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 (pg 7) 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.
Then again, the surrounding context likely played a role in that as well. Originally written-off as a smaller adjacent site under these guidelines (pg 61), the Jewish Community Centre was rezoned just last year to allow for buildings taller than anything allowed on this property. Which is why the first thing these applicants did was to ask the city if they could reorientate the site’s 2.34 acre park as it would allow for some buildings to reach 40 floors tall.
That request was denied, but the city did permit a modest increase in density to allow for the provision of a new moderate income rental housing component, and some additional social housing. In order to connect what they described as a landlocked area, the applicants have also reconfigured the road network to align with the entrance to the Jewish Community Centre. They also purchased an assembly of three properties to create a roadway to West 39th Avenue.
One aspect they made clear wouldn’t change was the distribution of amenities throughout the site, as they had no intention of mimicking a “Concord Pacific super hub.” Rather, their preference was to respect the garden city concept of the neighbourhood, with pedestrian mews, green spaces, and as much historical elements of the old site as possible. However, the panel had their sights set on the future.
It began with a question on what the rational was for allowing a 10% increase in density, and ended with a consensus that the amount provided was too low. While everyone agreed this was a very livable concept, they expressed that the site could take far more housing and still achieve that goal. Several noted that the wide widths of Oak Street and W 41st Avenue meant that a high street wall of at least eight storeys would be very beneficial.
This wasn’t the only aspect described as a missed opportunity, as similar criticism was directed to the building that will host the daycare services. Not only did the consensus call for a taller structure to allow for more programming and storage space for soccer nets, but there was a desire to see it better integrated into the park. That will require co-operation with the Park Board, as that element will undergo a separate planning process.
Looking further ahead, the panel suggested envisioning a world of autonomous vehicles and less driving. They hoped collaboration with the engineering department would lead to more pedestrian friendly lanes that could facilitate a farmer’s market. In the meantime, they praised the applicant for bringing subtle, but important, improvements to the master plan, and unanimously supported this project with no recommendations. At this stage your comments could influence this 13.8 acre site for years to come, so make sure they’re heard here.
Applicant Team Information:
Developer – Modern Green Canada
Architects – James KM Cheng Architects
Landscape Architects – PFS Studio
City Duo 