[SFUVancouver]

This is where the balance of the heritage density from the Robert Lee YMCA landed after Patina had used up its maximum.

This is a good proposal for a small infill site and it strikes me as being much more representative of the majority of new downtown development we are likely to see in the years ahead, as opposed to large site projects like the multi-tower Burrard Gateway proposed for the opposite side of the intersection on the current Pattison Toyota site. This project is also likely to be the first out of the gate to be built on Hornby since the bike lane trial got under way. With Artemsia at Helmckin, the Murray Hotel restoration/tower between Drake and Helmckin, and the Burrard Gateway at Drake all slated for development in the years ahead, this section of Hornby will be a hive of activity and we do not have any experience in the city yet with building adjacent to separate biked routes.

My hunch is that they will install a temporary tunnel of shipping containers adjacent to the usual wood frame pedestrian sidewalk protection. For both Artemesia and this project the buildings are at the corner so they have the Hemlckin and Drake, respectively, to use as their staging/site access needs. For mid-block sites ensuring continued access to the protected bike route will prove more challenging. I cannot imagine that the City would willing to have the separated bike route closed for a couple of years, nor is it likely that they will give up a general carriage lane. For those with greater knowledge of the construction sector, is a standard downtown commercial lane sufficient for site access if concrete pumping is done from the street? I seem to recall that with Capitol Residences they used the commercial lane for site access and installed a fixed concrete pumping machine on Seymour. They closed that section of sidewalk from time to time during contruction but it was open for the majority of the project. Anyway, this is all hypothetical as there are currently no mid-block development proposals for the protected bicycle lane side of Hornby.