[Built Form]

It was mentioned that Austenville Properties owns both Budget lots and is planning a 20 floor office building down the road.

[officedweller]

Thanks for the info.

[Log1988]

Wasn't the Austeville project axed?

[jlousa]

Project wasn't axed, just shelved for now as they missed this round. I'm sure they are watching closely to see how the market absorbs all the space about to be created and will act accordingly.

[EdinVan]

http://changingcitybook.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/telus-model.jpg
Source: Changing City Updates Blog (http://changingcitybook.com/2012/01/14/telus-the-residential-tower/#comments)

Here is a snapshot of the completed Telus Garden model, care of The Changing City Updates Blog.

Gregory Henriquez said that this development will be jaw-dropping and unlike anything that anyone has ever seen before.

It's a bunch of boxes with a couple of trees on top. Without the Telus logo, I'm not sure anyone would even know that this is the headquarters of a major corporation.

:sleep:

[urbandreamer]

A seashell canopy? It looks better than the AGO's version.

When does this project launch into sales?

[trofirhen]

Gregory Henriquez said that this development will be jaw-dropping and unlike anything that anyone has ever seen before.

It's a bunch of boxes with a couple of trees on top. Without the Telus logo, I'm not sure anyone would even know that this is the headquarters of a major corporation.

:sleep:

How absolutely true. :( :yuck:

[SpongeG]

it looks like telus to me

[officedweller]

In some respects - (wrt the condo tower) I see similarities to Woodwards (also Henriquez)-
both are large ungainly towers, jazzed up with surface details
(rather than in the massing, shape or stepping of the tower)
In the case of Woodwards, it was trellises.
In the case of Telus, it's wooden panels (and marble panels).
For Telus, the 3 sections add design, but they also add to the ungainly massing of the tower.

[dleung]

I would be curious to know whether the residential tower's fat side is any fatter than the fat side (i.e., the rounded side with protruding box) of Capitol.

Capitol's floorplate is 8200 sf. The residential tower here is 9500sf.

[SpongeG]

people complaining would you prefer this?

http://www.archiscene.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Netanya-City-Hall-by-Yaniv-Pardo-Architects021.jpg
Netanya City Hall in israel
archiscene.net

http://www.archiscene.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Netanya-City-Hall-by-Yaniv-Pardo-Architects031.jpg
archiscene.net

[cornholio]

I love the look of the project. On top of it its probably going to be the technology that will be incorporated in to the project that will make the biggest difference.

I dont see the problem here, the residential tower looks good to me and I dont think it looks like any other tower in the city. The office building looks great too.

[trofirhen]

:previous::previous::previous:
It's just the ungainly massing of the tower that irks me the most. It gives the impression of waiting to topple over, and is, in my opinion, just awkward and ugly-looking. :yuck:

[cornholio]

:previous::previous::previous:
It's just the ungainly massing of the tower that irks me the most. It gives the impression of waiting to topple over, and is, in my opinion, just awkward and ugly-looking. :yuck:

Well I dont really have much of a eye for design aspects so who knows, thats why I tend to not comment on these things and just read the comments here. I find more beauty in the functionality of projects. :)

But the reason I did comment is because I have a hard time believing that this project wont come out spectacular Right now telecommunications companies are flush with cash, thats why they are buying up most of the naming rights for stadiums and other facilities in Canada(clear sign how much money there is in the market). I am sure they will try to make some sort of huge statement with this project and its just not apparent to us looking at these plans yet. I suspect when its all said and done the project will some how make people go wow.

[officedweller]

http://changingcitybook.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/telus-model.jpg
Source: Changing City Updates Blog (http://changingcitybook.com/2012/01/14/telus-the-residential-tower/#comments)

Here is a snapshot of the completed Telus Garden model, care of The Changing City Updates Blog.

I just noticed something - is that a [dreaded] videoscreen on the corner of the old William Farrell Building?
It also looks like the ceiling has been raised on that corner retail unit.

[phesto]

Noticed some hoarding going up around the parkade portion of the site...seems a bit soon to be doing any demo work?

[Prometheus]

I just noticed something - is that a [dreaded] videoscreen on the corner of the old William Farrell Building?

The plans call for it. They also refer to another screen on the west face of the corner, 90 degrees to the one shown.

[Jimbo604]

Hoarding going up today around parking lot at SE corner of Georgia and Richards looked to include re-bar and forms for pouring concrete. Probably for one of those really solid pedestrian tunnels they do when there is demolition involved?

