With the development of the Woodwords District well on its way to completion, Gastown has received the long overdue kick to the face it so sorely needed. With all the building units already sold, buyers have already made record capital gains on their units. Even the recent downturn won’t hamper the average Joe bag-o-donuts investor from banking coin from this project. The Urban Dweller was infuriated that his Realtor did not know of this opportunity at the time. Rest assured he was taken care of, with a roundhouse kick to the back of his bald head.
Now for a little history lesson. The Woodwards building itself has a long standing history in Vancouver. Originally built in 1903, it was the one-stop shop during its time. Back then, old men wearing monocles would flaunt their dollars in a pathetic attempt to impress the local harlots. I guess some things never change. In 1944 the signature “W” was placed upon a 25 metre replica of the Eiffel tower. Legend has it that at night the “W” could be seen as far away as Mission. Well atleast that’s what some old crackhead told me at Pigeon Park. The building was a centrepiece for that area then and its eventual demise precipitated the decline in that area.
The new buildings of the Woodwards project will be 43 and 32 floors. The height of these buildings at 121m and 96m respectively, are far greater than anything else in that area, as most of the buildings are low and mid-rises. It will also integrate the heritage look and retain the “W”. It will be home to SFU School for Contemporary Arts, London Drugs, Nesters and what else a freaking Starbucks. It will have 536 market housing units, 125 single non-market housing and 75 family non-market housing. The project is making great progress. Take a look at a recent picture I took, while on one of my many walks. It is expected to be complete by spring of 2009.
The Urban Dweller is hoping that the homeless can get back on their feet, so he could kindly escort them to the nearest skytrain station. Next stop, the lower class suburb of Surrey! I feel that they should now go back to a place that is more akin to their natural habitat. What better place than the “armpit” of the Lower Mainland.
(photo credit: woodwardsdistrict.com)
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