City's latest plans for False Creek bring into focus an entirely new neighbourhood coming to Vancouver

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      The city has released a new and more complete draft of its plans for a post-viaducts Northeast False Creek.

      The concept artwork includes a big expansion of Creekside Park, an entirely new entertainment district, and a lot of condo towers. There’s also a newly elevated Dunsmuir Park.

      The massive redevelopment plan is hooked to the city’s intention to bring down the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts. By removing those twin overpasses, it will transform the area that’s bordered by Chinatown to the north, False Creek to the south, Rogers Arena to the west, and Quebec Street to the east.

      The space in the plans marked for residential towers (labelled areas 6C and 10C) is mostly owned by Concord Pacific and located in between Pacific Boulevard and a new segment of Carrall Street.

      The report going to council says that a minimum of 20 percent of new residential units constructed as part of the 6C redevelopment should qualify as “affordable housing”.

      City of Vancouver

      There isn’t a lot of information on what the new entertainment district will look like, except that “the site should be designed to welcome people into the downtown with street trees, architectural lighting elements, and active uses at grade to break up the perceived length of the stadium”.

      The viaducts will not be erased from the map. The report proposes that a “small portion” of the Dunsmuir Viaduct should remain where it is and be repurposed to create an “elevated park”. That would consist of the section of the viaduct closest to Rogers Arena.

      “It will also serve as a new programmable gathering space for major public event celebrations,” the council report reads.

      It’s expected that the new neighbourhood will attract 12,000 residents and an additional 8,000 people working in the area during the next 20 years.

      "We are excited by the opportunities for a really active waterfront area, design ideas for a dynamic urban village that we have worked on with landowners in the area, how the new park is shaping up, and the replacement plan for the viaducts,” said Gil Kelley, general manager of planning for the City of Vancouver, in a media release.

      City of Vancouver

      An open house is scheduled for Saturday (June 10), from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Andy Livingstone Park (where Carrall Street runs from Keefer Street to Expo Boulevard).

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