43-storey 'landmark' tower proposed for BC Place Stadium
Another major development could be built right up to the edge of BC Place Stadium, affixed to its southwest corner at the intersection of Pacific Boulevard and the future West Georgia Street extension.
See also
- BC Place could get a facelift as part of Vancouver's False Creek redevelopment plans
- Plaza of Nations redevelopment will give Vancouver a real entertainment district
- New condo towers in False Creek entertainment district will be 'sound proofed'
- Vancouver releases plans for new 11-acre Northeast False Creek park
PavCo, the provincial crown corporation that manages the stadium and the proponents of the project, envisions building a thin 43-storey mixed-use tower with commercial space on the lower level podium and residential units within the upper levels.
It would be built on Site 10C – a 72,000-square-foot stadium site currently occupied by a ground-level parking lot, green space with a small grove of trees, and an exterior video board tower.
Current
Existing condition of Site 10C at BC Place Stadium. (Google Maps Streetview)
Future
Artistic rendering of PavCo’s early conceptual design for a tower at Site 10C, which also depicts new entrances into BC Place Stadium, the planned West Georgia Street extension to Pacific Boulevard, and new public spaces. (PavCo / Stantec Architecture)
This early concept proposes a range of residential unit sizes ranging from studios to three-bedroom suites, with amenities like a roof garden, business centre and music room, tower rooftop garden, and children’s play area on the podium’s rooftop.
On the upper levels of the tower, a cavity space – an opening piercing the tower’s width – with a tree growing inside is envisioned as a “fireplace lounge” amenity space.
The overall architectural character of the building, from the sweeping curves of the podium to the striking white envelope, seemingly blends in and complements with the stadium’s white roof structure. As for the facade of the tower, it has a complex pattern of protruding boxes.
Artistic rendering of PavCo’s early conceptual design for a tower at Site 10C. (PavCo / Stantec Architecture)
Big changes to BC Place exterior
Based on the preliminary conceptual drawings provided to Daily Hive by PavCo, the design by local firm Stantec Architecture would necessitate significant alterations to BC Place Stadium at the corner and along Pacific Boulevard.
The stadium’s exterior walkway in this area would be demolished, and the tower will provide two new access points into the Gate D entrance – a new set of stairs from Pacific Boulevard and a tunnel through the ground floor of the podium from West Georgia Street.
Diagram showing proposed new access points to Gate D: a staircase from Pacific Boulevard and a tunnel through the tower’s podium from the future West Georgia Street extension. (PavCo / Stantec Architecture)
Artistic rendering of PavCo’s early conceptual design for a tower at Site 10C. (PavCo / Stantec Architecture)
Further west along Pacific Boulevard, an artistic rendering of the tower shows a new ground-level grand entrance into the stadium.
The facelift will feature new exterior cladding, a new street-level and central access gate entrance that provides a direct entry to the stadium’s field level, and the addition of shops and restaurants along the base of the stadium.
Two existing pedestrian overpasses over Pacific Boulevard will removed and replaced with a new wide, ground-level pedestrian crossing that will link the stadium’s new grand entrance with a new public space planned for the Plaza of Nations redevelopment directly across the street.
Preliminary conceptual rendering of BC Place Stadium’s new exterior and entrance along Pacific Boulevard. (City of Vancouver)
Proposed tower could exceed view cones
The project is being designed under the Northeast False Creek draft area plan, which envisions transforming the area into an events and entertainment district with restaurants, retail, plazas, homes for up to 15,000 people, a community centre with a public ice rink that doubles as the new practice facility for the Vancouver Canucks, and an 11-acre park expansion.
The draft area plan, subject to Vancouver City Council approval, calls for the allowance of higher buildings beyond view cone limits at the future intersection of Pacific Boulevard and West Georgia Street. PavCo’s proposd tower at Site 10C and at least one other tower site on the Concord lands across the street falls into this exception.
Current policies allow towers of up to 300 feet in height, but the draft area plan will increase the allowance to 425 feet.
Artistic rendering of PavCo’s early conceptual design for a tower at Site 10C. (PavCo / Stantec Architecture)
“The new intersection will mark the meeting of city and water, and the urban connection of Vancouver’s prime ceremonial street with Pacific Boulevard, False Creek and neighbourhoods to the east,” reads the plan. “It will be a focal point of the regionally significant Events and Entertainment district at the juncture of the two stadiums.”
“This height would punctuate the skyline without exceeding the line of the mountains as viewed from the Cambie Street viewpoint origin.”
The project is likely still at least several years away and is dependent on the approval of the Northeast False Creek draft area plan and the construction of the new road network in the district.
On the western side of the stadium, minor changes have been made to the exterior to accommodate the Parq Vancouver casino and hotel resort, which opens this fall.
And at the northeast corner of the stadium, the Creative Energy Plant, the central heat distribution facility that provides two dozen towers in downtown with steam heat, is also set for a redevelopment.
Artistic rendering of PavCo’s early conceptual design for a tower at Site 10C. (PavCo / Stantec Architecture)
Early conceptual artistic rendering of the new Northeast False Creek entertainment district and park space. (City of Vancouver)
See also
- BC Place could get a facelift as part of Vancouver's False Creek redevelopment plans
- Plaza of Nations redevelopment will give Vancouver a real entertainment district
- New condo towers in False Creek entertainment district will be 'sound proofed'
- Vancouver releases plans for new 11-acre Northeast False Creek park
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