Vancouver City Council |
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: October 28, 2003
Author/Local: M.G. Thomson/604-873-7328Dept. File No.: 000 541
RTS No.: 03672
CC File No.: 5807
Meeting Date: November 20, 2003
TO:
Standing Committee on Planning and Environment
FROM:
General Manager of Engineering Services in Consultation with the Director of Current Planning
SUBJECT:
Areaways adjacent to 640 West Pender Street
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council authorize the Director of Legal Services to enter into a standard encroachment agreement for that portion of the existing areaway along the Pender Street frontage of 640 West Pender Street, the same as shown in heavy outline on Appendix "A", the areaway to be used for maintaining existing mechanical and electrical systems. The agreement to be drawn in accordance with the Encroachment Bylaw, containing the standard provisions for termination, annual fees, and indemnities and to otherwise be to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services and General Manager of Engineering Services, and be subject to the decommissioning of the balance of the Pender Street areaway as shown hatched on Appendix "A". The decommissioning to be to the satisfaction of the General Manager of Engineering Services.
B. THAT Council support the General Manager of Engineering Services in requiring that the existing areaway along Granville Street, the same as shown in heavy outline on Appendix "B", be decommissioned as a prerequisite of the new development (DE407019) at 640 West Pender Street.
Should Council not support Recommendation B, the following alternative is offered for CONSIDERATION.
C. THAT Council instruct the General Manager of Engineering Services to report back seeking formal authorities as required to close, stop-up and grant a volumetric lease to allow for retention of the 542 square feet of areaway along Granville Street the same as shown in heavy outline on Appendix "B", for use as meeting, photocopy and storage rooms; solely for the purpose of facilitating the overall retention and adaptive re-use of the existing Class A Heritage Building at 640 West Pender Street. The approval to include the general terms and conditions of the lease as attached hereto as Appendix D.
COUNCIL POLICYThe Encroachment By-law No. 4243 provides for regulation of encroachments upon, under or over streets within the City.
SUMMARY
Simon Fraser University proposes to develop a centre for Graduate Management Studies in the former Bank of Montreal building at 640 West Pender Street. The proposal includes retention and the adaptive re-use of the existing Class A Heritage Building. At issue is the future of areaways along West Pender Street and in particular, Granville Street. Staff and the applicant have come to agreement on the West Pender Street portion of the areaways.
The applicant proposes to use the existing Granville Street areaway for meeting, photocopy and storage rooms. The General Manager of Engineering Services has, after a full review of the proposal, concluded that he should seek decommissioning of the Granville Street areaway as a prerequisite of the development proposal. This report presents that Recommendation to Council, and offers an alternative of a volumetric lease for Consideration.
PURPOSE
The two purposes of this report are:
1. to seek Council concurrence for the continued use of a portion of the existing areaway along West Pender Street for mechanical and electrical systems; and
2. to advise Council of a request by Simon Fraser University ("SFU") to use an existing areaway along Granville Street for meeting, photocopy and storage rooms. The report seeks support for the General Manager of Engineering Services to deny the request and to require the areaway to be decommissioned.
BACKGROUND
A development permit application has been received to renovate and refurbish the existing building at 640 West Pender Street, now legally described as Parcel "F", Block 33, District Lot 541, Plan BCP2081. The application, being processed under DE407019, proposes a new use for the existing Class A Heritage Building.
The former Bank of Montreal building is now owned by SFU who propose to develop a Centre for Graduate Management Studies on Parcel "F". The Centre will add 12,000 square feet of new space to the building. The location is well served by public transit and the programs at the Centre will be oriented to downtown employees.
The proposed use and retention of the Class A Heritage Building is fully supported by staff. A Heritage Revitalization Agreement for the purpose of confirming density that can be transferred off the site was approved by Council on November 5, 2002.
When the development application was reviewed by staff, it was noted that there are areaways currently existing along both the West Pender Street and the Granville Street frontages of Parcel "F".
There are two registered charges that deal with areaways adjacent to Parcel "F". Indemnity Agreement 17352F, registered in April 1909, deals with a small cavity under the sidewalk, having a superficial area of 24 square feet. This area is not the subject of this report.
Indemnity Agreement 478329M, registered October 31, 1968, grants permission for "an areaway and coal shute situate on the south east corner of Granville and Pender Streets, having a superficial area of approximately 1329 square feet". This areaway is the subject of this report. A copy of the sketch attached to Indemnity Agreement 478329M is attached as Appendix "C".
In keeping with his standard practice, the General Manager of Engineering Services sought that the areaways be decommissioned, "except for those portions required for the boilers and access to them" as a condition of DE407019. The long-standing Engineering Services practice has been to seek closure of areaways on redevelopment, as they have a negative impact on the City's ability to provide public infrastructure. This requirement was supported by the Director of Planning in his decision to approve the project and was incorporated into the "prior-to issuance" conditions which he established.
The applicant has agreed to decommission the areaway along West Pender Street (as shown hatched on Appendix A), except the portion shown within the heavy outline on Appendix A. This area is required for maintaining existing mechanical and electrical systems. The General Manager of Engineering Services is supportive of this retention, subject to registration of a new Encroachment Agreement to the satisfaction of the Director of Legal Services (see Recommendation A).
