Real Estate Update in False Creek Flats

As the False Creek Flats neighbourhood continues to develop with the progression of the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus, there are also new commercial & office properties being built in the area. Major international corporations have established their Vancouver presence in the False Creek Flats area, such as Korean multinational electronics corporation Samsung, or Vancouver-based athletic apparel maker Lululemon. In this blog post we’ll examine some of the new commercial & office buildings which are eventually coming to the area.

123 E 6th Avenue

On the southwestern edge of False Creek Flats, the forthcoming mixed-use commercial tower at 123 E 6th Avenue will be located near the future SkyTrain Mount Pleasant Station. This is expected to be a 12-storey tower with 2 floors of industrial usage, along with 10 floors of office space. Most notably, this new commercial building will provide almost 7 times the usable space in comparison to the lot size.

This office building will be a mass timber building. Mass timber is a construction practice in which engineered wood products are used for structural or load-bearing purposes. This kind of structural engineering has previously been used locally at Richmond’s Olympic Oval. Mass timber has appeal for developers as it can replace more carbon-intensive building materials.

For this new development in False Creek Flats, PC Urban Properties is incorporating a nearby heritage building into the building site. The SFU Annex schoolhouse has a classic Arts and Crafts style of architecture and has remained largely unchanged since its 1929 completion. As part of the development agreement, the SFU Annex will be restored and repurposed into an arts centre operated by the City of Vancouver.

The mixed-use commercial development will feature four levels of underground parking, and a secure bike storage room to help commuters too.

Keep up to date on the progress of this development at the City of Vancouver’s Shape Your City website.

Status: Application Approved

1628 Station Street

This development at 1628 Station Street will be an eight-storey, mixed-use commercial building. The building’s development is being helmed by Low Tide Properties – a real estate development company headed by Chip Wilson of Lululemon fame – and designed by Vancouver-area architecture firm Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership. The building will house both offices, “a cutting-edge laboratory,” and a small retail space on the ground floor.

Per conceptual images of the proposed complex, the development has some eye-catching architectural features which are definitely unusual for the False Creek Flats area. The most obvious feature of all is the wavy copper stripes on the building’s exterior. The copper stripes can also provide shade from the sun. There’s going to be an outdoor amenity space on the rooftop intended for employees working inside the building to enjoy the sights of the surrounding area.

Three levels of underground parking and a secured bike parking facility are proposed for the new biotech building, which is located roughly 10 minutes from the nearest SkyTrain station.

Keep up to date on the progression of this project at the City of Vancouver’s Shape Your City website.

Status: Application Approved

339 E 1st Avenue

The building proposed for 339 E 1st Ave has undergone something of a transformation – and it hasn’t even been built yet. In the previous permitting cycle, the office building was envisioned with a brightly coloured exterior. That’s basically gone.

The new design of the new office building is much more tonal with a “contemporary modernist flair” revolving around the usage of “extruded terracotta profiles” which incorporate vertical shading.

The developers, IBI Group, are pursuing a LEED Gold certification for the Michael Green Architecture-designed office building. This will likely be achieved through a green stormwater management system, a green roof, and a District Energy Transfer Station. An energy transfer station is a sort of heat pump where high-temperature water is pumped from an energy centre to buildings which can circulate the water through pipes to act as central heating – without burning fossil fuels like natural gas.

The new building will feature 196 parking stalls in a two-level underground garage. It’s important to note the site’s parking has been reduced substantially due to its close proximity – and easy walkability – from the nearby SkyTrain station.

Status: Application In Progress

Continue this series with Coming Soon, Part 2