Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

690 Burrard Street - Christ Church Cathedral
Interior Designation and Heritage Revitalization Agreement

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

The Heritage Policies and Guidelines outline a procedure to be followed in applying the Heritage Density Bonus provisions as permitted in the Downtown Official Development Plan. Category "A" buildings on the Vancouver Heritage Register are automatically eligible for consideration of a density bonus for heritage preservation.

The Transfer of Density Policy and Procedure allows for the transfer of density for heritage sites to receiver sites.

BACKGROUND

Heritage Value
Christ Church Cathedral is listed as an "A" building on the Vancouver Heritage Register and is considered a primary resource for the City of Vancouver. It is the oldest surviving church in Vancouver and was built in 1895 as a small parish church. Over the years, additions have been made to enlarge the building to the Cathedral we see today. The style is predominantly Gothic Revival with Romanesque and Tudor details. The exterior materials are granite and sandstone. Many notable heritage features are evident on the building and include the original stained glass windows and wood doors. The significant heritage features of the interiors include an impressive exposed Hammerbeam Truss system and fir and cedar flooring, ceiling panels and wood detailing throughout. The Chancel was enlarged in 1940 and contains oak period detailing.

Interiors
In 1996, Council authorized a study of significant interiors within the City of Vancouver. A list of 138 addresses was compiled with Christ Church Cathedral noted as having significant heritage value. The intention of the study was to identify heritage interiors so that they could be considered with conservation work proposed for a building. To-date, Council has designated and provided bonus density for four interior spaces, most notably the Hotel Georgia. Interior projects are evaluated on their merits in light of the relaxations requested by the owner and the heritage value of the interior spaces.

Christ Church Cathedral Transfer of Density and Designation
In 1974/75, the City of Vancouver brokered an agreement between the owners of Christ Church Cathedral and the adjacent property, now known as Park Place. The residual unused density on the church lands was permitted to be transferred to Park Place in exchange for protective measures applied to the Cathedral and for remuneration. A payment schedule was established over a 102 year period and has resulted to date, in payments of approximately $4,500,000 to the owners of the Cathedral. This was the first project in the City of Vancouver to use transferrable density to achieve heritage conservation goals. As a consequence , the City has adopted the Transfer of Density Policy and Procedure and many of the city's key heritage resources have been protected through this incentive.

The obligation on the Church site in exchange for financial remuneration was to "preserve and maintain" the Church building. Legal Services Department has advised staff that the term "preserve and maintain" within the context of the 1974/75 agreements does not explicitly obligate the Church to protect the physical fabric of the building in a manner consistent with seismic up-grading, or preserve intact the interiors of the church. Christ Church Cathedral has, however, kept the building in good order and used the funds towards its ministry in a variety of areas including ongoing building maintenance and repair.

The Proposal
When the Provincial Government amended the heritage conservation sections of the Vancouver Charter in 1994, it gave Council the authority to designate interior features or fixtures. The proposed changes to Christ Church will restore interior heritage elements and seismically up-grade the building. In addition, a new elevator and mechanical area will be constructed on the north of the building facing the lane. This addition will form the base for a church spire to be constructed at a later date. The scope of the interior changes can be divided into two groups: restoration to original building fabric and new interventions. The restoration includes restoring the existing wood ceiling and floor, replicating an original wall stencil pattern long since lost, restoring the Hammerbeam Truss system and the wood wall and panelling details through-out and removing a later balcony addition that obstructed the view to the south windows. These items are being considered for bonus support. New interventions to the space include an organ/choir loft, new transepts and the elevator/mechanical addition off the lane. These items are not being considered for bonus support, except to the extent that they are integral to the seismic upgrading. The interior designation of key elements and features and the preservation work proposed exemplifies the Church's commitment to a high standard of rehabilitation and a good application of the Heritage Interiors Legislation. (See Drawings: Appendix A)

Seismic and other code upgrading of the church to meet City requirements will improve life safety and will also help protect it from seismic forces. The proposed upgrading is a delicate balance between introducing structural elements without adversely affecting the historically significant elements of the interiors. The proposed choir and organ loft and elevator core will house the primary seismic structural components. The remaining seismic work will be hidden in the form of a new diaphragm below the original wood floor and new structural steel braces applied to the Hammerbeam Truss system.

Based on the British Columbia Heritage Trust, "Principles of Heritage Conservation", the proposed alterations represent a "Continued-Use Rehabilitation" approach to the project. This describes projects where improvements are made to a building that continues to be used for its original purpose. The intervention of the new elements ( organ/choir loft and elevator) puts the project in this category.

DISCUSSION

Compensation for Designated Heritage Sites
Today, we would use specific heritage tools that clarify the terms and obligations on an owner with respect to items such as seismic up-grading. By way of example, the Heritage Revitalization Agreement typically details the full extent of an owners obligations with respect to preserving a heritage resource. As well, it is common today, when negotiating a compensation package in exchange for designation of a heritage resource, to consider the value of the premium costs of seismic upgrading and interior preservation if applicable. In the case of buildings that are already protected through designation, a "new offering" that contributes to the conservation of the resource and in addition to the existing obligations on the site, are the basis by which further compensation is considered. Council has in the past, awarded compensation for the cost of seismic up-grading and interior preservation. The adjacent property owners paid the Church site for the loss of development rights on their lands and not for the resultant costs associated with seismic upgrading, or for costs associated with the preservation and protection of interior features.

