Developers downsize massive plans for Oakridge Centre

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      Real-estate giant Ivanhoé Cambridge has significantly reduced the size of a major redevelopment planned for Oakridge Centre.

      The project, a joint venture between Ivanhoé Cambridge and Westbank Corp., was approved by Vancouver city council in March 2014. It included 11 towers hosting more than 2,900 residential units, plus a two-storey complex consisting of 1.3 million square feet of retail space and 424,000 square feet of office space. The design also included a rooftop park and a civic centre with space for childcare, a new community centre, an expanded library, and a seniors’ centre.

      According to a January 12 report in the Globe and Mail, residential units will now number 2,450, some 800,000 square feet of retail space planned for the mall’s second floor have been scrapped, and new street-level retail space has been eliminated. In addition, part of the park planned for the development’s second-storey rooftop will be brought down to ground level.

      The Globe also quoted a member of the steering committee for the Riley Park–South Cambie community group as suggesting the number of towers will be “reduced by a few”.

      A representative of Ivanhoé Cambridge told the Globe that plans for the project changed due to complications caused by an underground aquifer and in response to challenges in keeping prospective residential buyers interested in the project during a long construction period. A statement attributed to the company also mentioned that U.S. retail giant Target, which originally signed up as one of the new centre's anchor tenants, had withdrawn operations from Canada.

      "With only one two-level anchor tenant remaining in the project, the centre’s merchandising plan and layout needed to be reworked," it reads.

      "As a result, Ivanhoé Cambridge is now proceeding with modifications to the plan that would produce a slightly smaller project completed over a shorter time and with reduced impact on tenants, employees, the community and the environment."

      The modified plans will still bring significant changes to the area around West 41st and Cambie streets. But news that the development has been downsized will likely please many people in the community who criticized the size of the original design.

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