Looks like they are pretty confident this project is moving ahead, though they still have to pass the Development Permit Board on Feb. 20th:
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/dpboard/dpboard.htm

[jlousa]

They don't need a DP before the demo. ;)

[hollywoodnorth]

Hoarding going up today around parking lot at SE corner of Georgia and Richards looked to include re-bar and forms for pouring concrete. Probably for one of those really solid pedestrian tunnels they do when there is demolition involved?

Looks like they are pretty confident this project is moving ahead, though they still have to pass the Development Permit Board on Feb. 20th:
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/dpboard/dpboard.htm

if you took the alley between the project recently over the last 2 weeks you would have seen signs of internal demo (west side) work under way aswell :tup:

[Built Form]

They were very busy last night, closing down the sidewalk on Seymour they jackhammered out a large section of the wall.

[Pinion]

Is the tower going to be white, like the model? That could be a nice contrast downtown.

I like it. It's not mindblowing, but I don't understand why this gets hate and people fawn over stuff like Jameson House.

[Built Form]

Website is up for pre-registration and pre-leasing with a short vid opening.

www.telusgarden.com

[djh]

Is the tower going to be white, like the model? That could be a nice contrast downtown.

I like it. It's not mindblowing, but I don't understand why this gets hate and people fawn over stuff like Jameson House.

That's probably the exact words that the Sears nee Eatons building's designer said. Wait for a couple of seasons to go by without a thorough cleaning regime...

[Pinion]

That's probably the exact words that the Sears nee Eatons building's designer said. Wait for a couple of seasons to go by without a thorough cleaning regime...

Just because the Sears building is a dump doesn't mean white buildings in Vancouver are a bad idea. The owner isn't interested in keeping the Sears building nice anymore. I've been in Vancouver since 1987 and it looked great for a long time, despite being 15+ years old by then.

I'm on the north side of a 1975 Tudor-style condo and it stayed bright white until the last few years. We're repainting it this spring. A little pride goes a long way, and I think Vancouver can use all the bright architecture it can get. My area (Lonsdale) seems to be heavily into white buildings these days and I think it looks fantastic. Reminds me of Miami. e.g.

http://i.imgur.com/PiHCS.jpg
from travelpod.com

Actually, that building in the middle looks really familiar...

[officedweller]

That's probably the exact words that the Sears nee Eatons building's designer said. Wait for a couple of seasons to go by without a thorough cleaning regime...

The issue is maintenace, not the materials.
The quality of the marble aggregate is actually much better than the painted concrete or aluminum panels you see on current buildings. Just look at the sections of Sears bearing aluminum panels where the vertical signage was removed (and relocated) - the older panels have must more texture. Similarly on Vancouver Centre, compare the painted aluminum panels (formerly black/brown) on London Drugs with the adjacent marble aggregate.
A good grinding and polishing would probably restore them quite well - they are, after all, about 40 years old.

I dug up some pics from the archives and posted in the historic Vancouver thread...

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=5566165#post5566165

[Built Form]

Here's some more images from the presentation boards. I apologize in advance for the poor lighting. You may need to zoom in to read some text.

Alley:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050632.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050630.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050629.jpg


Illumination:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050626.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050623.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050622.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050628.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050627.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050625.jpg


Building Form:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050610.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050608.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050609.jpg


Sustainability Features:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050605.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050604.jpg
All pix by Built Form

[Built Form]

Some before and after alterations.


Before:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050621.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050619.jpg


After:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050580.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050577.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050571.jpg


Plaza Before:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050545.jpg


Plaza After, addition of reflecting pool and waterfall to lower retail level:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050541.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050556.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050559.jpg
All pix by Built Form

[officedweller]

Thanks for posting.

It'll be interesting to see how the onyx panels light up - I wionder if they light with just ambient light or each panel will have special lighting behind it. My thought is that they would need the intensity of special lighting.

[Joat]

So is the main big screen in front of the skybox transparent during the day or when its not on?

[s211]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but the scale model is sitting in the ground floor Robson entrance lobby of their present office building.

[Canadian Mind]

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050619.jpg

At first when I saw the concept for white lights I was thinking it was going to be a downer... But holy shit! Even if it ends up half as bright and colourful as that it'll be amazing!

[Built Form]

Here's a pic of the demolition of the Seymour wall over the weekend.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1050702.jpg
pic by Built Form

[Jimbo604]

Some exciting hoarding work going on, still available for parking.

