Fire-gutted heritage West End building to be renovated with more rentals | Daily Hive

Fire-damaged heritage West End building to be renovated with more rental homes

Artistic rendering of the restoration and vertical expansion of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver. (Stantec Architecture/Lucky ZA Investments)

Nearly five years after a fire severely damaged the Washington Court building, it is now set to see not only repairs to reenable occupation, but also a modest vertical expansion.

On behalf of property owner Lucky ZA Investments, Stantec Architecture has submitted a development permit application to increase the building’s height from five storeys to eight — an additional three storeys.

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The 1910-built heritage apartment building is located at 998 Thurlow Street at the northeast corner of the intersection of Thurlow Street and Nelson Street in downtown Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood.

998 Thurlow Street Vancouver West End Rentals

Site of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver. (Stantec Architecture/Lucky ZA Investments)

Site of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

From the reconfiguration of the existing floor area and the vertical expansion, the number of secured market rental homes will grow from 44 units to 80 — an additional 36 units.

The building has been sitting vacant since the fire incident of October 2018.

The envisioned vertical expansion includes re-establishing the sixth floor of the building, which was demolished after the first fire incident in 1966, resulting in the current form of a five-storey building.

While the re-established sixth level will be a full floor plate, the seventh and eighth levels will be partial floor plates — terraced levels, set back from the Nelson Street frontage, allowing the creation of outdoor amenity spaces for residents.

The additional seventh and eighth levels will be a clean contemporary addition to contrast with the existing heritage structure, which will see its facade fully restored.

Diagrams comparing the previous condition of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, including its 1966-destroyed sixth floor (left), and the three-storey vertical expansion concept, including the reconstruction of the sixth floor (right). (Stantec Architecture/Lucky ZA Investments)

Artistic rendering of the restoration and vertical expansion of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver. (Stantec Architecture/Lucky ZA Investments)

In addition to the reconfiguration of the existing floor areas and the vertical expansion, the building will receive new internal support structure and foundations, seismic upgrades, and an elevator and exit core.

The total floor area would increase from about 45,000 sq ft to just over 57,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density that is 6.61 times larger than the size of the lot.

Artistic rendering of the restoration and vertical expansion of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver. (Stantec Architecture/Lucky ZA Investments)

It is noted by the proponent that they are currently pursuing a three-storey addition. During their previous Policy Enquiry Process application, ahead of a potential formal rezoning application, City staff did not support their proposal for a more ambitious six-storey vertical expansion. For this reason, the current proposal is going through the development permit application under existing zoning and policies, instead of a rezoning.

The Washington Court is one of the earliest mid-rise apartment blocks in the West End, and is recognized for its Edwardian-era design by architect Arthur Julius Bird.

Over the coming years, the Washington Court will be surrounded by residential towers up to 60 storeys. This includes the CURV at 1059-1075 Nelson Street immediately to the east, which is scheduled to begin construction in 2024, and the recently approved twin towers at 1040-1080 Barclay Street immediately to the north.

Existing condition of the area:

Existing condition of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, and its surrounding area. (Stantec Architecture/Lucky ZA Investments)

Future condition of the area:

Future condition of Washington Court at 998 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, surrounded by tall towers. (Stantec Architecture/Lucky ZA Investments)

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