Burrard Place | 168m, 112m, 56m | 54fl, 36fl, 13fl | 938,000 sqft | U/C

[mr.x]

VANCOUVER — A rezoning application for a $500-million 'Burrard Gateway' project has been pitched to the City of Vancouver by Reliance Properties and Jim Pattison Developments.

The application involves 23 separate city lots, 14 owned by Reliance Properties and nine by Jim Pattison Developments. The project would require the landowners to consolidate their holdings.

"This proposed development is designed to create a dramatic entrance to Vancouver's downtown area as people crest the Burrard Bridge heading north on Burrard Street," Reliance Properties president Jon Stovell said in a news release.

The lots are located on Burrard and Hornby, north of Drake. The proposal features three towers and would include strata and rental housing as well as office and retail space.

"We want to create a vertical operation that minimizes the footprint at street level. The showroom will be like a three-storey glass jewel box, with all of the service areas on four underground levels. It will be the only full service downtown dealership serving the many people who live and work in the area," Jim Pattison Auto Group president Bill Harbottle said in a news release.

Looking ahead, the application process will include public open house meetings, a public hearing and a review by the tall building design panel.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Burrard+...#ixzz13Ur2pOfe

[officedweller]

Great location for a landmark building
- so why does the "spire" face the corner of Drake & Hornby??
It should face directly towards Burrard Bridge (even if that means facing the middle of the site) - OR the design should be more uniform to eliminate the front & back aspects of the tower.
Take a cue from the Marine Building.

[vanman]

That looks like something out of a Toronto suburb. I wonder who the architect is.

[Hed Kandi]

Is this one of the proposed view cone sites?

[PaperTiger]

Sometimes I suspect developers put things forward with obvious flaws so that the UDP has something to latch onto. Then they make the obvious changes and say "Look. We did what you asked. Aren't we good , community minded developers?" Presto, 1-7 non-support becomes 7-1 support.

[Locked In]

Agreed, not a particularly impressive first rendering. A bit more info from the press release:

As currently proposed, the development consists of three towers of 13-, 36- and 48-storeys and a seven-storey podium with a total built space of more than 750,000 square feet. Uses would include market strata and rental housing, office and retail space and a flagship Toyota dealership for North America.

and I can't resist posting the ridiculous opening line from CBC's article:

Two big Vancouver companies are proposing to build three new downtown towers near the Burrard Bridge that could impair the view of the North Shore Mountains from Queen Elizabeth Park.

Based on this photo from the display boards for the latest Higher Buildings open houses, I doubt you'll even be able to see the tower behind the trees:

[Locked In]

Originally Posted by vanman

That looks like something out of a Toronto suburb. I wonder who the architect is.

According to the Vancouver Sun article, the project's architect is IBI/HB - Jim Hancock was the architect at the press conference. Also from that article:

The project would include a flagship “glass cube” Toyota dealership, replacing the one that’s now there.

As proposed, the development consists of three towers of 13, 36 and 48 storeys, another seven-storey residential/commercial building fronting on Hornby Street, a 50,000-square-foot three-storey Toyota dealership (including four levels of service facilities below ground) with a total space of more than 750,000 square feet. Uses would include market strata and rental housing, office and retail space, the Toyota dealership and several community amenities including a 5,200-square-foot daycare centre, a car-share program, parking for nearly 800 bikes, community gallery space, and money for rental housing in the Downtown Eastside.

There would be about 600 residential units in the project, designed to achieve LEED gold status with an emphasis on energy savings.

According to the proposal, the current height limit of 364 feet for the main tower would be increased to 466 feet — as tall as One Wall Centre — and the permitted floor space for the project increased from 379,500 square feet to 774,318 square feet.

Jim Pattison Auto Group president Bill Harbottle said the project would establish a new standard for auto dealerships. “This represents an opportunity to launch the next generation of urban automobile dealerships. It’s a vertical operation over seven floors, with a glass showroom.

“We believe it will be Toyota’s flagship location in North America.”

Source: Vancouver Sun

[Metro-One]

Love the height increase, but I also agree the tower design needs to be upgraded. It does look better in the model shown above than in the render.

Anyways, if people are worried about loosing the view of the mountains from QEP then they should be more concerned with the local trees growing into the view than these new towers. Also, I always thought the point f the view from QEP was to look down onto Vancouver city, with the mountains only being a backdrop to the tower focal points? There are no limits on the number of areas one can get good views of mountains in BC, haha, but there are limits on good views of a pleasing major city skyline.

