Downtown Vancouver: Redevelopment and the Changes We Expect to See
A new art gallery, post office, and viaduct connector are in store for Vancouver. In a few years from now, Vancouver’s downtown core will find itself looking quite different.
A new art gallery, post office, and viaduct connector are in store for Vancouver
In a few years from now, Vancouver’s downtown core will find itself looking quite different.
A slew of proposals for the redevelopment of historic properties and projects that turn empty lots into dynamic entertainment, living and office spaces, are set to transform and expand the city centre to create a dynamic cosmopolitan hub.
Canada Post Building
One of the most notable redevelopment projects currently underway is the transformation of the historic Canada Post Building into the largest purpose built office and retail development in downtown Vancouver: The Post.
The design will preserve the building’s heritage facade and will also include two 15-storey office towers, multiple outdoor and amenity spaces, the largest grocery store in the downtown core, a food hall and ample street level retail spaces. With Amazon already set to be the building’s foundational tenant, occupying ⅓ of the 1.3 million square feet of office space, The Post, with it’s additional 200,000 square feet of retail space will become an exciting cultural nucleus when it opens in 2023.
Vancouver Art Gallery, Chan Centre for the Visual Arts
A few short blocks away from The Post, at the intersection of West Georgia and Cambie street, the new Vancouver Art Gallery building, called the Chan Centre for the Visual Arts, is set to be situated.
Built on land donated by the city, the Inukshuk-shaped building will include community spaces, a 350 seat theatre, free access galleries with a complimentary admission programs, and a publicly accessible Resource Centre Library.
The building will pay homage to the place in which it was built and Vancouver’s deep connection to nature through both aesthetic and functional design. It will meet a rigorous standard for energy efficiency while highlighting the dichotomy of urbanness and natural wild that exists in Vancouver.
Dunsmuir Connection
The planned destruction of the Georgia Viaduct, a roadway that connects the downtown and East end cores, will see the creation of a new 750 metre linear public park called Dunsmuir Connection.
Inspired by similar elevated public spaces such as the High Line in New York and Seoul’s Skygarden, the multi-use pathway for cyclists and pedestrians will connect Vancouver’s city centre and Rogers Arena with future residential towers of Northeast False Creek. The underside of the Dunsmuir Connection will feature design elements to improve the walkways aesthetic as well as be developed into public spaces meant to connect the Crosstown, Gastown, Northeast False Creek and Eastside areas.
In addition to the three aforementioned developments are a multitude of exciting new and proposed projects to the Granville Entertainment District, which includes the redevelopment of the Tom Lee Building into the coworking subsidiary of International Workplace Group, Spaces, and the purchase of three buildings, of which combine to the equivalent of a city block, by Cineplex to be developed into a massive restaurant, gaming and entertainment venue called Rec Room.
Cumulatively, these additions will substantially transform and diversify both the physical and cultural landscape of Vancouver’s city centre into a place where business and lifestyle not only converge but complement each other.
What do you think about these massive changes to Vancouver? Share your thoughts in the comments!