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/jimbo604/telus_garden1.jpg

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/jimbo604/telus_garden2.jpg
photocredit: me

[Prometheus]

Thank you for the updates.

[giallo]

Exciting stuff!
I'm so happy to see this one moving along.

[officedweller]

They placed a cargo container (ends removed) as the sidewalk hoarding for the hole they just cut into the facade.

I also realized, while walking by today, that the onyx panels on the podium somewhat resemble the staggered pattern of open weave cinderblock bricks that exist on the Robson side now.

[Prometheus]

I hope they follow through on having retail along the entire length of Seymour.

[officedweller]

Does anyone know if the spiral staircase leads to a retail level that could - in future - potentially link across Seymour to Vancouver Centre and across Georgia to the Holborn project at the Bay Parkade? i.e. providing an underground link from Vancouver City Centre Station to Granville Station that does not pass through The Bay.

[jlousa]

Not scheduled for that, is it feasible? sure, and could be done if the want was there, but do not expect it.

[officedweller]

Thanks

[Jimbo604]

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/jimbo604/Fri%20Feb%2017%202012/IMG_1487.jpg
photo credit: me

Hoarding upgraded. Parking lot still open for business.

[officedweller]

Anyone else find it strange that the Telus Garden condo ads all prominently feature the office tower?

[Hed Kandi]

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2529/22651281.jpg

Courtesy of www.telusgarden.com

[trofirhen]

Anyone else find it strange that the Telus Garden condo ads all prominently feature the office tower?

Could it be that the condo tower is so grotesque that they want to downplay it?

[osirisboy]

Parking lot now blocked off and closed walked by this morning and asked the parking guys there and they confirmed it's closed for good. It felt so good seeing it closed!

[jlousa]

Could be that the partner is Telus and that the project is being trying to be seen as one project.

[officedweller]

They aren't even doing a "Residences at... " marketing scheme, either.

[Sir Conga]

:previous:
I imagine it is as simple as the fact that pictures from that angle show the whole project... whereas pics from the other corners would not the cooler parts of the project.

[s211]

White Spot closes at the end of this week, IRRC.

[SFUVancouver]

That's a good looking render. I'm excited to watch this one progress from afar.

[osirisboy]

White Spot closes at the end of this week, IRRC.

oh sweet, I cant wait to see that... Could I assume the hair salon place wil close as well by the end of the month?

[osirisboy]

They put another poster up on the richards side and it has the residential tower as the main focus.

[PaperTiger]

I'm suprised they are going with the TELUS brand for the residential portion. It’s a bit like doing the Residences at Coca-Cola, or General Motors Manor. Ahh home sweet corporate home. It’s weird.

I know we have the Shaw Tower, but at least the word Shaw has various connotations. No mistaking TELUS though.

[osirisboy]

^^^ Yea its a bit weird...

where do you work? Telus
where do you live? Telus

but I guess adding "garden" makes it seem less corporate lol

[Kinetic]

White Spot closing at the end of the week? Better hurry in to enjoy some last greasy fries before it does.

[officedweller]

They could have even called it Optik Place at Telus Garden
- oh, but wait, that might be used somewhere else...

How about the Flower Bed, at Telus Garden...
Or with the onyx facing, The Quarry, at Telus Garden...

[osirisboy]

was very busy with lots of construction workers this morning. They are busy now putting up hoarding around the white spot section and the other parkade.

[jlousa]

Couple of interesting tidbits, the office towers high rise elevators will travel at 1000ft/min the new quickest in the city. Also the tower will allow for using your cellphone nfc as your access card.

[osirisboy]

Couple of interesting tidbits, the office towers high rise elevators will travel at 1000ft/min the new quickest in the city. Also the tower will allow for using your cellphone nfc as your access card.


that is interesting. for comparison what is the average speed for office/residential?

[officedweller]

Seems a bit unnecessary in a relatively short tower - unless there are fewer elevators.

[Jebby]

Is this approved yet or still just proposed and waiting for approval/permits?

[jlousa]

It's been approved, the building permit will be issued in March.

[Prometheus]

Seems a bit unnecessary in a relatively short tower...

This tower is so short, just stairs would be fine.

[Pinion]

Couple of interesting tidbits, the office towers high rise elevators will travel at 1000ft/min the new quickest in the city. Also the tower will allow for using your cellphone nfc as your access card.

Have any idea what the TD tower on Georgia's elevator speeds are? I have to run to the bathroom after riding those to the top. And not to barf.

