ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: June 13, 2003
Author/Local: R.Macdonald/7347
RTS NO. 03467
CC File No. 5651/4151
Meeting Date: July 24, 2003
TO: |
Standing Committee on Planning and Environment |
FROM: |
General Manager of Engineering Services, General Manager of Parks and Recreation, and Director of Current Planning, in consultation with the Director of Financial Planning and Treasury |
SUBJECT: |
Yaletown Parking and Park Proposal at 901 Mainland Street |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council endorse the proposal for Yaletown public parking as part of a development proposal for 901 Mainland Street, and that a legal arrangement for ownership be negotiated to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services, City Manager, and General Manager of Engineering Services, for the provision of approximately 150 parking spaces at a cost not to exceed $4,200,000. Funds for this would be provided from the Parking Site Reserve. The terms and conditions of the agreement are to be drawn to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services and the Director of Legal Services be authorized to execute the agreement and any plans, it being noted that no legal right or obligation will arise or be created until the execution of the agreement;
B. THAT Council accept the conveyance of an Air Space Parcel for a public park of 18,000 sq.ft. as part of a development proposal for 901 Mainland Street, subject to legal arrangements for ownership to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services and the General Manager of Parks and Recreation. The terms and conditions of the agreement are to be drawn to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services and the Director of Legal Services be authorized to execute the agreement and any plans, it being noted that no legal right or obligation will arise or be created until the execution of the agreement ;
C. THAT Council authorize the expenditure of $460,000 from the Downtown South Development Cost Levy Reserve for park construction, with the design of the park to be consistent with the proposal described in the report and illustrated in Appendix A.
D. THAT the Parking Sites Reserve interest in the Downtown South park site (Davie and Richards) be transferred to the Capital Fund at a cost of $2.6 million; source of funds to be the Downtown South DCLs for park purposes with interim financing as necessary from the Emerging Neighbourhoods Fund.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council policy is that the City may fund the construction of parking that achieves the preservation of heritage areas, and would redress historical deficiencies that cannot be met by the private sector through normal redevelopment.
Council policy also permits developments in the Yaletown heritage area to provide payment-in-lieu of parking where the required parking cannot be provided within the developments.
In 1991, Park Board and Council adopted a target of 4.5 acres of park space for the Downtown South neighbourhood as the minimum goal to serve a population of 11,000 residents, equivalent to 0.4 acres per 1,000 residents (the park standard is 2.75 acres per 1,000 residents).
Council has allocated $10 million to the Emerging Neighbourhoods Fund to be utilized for the purchase of park sites in DCL areas in advance of the receipt of DCL revenues.
SUMMARY
This project presents a rare opportunity for the City to provide additional parking for the Yaletown heritage area, and a small park to serve the fast growing and park deficient Downtown South Neighbourhood and to provide balance to the open space needs of historic Yaletown. The proposal is to provide approximately 150 parking spaces and a 18,000 sq ft. park as part of a residential development proposal at 901 Mainland Street.
In neighbourhoods as intensely developed as Yaletown and the Downtown South, providing parking necessary for the heritage area and creating parks for people can be a challenge. It is therefore important to take advantage of opportunities such as this where the benefits canbe achieved in a good location and without any land costs. Overall, staff feel that the proposed conveyance at a nominal sum of the air space parcels for parking and park, plus an additional proponent's share for park construction, create good value for the public, and the proposal is Recommended.
PARKING PROPOSAL
The City of Vancouver has taken a number of measures over the years to ensure the health of its heritage areas (Gastown, Chinatown and Yaletown). One large contribution has been the provision of parking for these areas. Each of the three areas has unique characteristics; however, they all must rely largely on off-site, publicly provided parking to meet their parking needs and to ensure the viability of the heritage building stock.
In the Yaletown area there are approximately 1,400,000 square feet of usable floor space. This amount of development would normally need 1,400 parking spaces in the context of the Downtown, where we expect only one in four to drive a vehicle. There are currently approximately 800 parking spaces available to the community. Roughly half these spaces are street spaces in the immediate area. The City has also developed 370 public parking spaces in two sites. There are 220 spaces under Bill Curtis Plaza at Davie and Mainland, and 150 spaces under the family housing development at 207 Alvin Narod Mews, as shown on the following map.
In January 2000, when the parking in 207 Alvin Narod mews was approved, it was noted that "there may still be a future need for parking spaces to serve the Yaletown heritage area. City staff continue to seek a site along the west edge of the Yaletown heritage area to meet this need."
There has been a large amount of development in the areas adjacent to the Yaletown heritage area. The neighbouring area has been transformed from a low density commercial area with many surface parking lots to a high density residential neighbourhood. This, combined with the increasing use of the Yaletown heritage buildings, has placed added pressure on the limited amount of parking, while simultaneously diminishing the available supply.
