February 4, 2019

Intersectionality 2: – Cambie and Broadway

It was never a landmark, but the two-storey building on the southwest corner of Cambie and Broadway was well-known merely because of its location.  A lot of meals got served in its various restaurant guises, mostly recently Original Joe’s.  Now it’s toast.

 

To be replaced by this:

 

Like the six-storey office building on the northwest corner, it’s a definite upgrade from its predecessor but will never be considered architecture worthy of its location – in less than a decade, a major exchange point between the Broadway subway and Canada Line.  Likely the same will be true for the northeast corner, currently home to a billboard and assorted fast-food joints.  Though owned by the City, the site is constrained by the view corridor that ensures the mountains and downtown skyline will remain visible from City Hall.  In particular, the Mayor’s office.

 

The only corner that may eventually get something architecturally significant is the southeast block, where the entry to the Canada Line station will continue to hug the corner.

The City also owns the entire block, and has held the site with the intention of expanding the government campus, perhaps including a new council chamber and offices, as it exhausts the stock of nearby lease-able space.  Like the buildings that have held one of the most strategic intersections in the city, this is all tentative, no doubt to be rethought along with the rest of the Broadway corridor as planning proceeds for the SkyTrain extension.

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  1. I remember watching game 7 of the 94 cup final at the fogg and sudds that was there before original joes.

    Long time something better went there, but just another boring boxy glass building? meh. come on Vancouver, enough of that.

  2. Out with the old, in with the new.

    One wonders, though: at the new intersection of soon TWO subways we allow 6 story buildings ? Why not 16 or 26 ? This makes no sense to me at all.

    At a city owned site 40-50% ought to be affordable housing, plus another 20-30% rentals, rest condos or retail/commercial on lower floors.

  3. I not sure the view from the Mayor’s office would be affected by a bigger building here – it’s a nasty rumour spread by unhappy architects and developers who don’t like any viewcones limiting development. The actual viewcone that affects that site is from 12th Avenue. https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/cambie-street-protected-view.aspx

    The viewcone from Queen Elizabeth Park crosses it too, and there’s also protection for the view of City Hall – or at least the upper parts of the tower, from Downtown. That impacts sites down Cambie Street, and the city-owned site on the corner of West Braodway, although not the corner currently being redeveloped.

    1. View cones are BS.

      As you move around what is a view cone changes a block or 3 left or right.

      Build HIGH where it makes sense.

      HIGHER is better along Broadway, Cambie and the entire downtown peninsula ! One story buildings along Denman ? Seriously ?

      Make a 50% rental requirement a by-law in Vancouver for all buildings over 3 stories, and 50% of that (i.e. 25% of all units) well below market ie 50% of market rents. That would make new condos more expensive, for sure, but it would create more urgently needed rental units across the city. Look at the Butterfly building as an example how to create amenities and community space and rental housing. More on that here https://viewpointvancouver.ca/2016/03/07/a-new-balanced-approach-for-a-city-highrise-open-house-thursday-5-8pm/ or here https://urbanyvr.com/butterfly-westbank-first-baptist

      1. Considering: 1) housing crisis 2) Two major rapid transit lubes intersect

        It should be one of the tallest buildings in Vancouver, IE 50+ stories

  4. I hope as part of the Skytrain extension to UBC that the sysytem will be reworked to allow pedestrians to cross the interection undergound.

  5. …but it looks as if the new build on the SW corner will disrupt existing northward views from the City’s legal team housed on the 4th floor of the former VanCity building at the NW corner of 10th & Cambie.

  6. View cones are BS.

    As you move around what is a view cone changes a block or 3 left or right.

    Build HIGH where it makes sense.

    HIGHER is better along Broadway, Cambie and the entire downtown peninsula ! One story buildings along Denman ? Seriously ?

    Make a 50% rental requirement a by-law in Vancouver for all buildings over 3 stories, and 50% of that (i.e. 25% of all units) well below market ie 50% of market rents. That would make new condos more expensive, for sure, but it would create more urgently needed rental units across the city. Look at the Butterfly building as an example how to create amenities and community space and rental housing.

  7. “Now it’s toast.”

    Funny choice of words. Many may not recall the early morning explosion that occurred in this building, I believe in the early ’90s. Somebody was cleaning the pizza ovens with an explosive cleaner. Speculation was gasoline at the time. After a night of scrubbing and hard work (and no doubt a severely numbed brain) the guy lights a cigarette.

    The remains of the front wall of the unit smashed against the bank across Broadway scattering glass across the width of the street. The demising walls squashed the entire contents of the adjoining units to 1/4 their volume. There was broken windows in buildings up to a block away.

    Incredibly the guy survived and nobody else was hurt.

    The name of the pizza joint? Dynamite Pizza. The Sushi place next door? Sushi Bang.

    Should have seen it coming.

  8. I remember when the pizza joint called Dynamite Pizza blew up after someone thought paint thinner would make a good oven degreaser…

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