[jlousa]

Not sure what the speed of the other office towers are, I know Shaw and Shangri-la had the previous fastest elevators in the city at 700 and 750ft/min so this one will be a significant boost from even those.

[vanlaw]

Off topic a little but seeing as we're on elevator speeds....I had a long layover in Taipei last week on way home from vacation so we went into the city and went up Taipei 101. At its fastest, the elevator is going up 1010m/minute. It takes a little under 40 seconds to go from 5th floor lobby at 25m to 89th floor viewing area at 380m. Unfortunately the 91st fl outside deck was closed as the wind was picking up.It was super smooth i.e. no stomach dropping feeling that I was expecting. And then it actually goes down slower than it goes up, taking 45 seconds

[entheosfog]

Not sure what the speed of the other office towers are, I know Shaw and Shangri-la had the previous fastest elevators in the city at 700 and 750ft/min so this one will be a significant boost from even those.

I've been on many an elevator in this city and the building at 850 west Broadway seems to have insanely fast speeds with their lifts...

[officedweller]

Someone a work mentioned that the Kingston Tap and Grill has gone bankrupt.
Can anyone confirm?

Don't know if that extends to the hotel.

[wrenegade]

Not sure what the speed of the other office towers are, I know Shaw and Shangri-la had the previous fastest elevators in the city at 700 and 750ft/min so this one will be a significant boost from even those.

For what it's worth I was talking with someone from Wall yesterday and they said the elevators at Wall Centre are also 1000 ft/min.

[osirisboy]

Slabs of concrete from the top level of the orange parkade have been somewhat dismantled and seemed to be hanging off the side. Anyway sure is fun seeing it get torn down

[officedweller]

A co-worker said that the EasyPark radio advertisements regarding the closure of the parkade stated closure for "reconstruction". So it sounds like EasyPark may be the operator of the new underground parkade at the building.

[s211]

Someone a work mentioned that the Kingston Tap and Grill has gone bankrupt.
Can anyone confirm?

Don't know if that extends to the hotel.

If so, couldn't happen to a worse place. Food was consistently amongst the worst in the city.

[phesto]

A co-worker said that the EasyPark radio advertisements regarding the closure of the parkade stated closure for "reconstruction". So it sounds like EasyPark may be the operator of the new underground parkade at the building.

Would make sense. Easypark is owned by the City of Vancouver so the City probably negotiated to keep the parking operation in the deal to sell their site to Westbank.

Interesting that when Westbank buys these sites from the City (Telus, 1400 Howe Street, etc) we never really hear what they paid for them? :shrug:

Ian Gillespie must have some close buddies at City Hall ;).

[mezzanine]

If so, couldn't happen to a worse place. Food was consistently amongst the worst in the city.

any resto/pub name ending with 'tap and grill' = high likelyhood of crappiness. :cheers:

[vanlaw]

If so, couldn't happen to a worse place. Food was consistently amongst the worst in the city.


I believe it has closed. Someone said it went into receivership, but perhaps just part of the redevelopment?

I wouldn't call it the worst in the city. It definitely wasn’t great, but for a couple of pints pre-game and a few appies it did the trick. I would pick there over the Lennox any day. Thinking of other places in the area, Library Square’s food quality was no better and either is Jimmy’s. It was basically just standard crappy pub fare like 85% of the other places that do the same thing.

[s211]

any resto/pub name ending with 'tap and grill' = high likelyhood of crappiness. :cheers:

No kidding. And yet if I were to believe the trogs in my office, you'd think that the Kingston was the only place in town to go for lunch, a dry lunch no less. :yuck:

[Jimbo604]

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/jimbo604/Thr%20Mar%201%202012/IMG_1494.jpg
photo credit: me

Serious demolition has begun.

Re: Parking. In the Development Permit Board application it mentions four levels of underground parking with 336 office spaces and 44 retail spaces. However, the report points out the maximum number of retail spaces allowed is 26. The minutes haven't been posted yet so it's unclear how this was resolved.

So that's a pretty big reduction compared to the number of spots previously at this location, which was (guessing) over 100.

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/dpboard/2012/PDFs/520%20West%20Georgia%20Street-415286.pdf

[Hed Kandi]

Excellent thanks!

I'd love to see the entire parking lot along 655 Richards also developed.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/7897/capturerlf.jpg

[Homeowner]

Excellent thanks!