One option has been identified: a development site at 901 Mainland Street, which is well situated to the Yaletown area. Staff have had discussions with the developer about the possibility of providing public parking as part of the development proposal for this large site (see Appendix A). The City has also negotiated the provision of a public park and the sale of the City owned property (lot 57), which is the extension of Hamilton Street, north from Nelson Street. On April 8, 2003 Council approved in principle the sale of Lot 57.
Staff have worked with the developer to refine the proposal and have completed a detailed review of the proposed design and estimated costs. The parking proposal would provide approximately 153 parking spaces on the first level under the park at Nelson and Mainland at an estimated cost of $4,100,000 ($26,400/space).There is no land cost associated with this proposal, and the developer is prepared to convey at nominal cost an Air Space Parcel for the parking area. The project economics over a 25 year period are outlined in the following table.
901 Mainland Parking Economics
Annual |
Capitalized |
Per space | |
Capital Costs |
|||
- Construction |
$4,100,000 |
||
- Land |
--- |
--- | |
Total capital costs |
$4,100,000 |
$26,400 | |
Operating |
|||
- Gross revenues |
$215,000 |
||
- Operating costs |
$83,000 |
||
- Admin. costs |
$9,000 |
||
Net revenues |
$123,000 |
$1,890,000 |
$12,000 |
Net City cost |
$2,210,000 |
$14,400 | |
Potential Payment-in-lieu of parking contributions |
$14,500 |
The net City cost would be covered from parking related revenues, including Parking Site Reserve (net revenues from EasyPark) and Payment-in-Lieu contributions. While the primary business case here is to support this evolving community, the costs are fully covered by parking related user contributions.
In 1992, the City purchased the Downtown South park site at Davie and Richards Streets for $5.25 million, including $2,625,000 from the Parking Sites Reserve because of the potential for this site to become a third parking location in the area. A subsequent review has indicated that this site would not be suitable as a parking location because the site would not have met the parking needs of Yaletown, would have compromised the park design and would have been very expensive. Despite this decision, the Parking Sites Reserve currently retains its interest in this property, even though park development is underway. As the 901 Mainland proposal is likely the last opportunity to develop parking for the Yaletown heritage area, it is appropriate to transfer the Parking Sites Reserve equity in the Davie and Richards site to the Capital Fund to ensure there is sufficient funding to meet the $4.1 million commitment to the 901 Mainland site. This can be accomplished by allocating Downtown South DCL revenues for park purposes to the Parking Sites Reserve and transferring the property to the Capital Fund. If insufficient DCL revenue is available, interim financing for this transaction is available in the Emerging Neighbourhoods Fund This transaction is recommended in Recommendation D.
PARK PROPOSAL
Downtown South Context
The proposed development of three residential towers at 901 Mainland Street includes a proposal for a public park on top of the public parking in the south easterly corner of the site. The park is bounded by Mainland and Nelson Streets, by Lot 57 including loading docks of older buildings, and by the proposed development. The site is part of Downtown South.
Park acquisition in Downtown South is guided by the Downtown South Community Plan and the subsequent park acquisition strategy adopted by Council on May 16, 1991. Both policies set a target of 4.5 acres of park space for the neighbourhood as the minimum goal to serve a population of 11,000 residents, equivalent to 0.4 acres per 1,000 residents (the park standard is 2.75 acres per 1,000 residents).
The first park (2.3 acres) in Downtown South, the southern assembly, is in the 1100 block of Richards Street at Davie Street. It will be constructed in two phases; the first phase (one acre) is nearing completion. A second park of about 0.8 acres, the northern assembly, is planned for the 800 Richards Street block at Smithe Street. The park proposed in this report would add 0.4 acres, leaving a shortfall of about one acre to be addressed by other acquisition opportunities in the future. Population growth beyond the planned 11,000 residents, however, would trigger the demand for a renewed analysis of community service and amenity needs as well as funding opportunities.
Park Location
The proposed park location is at the south end of the development site. The choice of location was informed by three considerations: solar orientation, relationship with the Yaletown public realm and the distribution of other parks in Downtown South.
The Downtown South Guidelines emphasize the importance of sunlight in parks, requesting that shadows are to be minimized on a prioritized hierarchy of spaces, with parks as the top priority, and public open spaces as the second priority (2.6.1, a). The Guidelines further state that new developments should be designed to preclude shadowing across the property line of parks and public open spaces (2.6.1, b). Shadow analyses provided by the developer demonstrate that the proposed location for the public park is the only location within the development site that meets these requirements in a three-tower development. The proposed location offers the sunniest park.
The public realm of Yaletown is dominated by the presence, materials and use of the old loading docks. These docks extend across Nelson Street onto Lot 57 bordering the park to the west, thus introducing the vocabulary and potentially the uses of Yaletown's public spaces. Staff felt that this extension of the Yaletown character offers an interesting array of design and programming choices for the public park, linking it to the focus on arts and culture so prevalent in the neighbourhood.
