Mayfair West (Oakridge Transit Centre Redevelopment) | Proposed

[logan5]

The rezoning document doesn't say much. Are they going to have a retail street in there?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by logan5

The rezoning document doesn't say much. Are they going to have a retail street in there?

Assuming the rezoning follows the Policy Statement, the retail is on W41st. "A modest amount of retail fronting on 41st Avenue, will be provided. It is intended to be local-serving in character for example, small pharmacy, café, bakery, deli, restaurant, green grocer and/or small grocery store. A portion (up to 50%) of the retail floor area may provide service uses (medical, dental, real estate, law and other professionals) to enhance and complement the retail space." As it's so close to Oakridge Centre Mall, it wouldn't seem reasonable to expect anything other than local serving retail here.

[jollyburger]

15,000 square feet of retail along 41st

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

Rezoning Application - 949 West 41st Avenue & 5469-5507 Willow Street (Oakridge Transit Centre)


The City of Vancouver has received an application rezone 949 West 41st Avenue & 5469-5507 Willow Street (Oakridge Transit Centre) from RS-1 (One-Family Dwelling) District to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development) District. The proposal consists of 17 buildings between 3 and 23 storeys, a childcare facility, a public park, retail space, and social housing units. It includes:

a maximum building height of 70.1 m. (230 ft.);
1,149 market residential units;
180 secured market rental units, including 45 Moderate Income Rental Units;
300 social housing units in two buildings;
a childcare facility (8,500 sq. ft.);
a new 2.34-acre public park; and
a total gross floor space ratio (FSR) of 2.30.


The area will now be called "Oak Green" as per

https://rezoning.vancouver.ca/applic...-rationale.pdf

This should have been Vancouver's first use of rental only zoning but our weak mayor is more concerned about developer equity than housing.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

This should have been Vancouver's first use of rental only zoning but our weak mayor is more concerned about developer equity than housing.

Why do you always attack 'the mayor' as if he (or she) had omnipotent powers? I don't think this would have been the site to introduce rental only zoning. The Province only allowed that form of zoning in 2018. The Planning Program for this site kicked off in 2014, and the policy statement was adopted a year or two later. Throwing that out would have presumably thrown the potential developer deal out, and reduced the value of the land. That means Translink would have had to find funds for the replacement land and facilities from other sources, so either other Translink investment would have been cut, or taxes or fares impacted. It would have been a 'late hit' that would seem unfair to both Translink and the developer.

[logan5]

thanks for the info.

[Vin]

Retail should entend into the side street, and even the alleyway behind the triangular site. The rest of the development is shockingly short, considering how much land is already given to the park.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Assuming the rezoning follows the Policy Statement, the retail is on W41st. "A modest amount of retail fronting on 41st Avenue, will be provided. It is intended to be local-serving in character for example, small pharmacy, café, bakery, deli, restaurant, green grocer and/or small grocery store. A portion (up to 50%) of the retail floor area may provide service uses (medical, dental, real estate, law and other professionals) to enhance and complement the retail space." As it's so close to Oakridge Centre Mall, it wouldn't seem reasonable to expect anything other than local serving retail here.

Makes sense - put it all on the arterial where everybody can see it and the buses can reach it, make the rest 100% bedroom. 41st should be three minutes or less on foot.

[Feathered Friend]

For those who are interested:

Two community open houses are scheduled for

Monday, November 18 from 5-8pm and

Saturday, November 23 from 11am-3pm.

These open houses will be held at the Vandusen Garden Visitor Centre at 5151 Oak Street. City staff and the applicant team will be available to answer questions.

https://rezoning.vancouver.ca/applic...tave/index.htm

[LeftCoaster]

I'll be there Monday, excited to see this one go forward.