I'd love to see the entire parking lot along 655 Richards also developed.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/7897/capturerlf.jpg

Eventually it will. Parkades don't make money. Condos do! :)

[Built Form]

Someone a work mentioned that the Kingston Tap and Grill has gone bankrupt.
Can anyone confirm?

Don't know if that extends to the hotel.

As I was taking these pictures a gentlemen inside told me they will be re-opening under new management as early as next monday.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1060030.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f58/hirtus1/P1060029.jpg
pix by Built Form

[officedweller]

Thanks!

[jsbertram]

I wonder if the owners pushed the pub into bankruptcy, knowing they were going to be surrounded on all sides by construction of the Telus towers, making it difficult to access their pub?

I don't think they'd have many hotel customers willing to put up with construction noises either (in stereo too).

[LeftCoaster]

Eventually it will. Parkades don't make money. Condos do! :)

Actually parkades make money and condos don't ;)

[187 Feet Tall]

Snapped a pic of the building model last night. Sorry, Iphone pic quality only.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18283909/TG%20photo.JPG

[Jimbo604]

I don't think the noise will be in "stereo" for the Kingston for too long, judging by the rate the north parking lot is being demolished at. Two weeks and it should be done, I'd estimate.

[squeezied]

Website has been updated! Very cool intro video!

http://www.telusgarden.com

[Jimbo604]

Story in the Province about the Kingston, lodged in between the Telus developments:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Telus+redevelopment+Historic+hotel+plans+checking+Richards/6247713/story.html

Another story in the Province:
Telus plan for second-tallest tower in Vancouver now includes condominium units

At 53 storeys high, the new residential condo tower that’s part of Telus’s redevelopment of a downtown city block will be the city’s second-tallest building, and it’s being built in an area the city zoned off limits to residential construction.

Rezoning for the 500,000 square foot tower, part of the $750 million redevelopment Telus Garden that also includes 500,000 square feet of office space in a 24-storey tower, was approved by Vancouver city council last week and was officially launched by Telus on Friday.

The telecommunications giant was given special permission to build condos in a part of downtown that was zoned non-residential after it agreed to $15 million in community amenities, including contributing to parks, greenways and bike paths.

And according to one urban design expert, office space is less likely to get built if it doesn’t have a residential component.

“Everybody’s pleased there’s another office building going up in downtown Vancouver,” said architect Michael Geller. “But this development was not economically viable on its own” without the condo tower.
...

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Telus+plan+second+tallest+tower+Vancouver+includes+condominium+units/6247708/story.html

[LotusLand]

Second tallest tower? Isn't the hotel Georgia residences the second tallest? Then soon to be the Burrard Gateway, if that ever gets started?

[jlousa]

The Province is just living up to it's standard.

[yogiderek]

The Province is just living up to it's standard.

its 43 floors here. I've seen 46 floors on advertisements, though in todays paper, it wasn't listed. Now it is 53 and the second tallest, when it was way down the list before. I personally would be happy for it to be the second tallest, but knowing how that newspapers so get things wrong so often.

[trofirhen]

The Province is just living up to it's standard.

Such a shame .... it was a real newspaper once ........

[GeeCee]

So would we consider this u/c now? :)

[Locked In]

^ Probably not until excavation is done - I recall some lengthy debates about this in other threads though...

That article is not well researched. There are a dozen existing towers (http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=1) that are taller than Telus Residential will be.

Anyways, my photos (https://picasaweb.google.com/104250476900282174023/2012#5716155009382467634) from today:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UoyYDLsvshc/T1Pcr0S9S6I/AAAAAAAAElU/hCnS_gJwW1o/s900/IMG-20120304-00116.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2dU4ni7784Q/T1Pcsg9PyDI/AAAAAAAAElc/8f4cAH0Cnak/s900/IMG-20120304-00117.jpg

[Canadian Mind]

Why not send the writer an email and tell them how off track they are?

[GeeCee]

How does it rank in terms of purely residential towers?

[jsbertram]

I don't think the noise will be in "stereo" for the Kingston for too long, judging by the rate the north parking lot is being demolished at. Two weeks and it should be done, I'd estimate.

That's just the demo phase.

How long will it take to construct the two towers?

[Jimbo604]

And will the residents in the residential tower have Shaw internet as an option??

[twoNeurons]

And will the residents in the residential tower have Shaw internet as an option??

Probably, but why would you want to, when it's likely you'll have FTTH with Telus.

[GeeCee]

And will the residents in the residential tower have Shaw internet as an option??

Probably not since your internet/tv/phone will be included in your strata fees.