Council recently dealt with a similar project when the Issues Report on the First Baptist Church building and the adjacent YMCA was reviewed in November of 2001. The proposal was to construct two new towers and to preserve the First Baptist Church and a portion of the facade of the YMCA. The First Baptist Church proposal is consistent with the approach taken with Christ Church Cathedral in that both buildings are already designated and a new "heritage" offering is proposed in the form of seismic up-grading and/or interior preservation. Council approved the recommendations, in principle, including the costs associated with the heritage premium of seismic up-grading and interior preservation for First Baptist Church when considering its compensation package.

A review of the Heritage Interiors Study showed approximately 40 buildings that were designated prior to 1974, when the Charter did not require an owner to be compensated for designation. Of those 40 buildings, approximately eight have major public interiors on the scale of Christ Church and are within Council's designated Transfer of Density area. A study of each of the buildings would be required to determine the amount of transferrable density that may be created as a consequence of protecting the interior spaces. Some may involve re-development scenarios that use the additional density on site, thereby not effecting the Density Bank. Staff expect that the upcoming Transfer of Density study will inform an approach for Council and staff to deal with all the issues. Christ Church Cathedral is one of the last of the buildings that have been in the system and counted towards potential future density for the Density Bank. Future projects with a similar approach will be reviewed in light of the results and recommendations coming forth from the Transfer of Density study.
Density Bank and the Bonus
Recently 45,000 sq.ft. of density was sold from the Density Bank, reducing the balance to approximately 276,000 sq.ft. The proposed 73,170 sq.ft. for Christ Church Cathedral will bring the Bank up to approximately 350,000 sq.ft. Christ Church Cathedral has been included in previous staff reports to Council when discussing up-coming balances of the Density Bank. Staff will be reporting back on a comprehensive analysis of how the Bank should be managed and what levels can be accommodated while protecting the stability of the banked density market. The disbursement of the bonus to Christ Church will be phased to reflect the 5-7 year project time line. The first phase of the project will involve the work to the Narthex area and will release approximately 25,000 sq. ft. of transferrable density for sale on the market.

Bonus Calculations
The bonus calculations were based on costing the conservation approach to the interiors which included the heritage premium cost to seismically up-grade the building. Each heritage feature proposed for designation was reviewed as to the cost required to conserve, restore or rehabilitate the element. Standard soft costs ( i.e., fee's, etc) were included in the bonus and are consistent with past City practice. Careful analysis by Real Estate Services staff and the City's Quantity Surveyor confirmed the proforma assumptions and an agreement in principle was reached between staff and the owner. The appropriate level of density bonus in this instance has been calculated based on a review of the proforma cost estimate, which is also consistent with past City practice.

Changes to the interior that do not involve a heritage element and are new features were not included in the bonus offered. Only costs directly associated with the rehabilitation of the heritage interiors or incremental costs associated with a heritage sensitive approach to seismic upgrading, have been included in the bonus.

The project is expected to proceed over the next 5-7 years pending funding opportunities. The bonus density for transfer will be released for sale as the work is completed. Staff expect this to occur in three phases. The first phase will be the work on the Narthex with an accompanying bonus of approximately 25,000 sq.ft. This amount includes soft costs. The second phase will be the Nave with an approximate bonus of 16,000 sq.ft. and the balance of the density for sale, 32,170 sq.ft. will be released when the Chancel and elevator area are complete.

Vancouver Heritage Commission
The Vancouver Heritage Commission reviewed this proposal five times, over a two-year period and created a Sub-Committee for Christ Church Cathedral. The Sub-Committee members attended six design workshops in Year 2001 that assisted staff and the Church design team with improvements to the proposal. The final review occurred on two dates:. March 4 and March 11, 2002 and resulted in the following supported motions:

square feet is commensurate with the proposed level of conservation and is consistent with other projects in the City and that staff negotiate a Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) with the applicants based on this proposal; and FURTHER THAT fixtures and features listed in the HRA to be retained include the following:

applicants' proposed interior finishings and details to render them more compatible with the original details of the Church.

With particular reference to the Commission's second resolution, staff will certainly liaise closely with the applicants to insure close compatibility between the preserved and new elements. This will continue a positive dialogue between staff, the Church and other heritage interests that has been working well over the last year. In response to the third resolution,staff will discuss the parameters for this with the Church and will report further on this when Council considers the report.

CONCLUSION

The proposed interior designation and restoration, as well as the seismic up-grading, will insure the long term protection of one of the City's most valued heritage interior spaces. In addition, the bonus density proposed will compensate the owners for the costs associated with designation in a manner consistent with past City practices.

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