 KENNETH CHAN (DAILY HIVE) - An architecturally unique residential tower has been proposed for the westernmost end of main arterial thoroughfare section of West Broadway– at the corner of the intersection of Alma Street and West Broadway.
Local developer Westbank has revised its proposal for the amalgamated lot at 3701-3743 West Broadway into a 14-storey rental housing tower under the municipal government’s Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program (MIRHPP). Currently, the northwest location is the site of a strip mall, home to True Confections. The property will be adjacent to a future subway station of the Millennium Line’s future continued extension to UBC. Its proposed height will make it one of the tallest buildings in the West Point Grey neighbourhood. During an open house today (May 16), the developer unveiled a new concept designed by Leckie Studio Architecture + Design that entails 154 rental homes, including 31 moderate income homes; a unit mix of eight studio units, 12 one-bedroom units, eight two-bedroom units, and three three-bedroom units. The remaining 123 homes will be market rental units, with the unit mix entailing 37 studio units, 43 one-bedroom units, 35 two-bedroom units, and eight three-bedroom units. Another two market rental townhouse units on the ground level will front the building’s rear on West Broadway. Under the MIRHPP, 100% of the residential floor area of the proposed building must be utilized as secured rental housing, and at least 20% of the residential floor area must be made available to moderate income households earning between $30,000 and $80,000 per year. The building’s ground-level frontage along Alma Street will be utilized as 5,325 sq. ft. of high-ceiling retail/restaurant space, complete with a garage door-like retractable curtain glass wall, meant to provide the capability of creating a seasonal, seamless indoor-outdoor dining area. As for the architectural concept, the facade will be clad with phenolic resin panels, providing the exterior with a brownish red appearance. This building material is relatively new to the local construction industry, and it was recently used for the exterior of the Tall Wood Building of the UBC Brock Residence. There will also be fins to create solar shading, with windows punctured in the spaces between the fins. The form of the building is stepped to address shadowing concerns and to create private outdoor terraces. Indoor and outdoor communal amenity spaces will also be offered, including an outdoor rooftop space with a lounge, dining area, and children’s play area. The intention of the overall concept is to provide an iconic visual landmark for the end of West Broadway, before the road transitions into a local neighbourhood side street. Due to parking requirement relaxations allowed by the MIRHPP, and the site’s adjacency to the future subway, only 74 vehicle parking stalls within underground levels are proposed for this design. The total floor area of the proposal is about 125,000 sq. ft. With a lot size of 23,234 sq. ft., the floor space ratio (FSR) density of the project is 5.4 times the size of its lot. The project is not affected by city council’s recent decision to extend the Broadway Plan’s temporary moratorium on most types of market-oriented rezoning applications into the Kitsilano and Point Grey areas, as this application will be an amendment to the developer’s 2017-submitted rezoning application for the property. No formal changes have been made to the application at this time, but it is anticipated soon – given that proposals falling under the MIRHPP must be submitted to the city prior to the July 1 deadline of the pilot program. This new design is a significant departure from the previous application, which was designed by Henriquez Partners Architects. It was far less ambitious in both scale and design; it called for only six-storey building, although there would be engineered provisions to allow for a future vertical extension of the structure to roughly double its height. This original concept would have 94 secured market rental units, 7,200 sq. ft. of retail space, and 99 vehicle parking stalls. The FSR density was lower at 3.15 times the size of its lot. Comments are closed.
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