PS, if you really want your blood to boil read the comments below the CBC article. Sigh...

[Architype]

Great project, great location, it's going to look quite impressive driving over the bridge.

[officedweller]

The recesses on the facade look interesting, as do the offset balconies.

The building really should face Burrard Bridge - at that height, its the distant/far views that count.

[EastVanMark]

How can you allow this height at this location yet keep the CBD capped at 600' (with a tiny sliver that gets more)? A 450' tower at this location will do way more to views than a 750' tower in the CBD further north of this site.

[wrenegade]

I'd like to see some better renders before I am too critical about the design, but so far it doesn't look like something worth writing home about.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Love the height increase, but I also agree the tower design needs to be upgraded. It does look better in the model shown above than in the render.

Anyways, if people are worried about loosing the view of the mountains from QEP then they should be more concerned with the local trees growing into the view than these new towers. Also, I always thought the point f the view from QEP was to look down onto Vancouver city, with the mountains only being a backdrop to the tower focal points? There are no limits on the number of areas one can get good views of mountains in BC, haha, but there are limits on good views of a pleasing major city skyline.

PS, if you really want your blood to boil read the comments below the CBC article. Sigh...

I know eh
all it would block out is the development up the mountains - the money part of the mountains is clearly visible - what do people in this city want? a logging down by the bay?

[SpongeG]

The application involves 23 separate city lots, 14 owned by Reliance Properties and nine by Jim Pattison Developments. The project would require the landowners to consolidate their holdings.

does this include the stuff like the 7-11 on davie?

[Delirium]

there's a website for this project but it won't be live until Oct.29th.

www.burrardgateway.ca

[geoff's two cents]

Originally Posted by Architype

Great project, great location, it's going to look quite impressive driving over the bridge.

With some design modifications, it surely will.

I wonder, though, about how the building itself will contribute to the surrounding neighbourhood, which is at present something of a dead zone for pedestrians - particularly along Drake between the Burrard and Granville. I'd like to see something in this proposal that livens up the community around it, and I'm not sure a large car dealership will accomplish this - even with the other amenities proposed. A grocery store, for instance, in addition to said car dealership, would provide an anchor destination that would benefit surrounding businesses by attracting additional customer traffic and pedestrian activity. It's also an amenity lacking in the immediate area, especially considering the residential density.

In an ideal world, in my opinion, the giant glass cube would be above a destination like a grocery store that attracts regular customer traffic. This way, the dealership would get its much-needed visibility without hampering the liveability of the surrounding neighbourhood - like, say, the south end of the Burrard street bridge.

[mr.x]

The Global BCTV News report on the web has further renderings, personally I'm quite looking forward to this....love the facade. I don't think the renderings that have been posted here do it justice.

However, the whole "how it will revitalize the neighbourhood"...with the current configuration, I highly doubt it considering its anchor is suppose to be a Toyota dealership? loll, everyone gets a new car every week. I agree, something like a grocery store would fit well (although I do think the grocery store market in downtown is becoming oversaturated) so I'd go for something else instead...otherwise, this will just end up being a really big condo building - a larger version of the ones on Coal Harbour or Concord Pacific Place: it will do little to add vibrancy to the neighbourhood.

[officedweller]

I wonder how many parcels are going to be consolidated? i.e. does it go all the way to Davie Street (7-11)?
I think the old Galloways and the store next to it were for sale at one time.
If that's the case, it could strengthen retail on Davie by having an entrance to the supermarket there.
I don't think that Drake should be a focus for retail, but Davie or Hornby off-Davie could be good for supermarket frontage.
I don't see Burrard in that area as being a walkable pedestrian area,
so the glass cube dealership is OK with me in a "ceremonial streetscape" sort of way..

You can make out the site in this Global Air Photo
- seems like it could go all the way to Davie if they bought out enough properties
- I'll bet that's where the 34 storey tower is located (closer to Davie)
- seems like the positioning based on the model and the render:


http://www.globalairphotos.com/large...wn/2010/0114/2

[hollywoodnorth]

great stuff! Go JIMMY Go!

[SpongeG]

did y'all know there is a Scion dealer next to the 7-11? it took over that auto service place...