[Feathered Friend]

From Parking Lots To Park Space – Vancouver Eagerly Awaits A Greener Transit Centre

949 West 41st Avenue & 5469-5507 Willow Street (Oakridge Transit Centre) – Oak Green

Though Darren and I have followed our city’s growth for several years now, there are some things that continue to puzzle us. Chief among these is why, even after years of consulting the community to create a set of design guidelines for large sites like this, the city requires they undergo a rezoning process. In our experience, this breeds confusion and distrust, as many people worry there voices were ignored or are overwhelmed by the amount of data presented.

Which was certainly true for this open house, as the planning process for the Oakridge Transit Centre first began is 2014. Which explains why there were presentation boards on almost every wall of this large room in the Van Dusen Visitor Centre. It was no wonder that several of the ~80 people in attendance became irritated as they were unsure of where to even begin. It certainly did not help that the policy statement prescribed so much of this content.

https://cityduo.wordpress.com/2019/1...ransit-centre/

[Feathered Friend]

Urban Design Panel’s Unanimous Support Seeks To Shift Oakridge Transit Centre Into High Gear

949 West 41st Avenue & 5469-5507 Willow Street (Oakridge Transit Centre) – Oak Green
In 2014 when the planning program to create a set of guidelines for the Oakridge Transit Centre was launched, neither Hannah nor I had ever heard of the Urban Design Panel. In fact, we didn’t even attend an open house until 2016, several months after the plan for this former bus storage and maintenance facility was approved by city council. Obviously we’ve grown a lot since then, and the vision for this site has too.

While Perkins and Will may have created the framework here, it’s the firm of James K. M. Cheng, one of Vancouver’s most renowned architects, who has taken it a step further. Perhaps this is partially due to his many periods of service on the panel, but his presentations feel more like a master instructing a class, rather than an appeal for approval. As a result, what was supposed to be a two hour review, took little more than 80 minutes.

https://cityduo.wordpress.com/2019/1...nto-high-gear/

[Feathered Friend]

The original rezoning application proposed 23,559.2 sq. m (253,589 sq. ft.) of social housing, equivalent to approximately 300 units, spread out over buildings in separate phases of development. The revised application locates all of the social housing within Parcel E, which will be secured and transferred to the City as a fully remediated fee simple site

The key results of this shift were increases to height for two buildings to 20 and 26 storeys, which now mirrors the maximum height approved for the Jewish Community Centre on the opposite side of 41st Avenue. The additional height proposed along 41st Avenue will not create an increase in shadows on the new public park.

The maximum building height for the site, on building D-1, increased from 70.1 m (230 ft.) to 82.3 m (270 ft.) in the revised application. The staff recommendation is for an additional 1.5 m (5 ft.) increase to the maximum building height to 83.8 m (275 ft.), to allow for greater floor-to-ceiling heights for the ground-level commercial units.

The other important revision is the increase in commercial space in the proposal. A net addition of 836.1 sq. m, (9,000 sq. ft.) of commercial space is proposed to support activation of the commercial mews and provide nearby shopping options for residents.

https://council.vancouver.ca/20200721/documents/rr5.pdf

Some updates from the referral report (expect to see it at the September public hearing.)

[Feathered Friend]

https://twitter.com/pwaldkirch/statu...368954373?s=20


https://twitter.com/pwaldkirch/statu...368954373?s=20

In a rather shocking development, city council refused to refer the application to a public hearing today. While it seems a couple individuals (Mayor Stewart and Councillor Dominato) were confused on whether they were voting on the amendment or the main motion, Councillors Carr, Fry, and Swanson led the charge against what the later described as a "rich ghetto."

[GenWhy?]

With only 30% of floor area dedicated to moderate incomes and below (345 units out of 1,300), I imagine more affordability could be implemented from the provided minimum in the policy:

1,120 market residential units;
180 secured market rental units, including 45 Moderate Income Rental Units;
300 social housing units in two buildings

Although the affordable housing component does have 50% of units as 2-bed+.

