988 W Broadway | 40.2m | 10Fl | U/C

[officedweller]

It's now topped out - as of yesterday.


It's truly a blue sky day at BlueSky, as we celebrate reaching the roof w/ our construction team @axiombuilders on our 988 Broadway project!
https://twitter.com/BlueSkyBosa



988 West Broadway rooftop party today! Thank you to everyone who celebrated this milestone with us including @BlueSkyBosa & @IAcanada.
https://twitter.com/axiombuilders

[Feathered Friend]

Sept 21st '17

I thought I had posted this already

Sept 25th '17



I had meant to post these earlier, but didn't have the chance to sort them until today.


Oct 10th '17

No surprise, the office space is fully leased.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

crazy, 10 floors for a building on Broadway and on a street where the Millennium-Line will have a station. connecting to the Canada and Expo Lines from Coquitlam to YVR to Richmond to Surrey.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

crazy, 10 floors for a building on Broadway and on a street where the Millennium-Line will have a station. connecting to the Canada and Expo Lines from Coquitlam to YVR to Richmond to Surrey.

Agree! This low density along broadway makes no sense.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

crazy, 10 floors for a building on Broadway and on a street where the Millennium-Line will have a station. connecting to the Canada and Expo Lines from Coquitlam to YVR to Richmond to Surrey.

This one gets taken down in favour of a new tower in our lifetime.

Current builder probably didn't want to fight.

Once this area is built out this is a prime corner for a big office tower.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Agree! This low density along broadway makes no sense.

I walked along West Broadway from Granville to Cambie to check out new projects last weekend, and lo and behold, the only thing new is this 10-storey office tower. This is such a prime commercial area just outside the downtown core and it is astounding how nobody wants to come develop the corridor. Nothing much has changed here since the 80s. Sad really, and what a waste for a highly potential area for big growth in commercial/residential developments. For this area to grow, all the City needs to do is to allow more density for buildings to be built here. There is definitely high demand, but no political will to change the zoning codes to make this place more attractive for developers to come build.

BTW, the 10-storey office tower is fully leased, so for those who want to say there isn't any demand, please take this into consideration first.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Vin

I walked along West Broadway from Granville to Cambie to check out new projects last weekend, and lo and behold, the only thing new is this 10-storey office tower. This is such a prime commercial area just outside the downtown core and it is astounding how nobody wants to come develop the corridor. Nothing much has changed here since the 80s. Sad really, and what a waste for a highly potential area for big growth in commercial/residential developments. For this area to grow, all the City needs to do is to allow more density for buildings to be built here. There is definitely high demand, but no political will to change the zoning codes to make this place more attractive for developers to come build.

BTW, the 10-storey office tower is fully leased, so for those who want to say there isn't any demand, please take this into consideration first.

Maybe we need rapid transit along this corridor before any more development takes place?

[Feathered Friend]

My photos

October 20th


October 22nd

[Vin]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Maybe we need rapid transit along this corridor before any more development takes place?

Perhaps, but I highly doubt it: just look at the very slow pace of change along the Cambie corridor or Expo Line, contrasting with what is happening in Burnaby, Surrey and Richmond. I think better still, a change of authorities in charge of the future planning of this place, to be replaced with people of real vision.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Maybe we need rapid transit along this corridor before any more development takes place?

Sadly, that's probably true.

i.e. no "vision" in being able to predict future demand / no building in anticipation.
- all "after the fact" justification
- probably easier to argue to a NIMBY after the fact

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Sadly, that's probably true.

i.e. no "vision" in being able to predict future demand / no building in anticipation.
- all "after the fact" justification
- probably easier to argue to a NIMBY after the fact

Pretty sure Warren's talking about this:

“There’s been a land rush on Broadway,” says Jon Stovell, the chair of the region’s Urban Development Institute. “Developers have been purchasing with an expectation it will be one of the densest areas in the region.”

