Downtown highrise opportunity sells robustly; The Mark, from Onni, will rise at north end of Granville Bridge
Saturday, December 5th, 2009 | 6:41 am
By Christina Symons
WESTCOAST HOMES
To be a landmark — in every meaning of the word — a structure must not only stand prominently within its locality, it must also be capable of pointing the way, figuratively and literally.
Landmark decisions or directives can also signify a turning point for a neighbourhood, or a development company, and sometimes both.
Finally, a structure with striking esthetic or architectural qualities may also be dubbed a landmark, simply for being refreshingly out of the ordinary.
In such context, the new residential address at the base of the Granville Street Bridge should easily earn its moniker, The Mark, in every respect. Word of last Saturday's release drew considerable attention; 20-odd people camped out Friday night for the next day's 10 a.m. pre-sale opening, and by the end of that opening day, 163 of the 214 available homes had been snapped up. (Those remaining homes are priced from $399,900 to $943,900.)
"There are very few gateway sites of this size and type in any city," says Beau Jarvis, vice-president development, for the Onni Group, developers of the property. "We took advantage of every single aspect, working closely with the City of Vancouver and the architects to optimize the location, density and height."
Handily situated at the Yaletown border of the bridge's off-ramp, at the corner of Seymour and Pacific, the rather challenging property even captured stature while vacant, as an attractive community amenity.
As rezoning boundaries pertaining to density, views and the skyline were being explored during the three-year redevelopment process, the developer offered the land to local residents for a temporary community garden. The experiment was such a success it led to urban agriculture being incorporated into the project permanently.
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