Vancouver City Hall is reviewing the height of condos in the heritage historic area of Downtown.
This information is taken from their website, view the maps
Key Physical Characteristics of the Historic Area.Building Form: Predominantly rectilinear in shape, the Historic Area’s building form reflects the economic, social, and architectural character of early Vancouver, with most buildings constructed between 1886 and 1920. Older buildings have fine-grained detailing and ornamentation, and use rich building materials. Ground floor uses are primarily pedestrian oriented, with a variety of uses on upper floors. Height: A variation of predominantly low to mid-rise (2 to 7-storey) buildings creating a “sawtooth” streetwall pattern, with a limited number of taller buildings.Density: The average density for the area is 3.4 floor space ratio (FSR)Lot Size: Most building lots are 25-33 feet wide by 120 feet deep, with some lots as wide as 75-100 feet.Streets: Two major corridors, Main Street and Hastings Street, connect the Historic Area to the rest of Vancouver. There are two noticeable shifts in the east-west street grid at Columbia Street and Cambie Street.Open Spaces: Public spaces in the area have a very urban character and are used by residents and for community celebrations. There are no large open spaces within the Historic Area boundaries, however, two large parks are nearby (Andy Livingstone Park and Oppenheimer Park). Views and Natural Features: Burrard Inlet and the Port are to the north; modern high-rise development is to the south and west. Heritage and Housing The Historic Area contains the highest concentration of heritage buildings and low-income housing units in the city. These types of buildings are protected as important resources for the city through the Vancouver Heritage Register and the Single Room Accommodation (SRA) By-law.Any redevelopment of heritage and SRA buildings is subject to special review and conditions, to ensure that established objectives are met. In addition, Gastown (HA-2) and Chinatown (HA-1) are municipally designated historic areas, and have specific guidelines that apply to all development.An objective of the Height Review is to guide growth and development in the Historic Area while maintaining the area’s character and general scale. This can be achieved, while still allowing new development at greater heights and densities than currently permitted in zoning. It may also be possible to build even taller buildings in select locations without significantly changing the area’s character and scale.The options for additional height and density in the Historic Area are presented in the following two ways:
- General Height – Options for additional height and density that supports development consistent with the overall building scale of the Historic Area.
- Special Sites (Taller Buildings) – Identifies possible roles, locations and heights for buildings taller than the General Height. Locations that may be appropriate for taller buildings are considered Special Sites.
The City has been exploring options to deal with the 1.45 million sq ft of heritage density that has not been transferred to other city development sites. Of this only 349,000 sq ft are available for sale, according to the City which began the process in 2007.
The City froze the program 2 years ago, fearing excess bonuses would devalue the building density that had already been issued. Under the city’s rehabilitation program they allowed developers to sell heritage density bonuses to other developers to permit them to increase the sqft of projects in other areas. Due to the economic downturn, there are now few buyers for the denisty bonuses originally allocated to help reduce the costs of refurbishing heritage buildings.
Should City Hall implement its present study, we would see much taller buildings in the Historic Heritage Area. What do you think? Good idea or bad?
You must log in to post a comment.