That’s all in anticipation of the extension of the Broadway SkyTrain line from Commercial Drive in the east to Arbutus Street in the west, a plan that has been talked about for a couple of decades...

... New purchasers like that feel that they can only get a return on the high prices they paid if they get considerably more density – and will wait however many years it takes to get that, says Mr. Shokri.

Mr. Stovell adds, “We won’t see a lot of projects breaking ground until there is clarity on the zoning.”

So there's plenty of behind-the-scenes purchases - the developers are just waiting for the subway to get built and City Hall to rezone the street.

[officedweller]

Yeah, I mean before the politicians will allow rezonings.

[Feathered Friend]

I've heard from several sources that a Broadway Corridor rezoning plan will start next year, so hopefully it won't be a long wait/process.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

im really curious, assuming Toys R Us goes bankrupt, what will happen with the Bowmac sign. i would love to see it restored to its former glory. neon, bulbs, and all.

Bowmac Sign

[a very long weekend]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

I've heard from several sources that a Broadway Corridor rezoning plan will start next year, so hopefully it won't be a long wait/process.

with how instantly the city caved to the grandview/woodlands NIMBYs, one hopes that the developer 'land rush' has got them skin in the game sufficient to convince the politicians/planners to act boldly. upzoning areas like 12th and fraser to just 10 stories would do more than good than upzoning, say, main and broadway from 10 to 20 stories.

[phesto]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

I've heard from several sources that a Broadway Corridor rezoning plan will start next year, so hopefully it won't be a long wait/process.

It was made public at council last week. http://council.vancouver.ca/20171017/documents/rr2.pdf

Broadway Corridor planning will start in December with goal of having a draft plan by Q1 2019 and plan adoption by the end of 2019.

[Changing City]

Bringing the topic back to 988 W Broadway, bear in mind that the reason it's limited to the current height is entirely due to the adjacent VGH medivac heliport. That has a significant impact on the 900 block of W Broadway in particular, and unless the rules, or the location of the helipad, change, that will probably continue to be the case.

Presumably any Broadway Corridor Plan might take into account existing recent plans, like the Mount Pleasant Plan, and will concentrate on the area where transit access will change as a result of the newly extended line. That could stop around Arbutus, unless there's a surprise and the funding pays for it to go further west. If that's the case, it wouldn't logically affect Fraser and Broadway as the line will reach Broadway at Main.

The City are already looking at how to leverage additional rental housing in the RM zoned areas where there are existing older rental properties, but that's a fine balancing act as they don't want to replace a lot of modestly priced existing rentals with higher density but much more expensive market rentals. Unlike Burnaby, they're quite concerned about protecting existing tenants as much as is reasonable.

[a very long weekend]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Presumably any Broadway Corridor Plan might take into account existing recent plans, like the Mount Pleasant Plan, and will concentrate on the area where transit access will change as a result of the newly extended line. That could stop around Arbutus, unless there's a surprise and the funding pays for it to go further west. If that's the case, it wouldn't logically affect Fraser and Broadway as the line will reach Broadway at Main.

it doesn't strike me as at all logical that planning should draw a line excluding a giant district of low slung detached houses 10-15 minutes away by foot from two brand new rapid rail transit stations and 5-6 minutes from rapid bus transit on broadway. what seems really to be going on is planners being planners, and both planners and politicians doing everything possible to avoid neighborhood backlash, while simultaneously protecting developers' profits on very costly highish rise construction.

[Feathered Friend]

Thanks for the excellent post Changing City. It was easily one of the best posts in a long time time regarding the Broadway corridor/line. Truly refreshing to read something that was insightful, rather than just back and forth bickering and/or reviving zombie arguments.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by phesto

It was made public at council last week. http://council.vancouver.ca/20171017/documents/rr2.pdf

Broadway Corridor planning will start in December with goal of having a draft plan by Q1 2019 and plan adoption by the end of 2019.

It's about time: GO DENSE & TALL!!

Not just along Broadway but 2 blocks either sides.