Proposed 57-storey West End tower headed to public hearing
Proposed West End tower headed to public hearing
Dan Fumano
The Province
On the agenda this week at Vancouver city hall is a major development proposal which sees a church and a local developer partnering to build what would be one of the city’s tallest buildings.
A proposed 57-storey skyscraper, at Burrard and Nelson on the edge of the West End, would tower over the 48-storey Wall Centre across the street, which is currently the city’s third tallest building.
The project, a partnership of The First Baptist Church of Vancouver and Westbank Project Corp, is set for a public hearing Tuesday evening at Vancouver city hall.
The development proposal, as outlined in a city report this week, consists of a pair of buildings on the lot beside the First Baptist Church of Vancouver, a 107-year-old Gothic-style church at the intersection of Burrard and Nelson. The smaller seven-storey residential building includes 61 units of social housing, while the 57-storey tower would contain 331 market strata units. The city’s general manager of planning, urban design and sustainability has recommended the approval of the re-zoning subject to a number of conditions.
The development would also provide for expanded church program space and seismic upgrade, conversation and restoration of the First Baptist Church building, the report states.
In an emailed statement Monday, Westbank development manager Farouk Babul said: “The redevelopment of First Baptist Church, if approved, will bring greatly expanded services to the broader community — including below-market rental housing, new child care facilities, and expansion of programs for seniors, youth, new immigrants and the homeless shelter that the church has run for almost two decades. … The proposal for its redevelopment comes with a responsibility to respect that heritage, and to create something important on many levels — for the church, the neighbourhood and the city.”
The City of Vancouver website shows the project received 15 letters of support, and 14 of opposition.
Some area residents expressed concern about the size of the building and its impacts on traffic and views. Mike Jensen, who moved two years ago into a newly built condo tower nearby, plans to attend Tuesday evening’s hearing. Jensen, who is opposed to the proposed development, said he’s surprised it hasn’t received more attention in the media so far.
“We know the city needs more supply in terms of real estate for the average Vancouverite,” Jensen said. “But what we’re seeing is all these luxury towers which are so expensive.”
First Baptist and Westbank entered into a partnership back in 2013 for the project and engaged local firm Bing Thom Architects. Bing Thom, an internationally recognized local architect, told The Vancouver Sun’s Jeff Lee in 2015 that he designed the tower to represent a set of organ pipes, saying: “The (new) building itself is an expression of the spirit of the church. The shape of the object is like organ tubes, rising up.” Thom, who died in Oct. 2016, said the tower would also incorporate “sky gardens” every three floors, meant to encourage community building among residents.
The public hearing is set to start Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Vancouver city hall.
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