The proposed park location is also a good fit when considering the locations of the other parks in Downtown South: the southern park assembly under construction at Davie and Richards Streets and the northern park assembly at Richard Street and Smithe Street. These three will form a triangle that is reasonably spaced apart, thereby maximising the accessibility of each for residents, workers and visitors in the area. Staff acknowledge the traffic environment of Nelson Street but do not have concerns with respect to acoustical impacts for this urban park setting.
The proposed park is also important for the Historic Yaletown neighbourhood. This park would provide a balance to Bill Curtis Square at the southeast side of the community, and help create a more complete community structure.
Park Programming and Design
The program and design for the park are developed in response to the Yaletown context , the immediate built environment and the character of the Downtown South Park that is under construction. The public realm of Yaletown features loading docks that are animated by the uses of adjacent buildings spilling out, heritage facades, materials that include bricks, granite and concrete, activities extending into the night, and a strong presence of art and design.
The concept of the park builds on these characteristics. It is conceived as a simple rectangular "outdoor room" with green walls: double rows of trees along the streets, and single rows along the buildings. These trees sit in large raised planters with lush seasonal plantings offering colour, scent, movement, variety and exuberance. The impact of Nelson Street is filtered through screens overgrowing with vines. These strong vertical green edges are perforated to allow pedestrian passage, drawing people in from the sidewalks.
The centre portion of the park is a softly undulating carpet of granite setts, studded with curving pieces of old granite curbs for informal seating under a canopy of ornamental flowering trees. More formal seating is incorporated on all four sides. Artful and subtle lighting will keep the park welcoming and safe after sunset.
The park is rooted in a tradition of small urban spaces that are designed and constructed with the highest quality of materials; it will be a precious little space that is attractive for a sunnylunch break, for a cup of coffee, or for meeting up with a group of friends. Yaletown activities will reach into this park with programmed events like farmers' markets, sidewalk sales, outdoor art exhibits and installations, or intimate musical and theatrical performances.
The character of this park is in marked contrast to the park under construction at Richard Street and Davie Street with its garden-like landscape of water, stone, lawn, big trees and colourful plantings, plus many play opportunities for children. Together, these two parks begin offering a variety of park experiences that are intended to be further expanded with the future park at Richard Street and Smithe Street.
The 901 Mainland project, including the park design concept, was presented to both the Urban Design Panel (February 19, 2003) and the Development Permit Board (April 14, 2003). The Urban Design Panel supported the project unanimously, and the Development Permit Board approved the preliminary development permit application for the project. Council approval of this proposal does not preempt the normal approval process, which includes the review and approval of the complete application by the Development Permit Board.
Park Funding
The proponent is offering to convey for a nominal sum an Air Space Parcel to the City for the park, and to pay for landscape design and construction up to the level of a private greenspace. Staff are seeking a higher quality of execution, and are seeking Council's approval to allocate funding for that incremental cost increase for park construction from Downtown South Development Cost Levies.
The proponent's consultant and staff have estimated costs for the proposed design concept. Staff are proposing that the City assume responsibility for those costs not typically found in private landscapes in Downtown South, including the hard surface paving and granite, the metal screens, the specimen trees in the centre of the park, some of the lighting and half of the irrigation cost. The estimate for these items is $460,000. The City's share of the cost of park design and construction is slightly less than the proponent's share at $470,000. Source of funding for this city cost would be provided from Downtown South DCLs for park acquisition and development.
The value of the conveyance of the Air Space Parcel to the City is close to nominal, as there is no development potential. It should be noted, however, that the acquisition of a piece of land in Downtown South the size of the proposed park would cost about $3.5 Million.
In a neighbourhood as intensely developed as the Downtown South, creating parks for people is a challenge as the long history of the park at Richard Street and Davie Street demonstrates. It is therefore important to exploit opportunities such as this one where park benefits can be achieved at a fraction of the usual cost. Overall, staff feel that the proposed conveyance ofthe Air Space Parcel for park, the additional proponent's share of park construction and the City's share create good value for the public.
PUBLIC INPUT
The City has worked closely with the Yaletown BIA and businesses to respond to the growth of the neighbourhood. In particular many changes have been made over the past several years to optimize the parking in the community to best serve Yaletown. The streets are extensively controlled, mainly with parking meters, to ensure they are available for area visitors and customers. Parking meters rates were recently increased and are at $2.00 per hour, one of the highest neighbourhood rates. (Gastown is $1.50 and Chinatown is $1.00 to $1.50).
The business community has been supportive of these efforts; however, they strongly feel that added parking is necessary for the continued long term health of the neighbourhood. They note that even if this project is approved Yaletown will still have a lower parking supply ratio than other Downtown areas. They request that Council approve this proposal, and note that there likely will not be other opportunities if this is not approved.
CONCLUSION
The General Managers of Engineering Services and Parks and Recreation, and Director of Current Planning recommend that the proposal for 901 Mainland Street be approved, as it will assist the City in meeting three important objectives: creating a balanced community structure to historic Yaletown, providing parking resources to a heritage district, and creating park space for a growing residential community.
LINK TO APPENDIX A - PAGE 1, PAGE 2, PAGE 3
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