Public Hearing – July 5th, 2022Update: As the July 5th meeting lost quorum during Item #5, it has been removed from the agenda, and will be forced to start over on July 28th. As for Item #6, it will continue as normal, and begin at 6pm on July 21st.With the news that the Broadway Commercial... Continue Reading →
June 23rd, 2022 Public Hearing – Strathcona Residents Feel The Sting Of “Unjustified” Rental Housing
Public Hearing – June 23rd, 2022Time can be a funny thing, as these last two years have felt like an eternity, which in hindsight have also flown by. Supposedly as you get older this feeling only gets worse; since you’ve experienced more years, minutes, and hours can seem far quicker. Maybe that sense of time... Continue Reading →
A Historical Breath Of Fresh Air Promises To Light Up Gastown’s Future
343 W Pender St (DP-2021-00952) - 470 Homer StreetWhen the Hartney Chambers, and World Buildings were first constructed during Vancouver’s pre-war boom, I wonder if anyone thought they would be standing over a century later. Granted, their insides had been gutted to accommodate some rather interesting things, including a provocatively named waxing studio, an adult... Continue Reading →
March 3rd, 2022 Public Hearing – Hopes For A Balanced Parkside Community Rest On A Quiet Night
Public Hearing – March 3rd, 2022As the civic election nears, it seems city hall is going to be getting considerably busier, as the Broadway Plan, Jericho Lands, and Vancouver Plan’s fates all remain undecided. The April public hearings will likely drag on for multiple nights alone, as the proposal to provide 244 rental homes at... Continue Reading →
Health Care Focused Rental Homes Find An Evergreen Solution To Strathcona’s Decade Old Eyesore
456-496 Prior StAs our regular readers know, Hannah and I do our best to research the projects we write about, and on this occasion we may have gone overboard. Granted, it was a fluke that, as we sorted through my family’s home videos, we found John Daly’s 1989 report on the St. James Social Services... Continue Reading →
Urban Design Panel Rewards Faux Heritage Speculators With Efforts To Illuminate Their “Crumby Neighbour”
418-496 Alexander St (450 Alexander St)Like the Hon’s distribution centre this project will replace, I thought this Urban Design Panel meeting would deliver some good ol’ comfort for the soul. After all, at the other end of the block is the similarly-sized Roddan Lodge, and anyone who works in Railtown can tell you how badly... Continue Reading →
Vancouver Families Squeezed Out To Save Artistic Daycare From Another Year Of Darkness
304 E 1st Ave (DP-2020-00370) - The Sophia - ResubmissionMaybe it’s because Hannah covered the Urban Design Panel’s review of this proposal’s original iteration last September, but I think this revised concept is far more interesting. City staff seemed to agree, as they were satisfied most of the recommendations that resulted in this resubmission had... Continue Reading →
National Leaders In Affordable Homeownership Honour The Role Of Vancouver’s Forgotten Life Givers
401 Jackson Ave (DP-2021-00481) / 460 E Hastings Street - Ch’ich’iyúy ElxwíknIt was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, and having just taken a penalty, Montreal was down 1-0 at the end of the second. In other words, it was the “perfect” time for an Urban Design Panel meeting. That wasn’t a problem for... Continue Reading →
Refined Humility Guides The New St. Paul’s Hospital To Urban Design Panel Support
1002 Station St – New St. Paul’s Hospital (DP-2021-00085) Phase 1A – Revised Concept Apparently I’m not the only person tired of seeing the Urban Design Panel examine the new St. Paul’s Hospital, as city staff started this event by expressing hope it would go faster than the last review. That meeting concluded with a request... Continue Reading →
Once Again, Vancouver’s UDP Is Calling For Your Non-Support Of The New St Paul’s Hospital
1002 Station St - New St. Paul's Hospital (DP-2021-00085) Phase 1A - Part Two Design Rational & Building ConceptI’m lucky to have a spouse who shares my passion for following our city’s evolution, and endless meetings like this one. Now on its fourth review, The Urban Design Panel spent over four hours examining the new... Continue Reading →