New renderings of Oakridge Centre's community centre with social housing

August 2019 artistic rendering of 728 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver - northwest corner of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment. (Oakridge Centre project team)

Another section of the Oakridge Centre shopping mall redevelopment is going through the City of Vancouver’s development application phase, and it entails key components of the 28.5-acre project’s public benefit offerings.

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On behalf of local developer Westbank and mall owner Quadreal Property Group, Henriquez Partners Architects’ new application outlines the plans for 728 West 41st Avenue – the northwest corner of the mall’s footprint, currently used as ground-level parking.

The proposal calls for a new five-storey civic centre complete with Vancouver Public Library’s second largest branch, community centre, seniors’ activity centre, youth hub, performance space, fitness centre, gymnasium, movement studio, childcare, artists studios, and music rooms.

August 2019 artistic rendering of 728 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver – northwest corner of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment. (Oakridge Centre project team)

All floors of the civic centre are oriented around a central atrium and spiral staircase, with the three entrances from the civic park, West 41st Avenue, and a new public street. The building features a glass facade, which “opens and reveals itself” to express its community-functioning purpose.

“The limited footprint of the site added to the complexity, by requiring the program to be stacked over multiple levels,” reads the design rationale.

“The central atrium and stair, intersected by clear circulation paths bisecting the building, provides legibility to the mix of programs distributed on multiple levels, connecting all levels and bringing light into the heart of the building.”

At night, this civic centre is said to become “a light box” — “a glowing beacon” for the mall’s nine-acre rooftop public park, which will have a portion constructed in this phase of the redevelopment. Major program spaces such as the library and fitness centre will face the park to offer visitors views.

Artistic rendering of Oakridge Community Centre in Vancouver. (Oakridge Centre project team)

Attached to the civic centre is a 22-storey residential tower with 187 units of non-market social housings, with a unit mix of 52 studios, 60 one-bedroom units, 48 two-bedroom units, and 27 three-bedroom units.

The overall form of the civic centre and tower act as a transition between the taller tower peaks of the rest of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment and the surrounding neighbourhood. This portion of the redevelopment carries a more simpler exterior design compared to the sweeping and curving facades of the market residential, retail, and office components of the project.

August 2019 artistic rendering of 728 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver – northwest corner of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment. (Oakridge Centre project team)

“The buildings along New Street act as transition both programmatically and tectonically from the towers, park, and retail of the rest of the project, to the modern apartment blocks and townhouses to the southwest of the site,” continues the rationale.

“The buildings consist of residential down to grade with the upper levels incorporating the skin and slab vocabulary of the towers further to the east and the podium articulated by the scale of the townhouses. The Civic Centre continues this rhythm but is differentiated by scale and materiality to reflect the public nature of the building. The Social Housing tower at the corner further mediates between the taller towers along West 41st Avenue and the mid rise blocks along New Street completing the pyramid massing of the site with its apex near the Transit corner.”

The total floor area being considered in this latest application is approximately 260,000 sq. ft. Three underground levels will accommodate 208 vehicle parking stalls for civic centre users and social housing residents.

August 2019 artistic rendering of 728 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver – northwest corner of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment. (Oakridge Centre project team)

All phases of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment are complete will create a combined total of 2,637 new homes, including 2,057 market ownership units, 290 rental units, and 290 social housing units.

The mall’s retail space will be nearly doubled to about one million-sq-ft, and approximately 290,000-sq-ft of office space will be built within the lower podium levels — reaching a height of up to 42 storeys.

A one-of-a-kind, 100,000-sq-ft food hall includes 20 food kiosks and a 32,000-sq-ft brew pub. Altogether, the indoor spaces can accommodate 2,600 people, while the outdoor patio that opens to the rooftop park can fit a further 800 people.

When all phases are complete in 2025, Oakridge Centre will boast over 4.5 million-sq-ft of new floor area. Approximately 6,000 vehicle parking stalls within underground levels are planned.

Artistic rendering of the Oakridge Centre, February 2019. (Oakridge Centre project team)

Artistic rendering of the southeast corner of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment. (Oakridge Centre project team)

Artistic rendering of The Kitchen food hall at the Oakridge Centre redevelopment. (Oakridge Centre project team)

Artistic rendering of the Oakridge Centre redevelopment. (Henriquez Partners Architects / Westbank)

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