside from the convenient location (for sports fans, anyway), the building is also going to be energy efficient and carbon neutral, partly by sharing heat waste with the neighbouring GM Place.

The building's developers have also said that they intend to use ice shavings from the rink to cool the tower.

The building is scheduled for completion in late 2010, according to this article from the Sun.

Although it may be a quaint notion in this day and age, when the trend is to sell naming rights for buildings to marketers, we thought it would be interesting to consider naming the new structure after a former Vancouver Canucks player.

While the Smyl, Snepts, or Odjick Tower would probably sound a little strange, the Brodeur or Linden Tower might just have a little upscale cachet.

And if you'll pardon the digression - about 15 years later, we're still laughing about the Sportspage broadcast, in which they referred to Gino Odjick as a 'Chippendale gone berserk', after a particularly fight-filled night for the chap.

Woodwards Update - Autumn 2007

Construction over at the Woodwards development is proceeding at a steady pace, with at least two buildings already well above grade, as the following pictures from earlier last month reveal.

Scheduled to be completed by early 2009, London Drugs and Nester's Market are confirmed as future anchor tennants in the buildings' retail space.

The following photo from the Woodwards webcam provides an update as of today.

A Millennium's Work

When Millenium Development won the bid to build the Olympic Village in April of last year, some people wondered whether they were up for the job, since they didn't have the same experience with larger developments like other bidders, such as Concord Pacific.

To get a sense of the kind of work they do on a smaller scale, swing by 'L'Hermitage' at Richards and Robson, which is nearly completed.

For hospital patients and shut-ins, the blind, the pensioners and other fans who can't get out to games, there's a few construction photos to be found on L'Hermitage's website as well.

   

Construction Clusters - Part II

In addition to the Cooper's Quay neighbourhood, the Triangle West district also happens to be a hotbed of construction activity, with three towers going up at the present time.

Below, the Flatiron, Ritz and Sapphire.

Closeup of the Flatiron.

The Ritz...

...and a closer look at the Sapphire.

Construction Clusters - Part I

Concord Pacific's Cooper's Quay development appears to be well on its way, based on the following photos which were taken during the earlier part of this month.

Completion was initially scheduled for 2007, although it appears as though it may be pushed back into the new year.

Below, Mariner one and two, both of which will be 24 storeys high.

The 30- and 10-storey Cooper's Lookout.

Finishing Off Bentall V

Although construction work wrapped up some time ago, we wanted to put up a couple pics of one our favourite buildings in the Vancouver skyline, Bentall V.

Demolishing 1133 West Georgia

Staying with the Vancouver's Turn project, demolition has been underway since last April on the unfinished building that has occupied this site since the early 90's.

As of August 2007, there's still some way to go.

 

For another perspective on this soon-to-be-busy block, here's the current view from West Georgia between Bute and Thurlow - the Ritz Carlton hotel will be in the foreground to the left, while the Shangri-La is on the right.