Modified design revealed for proposed ‘pixelated’ tower in West End (RENDERINGS)

Following the revival of a previous proposal to replace a pair of three-storey rental housing buildings in downtown Vancouver’s West End, updated renderings of the proposal show a slightly modified design.

See also

• Iconic 56-storey pipe-organ tower approved by Vancouver City Council
• 60-storey 'pixelated' tower proposal for Vancouver's West End to be revived
• Two condo towers with 'outdoor living space' concept proposed for West End
• Opinion: City halls failing residents on housing affordability again and again

Property owner Henson Developments is restarting the redevelopment application process that had been initiated previously for the sites at 1059 and 1075 Nelson Street — located near the intersection of Nelson and Thurlow streets, and immediately west of the social housing component of Westbank’s upcoming The Butterfly redevelopment.

A 551-ft-tall, 60-storey residential tower with 493 homes — dubbed ‘Nelson in the Park’ — was first proposed in 2014 by then-landowner Wall Financial Corporation, but the proposal was suspended after the developer sold the properties to Henson Developments for $68 million.

The quick windfall for Wall Financial Corporation attracted much attention at the time, as the local developer had purchased the properties in 2013 for just $16.8 million.

The design for the original proposal was created by Chris Doray Studios, and it was shortlisted in the 2015 World Architecture Festival Awards.

Doray previously told Daily Hive that the tower’s concept was a slender, rectangular-shaped building topped off by a large rooftop pool, with a ‘pixelated’ roof structure that provides an aesthetic transition into the sky.

The tower’s height is permitted under the City’s West End Community Plan, and it would be just shy of the height of the 586-ft-tall The Butterfly but taller than the Sheraton One Wall Centre.

According to the City of Vancouver, the proposal includes:

• A building height of 555.5 feet (585.5 feet to the top of appurtenance)
• A net floor area of 40,096.43-sq-m (431,594.39-sq-ft)
• A floor space ratio (FSR) of 24.94
• A total of 485 residential units that include 113 social housing units, 49 market rental units, and 323 market condo units.In addition, the building would also have eight levels of underground parking, with space for 299 vehicles, as well as 1,000 spaces for Class “A” bicycles, and 26 spaces for Class “B” bicycles.

This application is being considered under the West End Community Plan, Rezoning Policy for the West End, and the General Policy for Higher Buildings.

With files from Kenneth Chan