Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of Current Planning

SUBJECT:

345 Water Street
Designation and Heritage Revitalization Agreement

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

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

Council has also approved the preparation of the Gastown Heritage Management Plan. The Plan will recommend a comprehensive set of incentives for Gastown buildings, including a policy for density bonuses and transfers. In advance of this plan, Council has agreed to support Heritage Revitalization Agreements for 211 Columbia, 65 Water and 310 Water Street.

An Issues Report was brought forward to Council on June 7, 2001, ( for a slightly different proposal on this site) at which time Council agreed with the building's eligibility for a density bonus and supported, in principle, the bonus amount of 3,902 m2 (42,000 sq. ft.).

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to seek Council's support for a Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) and Heritage By-law designation to secure the conservation and municipal protection of the west half of the "A" listed Greenshields Building at 345 Water Street ( west half).

BACKGROUND

The Greenshields Building is located on Water Street, just east of Richards Street , as shown on the map in Appendix A. The building is actually two buildings with each half separately owned. It is the west half of the building that has come forward for redevelopment. It is located in the Gastown Historic area, which is regulated under the HA-2 District Schedule. In 2001, a development permit application was approved in principle with "prior to" conditions which permit the west half to be used for underground parking, retail on the main floor and office on the upper three floors. The permit also authorized exterior alterations and seismic upgrading. No additions to the building were contemplated and the resulting HRA would have restricted the density on site to "as built". Real Estate Services staff reviewed the project proforma and determined that a heritage bonus was warranted to compensate theowner for restoration costs and the current weak market demand in Gastown. On June 7, 2001, City Council approved the building's "eligibility" for a heritage density bonus in the amount of 3,900 m2 (42,000 sq.ft.). Council also agreed that the Central Area be considered an appropriate location for a receiver site(s). This bonus amount was considered by Council in the context of the status of the density bank and found to be supportable. A subsequent Public Hearing, to approve the project and accompanying bonus density, did not occur.

Following Council's preliminary decision, the building owner reconsidered the project and returned to staff with a new application that proposed market residential uses for the upper floors along with an addition to the roof and rear of the building. Real Estate Service staff reviewed the revised project proforma and determined that the change in use increased the project's viability resulting in a reduction of 465 m2 (5,000 sq.ft) in bonus density.

DISCUSSION

Project Description: Gower Yeung and Associates have applied under a new development application DE 406714, to convert the upper floors of the west half of this "A" listed building to 23 residential apartments, while retaining retail uses on the main floor. A one-storey addition to the roof is proposed and a 20-foot extension to the back, bringing the building to the rear property line. The additions are compatible with the heritage structure and consistent with emerging policy in the area. The application also includes a range of conservation work on the Water Street facade: restoration of the windows and new wood sashes; cleaning of the masonry; restoration of the metal cornice and also entails relocating the original tin ceiling on the upper floors to the main floor retail areas. Appendix A contains selected drawings from the development permit application.

East Half of the Greenshields Building: The view of the Greenshields Building from Water Street gives few clues to the fact that it is two separate structures, under separate owners. The owners of the east half of the building have not indicated a wish to proceed with a similar upgrading and bonus programme at this time.

Heritage Value: The Greenshields Building was constructed in 1901 for wholesale dry goods merchants, Greenshields and Company. It is in the "A" category on the Vancouver Heritage Register. This brick-clad building features Romanesque arches on the third floor and beautiful carved capitals over the ground floor piers depicting heads of early Vancouver's different ethnic groups. The east and west halves of the two structures appear virtually seamless, due to the integrated facade and minimal changes to the original design. It is a very significant building not only in Gastown, but within the city. With the change from the original warehouse use to retail and manufacturing, retail storefronts were
introduced at street level, otherwise the building facade is intact. The interior is most unusual for a building designed as a warehouse in that all floors above grade are finished in maple flooring and there are pressed tin ceilings on all upper floors which are virtually intact.

Heritage Revitalization Agreement: The HRA, as recommended in this report, would achieve the following:
- secure the conservation and continued maintenance of the exterior of the building and the interior metal tin ceiling for the main floor;
- establish a heritage density bonus of 3,437 m2 (37,000 sq. ft.) for transfer to site(s) within the Central Area.
The bonus amount is to compensate the owner for the premium costs associated with retaining and upgrading the heritage building, seismic upgrading and the cost of relocating and restoring the tin ceiling to the retail areas. In an interest to limit the amount of projects eligible for interior bonus density, staff have considered only those areas accessible to the general public, as warranting consideration. In the previous permit, the bonus provided compensation for the restoration of the maple floors and the tin ceiling for the office areas. With the change in use to market residential, the bonus has been adjusted to reflect only the cost associated with relocating the tin ceilings to the main floor retail spaces. The owner is prepared to enter into the HRA and has agreed that the bonus density is adequate compensation for the obligations under the HRA.

Comments of the Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee: On May 9th, 2002 and again on June 19th, 2002, the Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee reviewed the application and supported the project.

Notification: In accordance with the Vancouver Charter public hearing provisions, a newspaper ad has been placed in two consecutive issues of a local newspaper. The building is currently unoccupied, therefore there are no tenants to notify. The surrounding property owners were notified, however staff received no response.

CONCLUSION

The proposed Heritage Revitalization Agreement would compensate the owner for the extraordinary costs involved in the conservation of this "A" listed Gastown building, further contributing to this historic area's long term revitalization. It's long term protection, including seismic upgrading, would be secured through the approval of a transferrable density bonus. This proposal entails minor alterations which are compatible with the heritage structure and a smaller density bonus than Council previously approved. It is therefore recommended that Council authorize the HRA and municipally designate the building.

LINK TO APPENDIX A

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ph020723.htm

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