Comments on: Developers and the city negotiate office-residential mix near BC Place

By: MB

MB — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:44:36 +0000

May the Cultural District and Sports District twains never meet. As propose by Gordo, the art gallery will be across Expo Boulevard from the monster truck rallys under the Big Pillow. That’ll shake the paint off the Emily Carr canvases.

By: Wagamuffin

Wagamuffin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:05:42 +0000

MB and Joe Just Joe:

Great points re the Art Gallery staying on the Georgia Street corridor.

Besides a concert or multi-use entertainment facility, we can look at opening a worthier BC Sports Hall of Fame down on the Plaza of Nations site as well. Make it a more dynamic area for those coming out of the dome and GM Place after games and concerts.

By: Joe just Joe

Joe just Joe — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:57:46 +0000

I too prefer the location of the old bus lot. It is in the cultural district after all.
No sense having an art gallery which can not take advantage of the views beacuse sunlight destroys paintings in such a location.
Save that location for the so called missing public square, or the never built coal harbour concert hall.

By: MB

MB — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:35:51 +0000

Everyone in the arts community I’ve talked to has concerns about moving the VAG to the Plaza of Nations site. Yes, it’s waterfront, and there’s a commitment to build something great with Henriquez … or at least almost-great given Gordo’s involvement. But it’s at the edge, not the centre of the Vancouver universe, the same concern expressed about Class A office space.

Touristos and residents alike walk all over our increasingly pedestrian-friendly downtown (we have doubled the population there to 100,000 people while concurrently reducing traffic by 10%), but walking a lot farther on a tangential, indirect route while crossing the hideous Pacific Blvd or Expo Blvd freeways albeit to a better gallery is the antithesis of reinforcing the heart of our unique brand of urbanism. They’d probably drive, or not bother to go as often.

Such an important urban and cultural anchor requires a superb, direct and highly visible connection to the city’s heart (maybe the heritage streetcar project can connect to it from Day One), but that is a distant second best solution to occupying a prime spot within it.

The last open land along Georgia Street exists in the next block east of the QE Theatre. Though closer to the edge, it’s still walkable from the core on a direct route and is accessible from the prime tourist hotels and cruise ships, and would help stimulate the creation of a strong cultural sector around the library and theatre.

By: Wagamuffin

Wagamuffin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:16:59 +0000

Great last line.

If people who live near the one big booze hall that is Granville Street’s “entertainment zone” hate the noise and street activity now, how will condo owners living over a casino and near the stadiums put up with well oiled and/or shady-sad habitues who spill out of those buildings on a nightly basis?

I curse Larry Campbell for OK-ing the casinos in the first place. I would rather see council and the province come up with something that actually encourages head offices or at least good sized satellite offices to set up camp inVancouver. I know everyone knows that Microsft was looking for significant office space in Vancouver, but there was none so they went to Richmond. Does “build it and they will come” apply here?

By: Peter Quinn

Peter Quinn — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:00:11 +0000

Hi. I am a long time reader. I wanted to say that I like your blog and the layout.

Peter Quinn