[Feathered Friend]

Road network update from the Sept 28th, 2020 Civic Asset Naming Committee

THAT the new street running from West 38th Avenue to West 41st Avenue be named as “Collins Street”;

FURTHER THAT the new street running from West 38th Avenue to Collins Street be
named “Nemetz Drive”.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

https://vancouver.ca/docs/council/cian20200928min.pdf

The Nemetz family was recommended by the Jewish Museum & Archives of BC, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, as an important name for memorial for their many contributions to Vancouver. The family arrived in Canada as Ukrainian Jewish refugees in the early 1900s, with the siblings Samuel, Charlie, David, Harry, and Sonia arriving first.

https://vancouver.ca/your-government...erve-list.aspx

[LeftCoaster]

Vancouver Market just did a quick update/briefer on this project, in advance of it going to public hearing next week:

http://www.vancouvermarket.ca/2020/1...ransit-centre/

[Feathered Friend]

Kennedy Stewart @kennedystewart · 5h
BIG HOUSING NEWS! Council approved 1800+ homes this week, most from the rezoned Oakridge Transit Centre w/:

330 social housing
135 secured rental
45 middle-income rental
24,000 ft2 commercial
& 2 acre park

PLUS: 1785 on site and off site jobs!

https://twitter.com/kennedystewart/s...990313985?s=20

[jollyburger]

Seems like a positive development to have Grosvenor behind this.

Grosvenor acquires Oakridge transit centre site

Grosvenor announced its purchase of the property June 22 from MOMC Canada, which acquired the site from TransLink in 2016 in partnership with Intergulf Development Group. MOMC will retain a minority interest. Transca Real Estate Development (Canada) Ltd., which will partner with Grosvenor on the site’s redevelopment, was also a party to the transaction.

The deal was undertaken with a view to kickstarting development, said Mike Ward, senior vice-president and general manager with Grosvenor in Vancouver.

“It was really about our brand, and bringing that brand to a site that could use it really well,” he said.

Ward said MOMC – also known as Modern Green – is separate from a related company headquartered in China, and the Oakridge deal is not linked to the owner’s activities in Asia.

Zhang Lei, chair of Modern Green, also chairs Modern Land (China) Co. Ltd., a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Modern Land’s interim report audited by KPMG identified it as one of China’s top 100 real estate enterprises for seven consecutive years.

But last fall, Modern Land ran into challenges with coupon payments on maturing bonds.

“This is not related to the Chinese business,” Ward said. “This is a personal Vancouver holding of the fellow who is the chairman of both the Vancouver company and the company in China, but they are not legally or financially tied together.”

Grosvenor plans to file a development application with the city in the near future, with the intent of breaking ground on the first phase in partnership with Transca in early 2025.

A master plan approved by the city in 2020 provides for approximately 17 buildings ranging in size from four to 26 storeys with 1,630 residential units, both market and non-market housing. The master plan stipulates that 20 per cent of the residential units be designated for affordable housing, including city-owned social housing to moderate-income rental housing.

Retail space and a two-acre park are also part of the development, which will see 1.5 million square feet built on the 13.8-acre site.

“The master plan is complete and approved, but now we have to go through the details design and development permit process for the first phase,” Ward said.

The project will ultimately have four phases.

Ward believes the two-year window for securing municipal approvals for the first phase is reasonable. By then, construction costs should have stabilized as well as consumer demand, setting the stage for construction.

This isn’t Grosvenor’s first foray into the area. The company bought a townhouse site at Oak and 37th six months ago and purchased a development site at 46th and Oak five years ago.

“We’ve had our eye on the area for some time,” Ward said. “We like the area for all the obvious reasons, and the Oakridge Park development – the Westbank-Quadreal project – is going to be transformative. … We’re excited to be near it, so that our future residents can benefit from it and the transit that’s at it to get to the airport, to get to downtown.”

A purchase price for the property was not disclosed.

Ward said the transaction was through a share purchase, which means it will not be registered with land titles.

The property last sold in late 2016, when it was valued at $440 million. Ward would not comment on the premium paid relative to the last sale price.

BC Assessment data pegs the value of the site at less than $400 million.

https://biv.com/article/2022/06/gros...it-centre-site

[idunno]

Agreed! Go Grosvenor Go!