Vancouver city council scheduled to vote on sending Oakridge redevelopment to public hearing

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      Vancouver city staff have recommended that a proposed rezoning of the Oakridge site advance one step further.

      In a new report, general manager of planning and development services Brian Jackson has recommended that council vote to refer the 4.6-million square foot project to a public hearing.

      The proposal features 11 towers and 2,914 housing units, including 290 as "secured market rental" and 290 for "social housing". 

      In addition, the application by Henriquez Partners and Stantec Architecture calls for three mid-rise buildings over two storeys of retail space.

      The architects have also applied for 1.8-million square feet of commercial space—more than double the 865,832 square feet of existing office and retail space at Oakridge. 

      The developers, Ivanhoe Cambridge I Inc. and 7503059 Canada Inc., also hope to include a 70,000-square-foot civic centre on the 11-hectare site.

      A model of the first version of the proposed Oakridge redevelopment.
      City Hall Watch

      The staff report mentions that if the rezoning application is approved, the proponents will transfer a 2.83-acre parcel to the city for park or recreational purposes.

      That's in addition to including a nine-acre rooftop park, an expanded library, a seniors centre, and a 69-space childcare facility on the Oakridge site.

      Another component would be a new "high street" connecting West 41st Avenue with Cambie Street via West 45th Avenue.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      G

      Feb 16, 2014 at 9:26pm

      No doubt the hearings and any decision will take place after the election this fall. Vision have been carefully putting off their various neighbourhood plans thanks to the outrage they have caused. They are merely taking the time to finalize their arrangements with key donors in the development community who will make millions when the plans are rubber stamped by the newly elected Vision majority. Densification is coming and the only place on their map they a protecting is the newly closed section of Point Grey Road, as under their original plan that strip of key 1% donors would have been zoned for buildings of 3.5 storeys. Funny how they Mayor lives down there now but some bureaucrat said there was no conflict.

      The Cambie Corridor from 41st down to the river will become a canyon of buildings 6 storeys and higher: thankfully the median will alleviate some of the brutality. The Pearson land will be redeveloped, complete with a new Canada Line Station and YMCA. The Y has to move because they are on city land that will be included on the parcel of Langara Golf Course that has been promised to key developers. The closure of the course is already on the cards and they will keep the eastern half of the course for a park but the western half will be sold. A simple majority vote of the Parks Board will transfer land to the city and from there a compliant council will do the deed.

      They will tell us that city finances are in a mess and that the only choices are massive tax and fee increases with service cuts or selling the land for development. They will go to great pains to make sure it is "green," likely promoting there restrictions on parking spaces for non-electric vehicles which saves developers millions. The towers will have stunning views and overlook a large park, and the city will tell us we had a net gain of "park" and pretend we didn't lose any green space. Vision will be dead in 2017 when the next election comes but none of the core members will care as they will have futures secured by grateful developers.

      Save Vancouver

      Feb 17, 2014 at 7:38am

      Why even bother to vote. It's a foregone conclusion Vision will support anything that benefits developers. Where's the Sixties style outrage over the way developers are calling all the shots in this town? I guess too many people have been bought off by a few bike lanes to question what is happening.