The applicant has, however, also sought to retain the 542 square feet of areaway along Granville Street, as shown in heavy outline on Appendix B. SFU wishes to use this area for meeting, photocopy and storage rooms.
DISCUSSION
The issue for the City is weighing the benefit of supporting SFU with its space challenge versus the cost impacts now and in the future on the City of allowing the continued occupation of the areaway. This includes the potential for precedent of approving the continued use of the areaway, not for heritage purposes, but simply to facilitate floor area in access of what can fit into the site.
The General Manager of Engineering Services has given full consideration to the retention request but on balance is not able to support the retention as follows:
1. the precedent of retention, for purposes other than the functioning of the building (as in the electrical and mechanical systems) or for heritage purposes, is not supportable. To retain the areaway simply to increase the habitable floor area beyond what can be fit into the site is not, in the opinion of the General Manager of Engineering Services, reasonable.
2. the uses proposed would create "habitable" space under Granville Street. Once inhabited, reclaiming it for public use (infrastructure) becomes extremely difficult.
3. the retention would impact functionally and financially on the design and installation of current and future utilities along Granville Street. The areaway restricts the corridor under which utilities can be installed. The Sewers Design Branch and the Utility Management Branch are both concerned with the reduced Granville Street corridor;
4. the subject areaway was not identified in the 1994 study that recommended retention of various areaways around the City; and
5. the value of the Granville Street areaway as a heritage feature is diminished substantially because of the past alterations that removed the glass block ceiling that made the interconnection with the street. Further, because the applicant does not want to pursue the restoration of these glass blocks, saving the areaway is not a strong conservation aspect of the proposal.
On balance, the General Manager of Engineering Services believes the areaway should be decommissioned in keeping with his long-standing practice.
Comments of the Director of Current Planning
It is not the role of the Planning Department to assess the functional and financial impacts on the City of allowing the Granville areaway to remain on an interim basis as per Consideration C. However, the Director of Planning is of the opinion that SFU's conversion of this significant landmark building and interior into a Graduate School merits special accommodation by the City where it can be afforded.
The adaptive re-use of the Bank of Montreal building for SFU fulfills two Council objectives: heritage conservation of a Class A listed Heritage Building; and development of new university facilities. Council has acknowledged in its Transfer of Density Policy and Guidelines that preference will be given to proposals which use heritage buildings for cultural, social, recreational and educational uses. This is in recognition that putting a public use into a heritage building heightens the public benefit.
Despite the public benefits of adapting this heritage building for a university facility, there are significant challenges. The City has assisted the owner with the heritage conservation hardship costs by authorizing transferable heritage density. However, the heritage bonus formula does not factor in the challenge of physically fitting SFU's program into an existing building with a fixed floorspace and geometry.
While the building was gifted to SFU, it did come with the constraint of a total floor area that the applicant advises falls short of their programming needs. To partially address this deficiency, the proposal includes sensitively inserting mezzanines into the existing banking hall. From SFU's perspective, retaining the Granville Street areaway is another opportunity to gain an additional amount of floorspace.
Should Council wish to support retention for habitable uses, an alternative recommendation is presented as Consideration C. The applicant and the Director of Real Estate Services both note that the proposed use along Granville Street is "market" in nature and analogous to a lease. Consideration C would result in the General Manager of Engineering Services reporting back to seek the formal authorities required to:
1. raise title to the portion of Granville Street containing the subject areaway; and
2. to close, stop-up and grant a volumetric lease for the areaway, subject to terms and conditions.
The lease would be proposed to be for a term of 79 years and otherwise linked to the Heritage Revitalization Agreement. The lease would contain a one-year cancellation clause, (only) upon resolution of Council. The rental, at the recommendation of the Director of Real Estate Services would be $3 per square foot for the first five years and then be renegotiated each five years thereafter.
The lease would restrict the use of the areaway to ensure no facilities vital to the future operation of the building were installed in the areaway.
General terms and conditions of a potential lease are identified in Appendix "D".
CONCLUSION
The proposal to renovate and refurbish the existing Class A Heritage Building at 640 West Pender Street is proceeding. The applicant seeks to retain portions of the areaway along Granville Street for habitable purposes. The General Manager of Engineering Services seeks Council support in requiring the decommissioning of areaways, except as required for existing mechanical and electrical systems, all in keeping with standard protocols.
The General Manager of Engineering Services RECOMMENDS approval of Recommendations A and B.
Should Council elect to proceed with Consideration C, staff wish to limit the precedent-setting nature of such a decision by assuring that the continuation of the areaway is solely for the purpose of facilitating the overall retention and adaptive re-use of the existing Class A Heritage Building at 640 West Pender Street.
In rendering such a decision, staff believe that Council would not be indicating general support for the ongoing retention of areaways.
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APPENDIX D
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF A VOLUMETRIC LEASE
1. The volumetric lease to be granted to Simon Fraser University as the owner of Parcel "F" at 640 West Pender Street;
2. The term to be 79 years, linked to the Heritage Revitalization Agreement (the "HRA"), such that the lease would terminate if the HRA was voided;
3. The lease to contain a one-year cancellation clause, the cancellation notice to only be served upon the resolution of Council;
4. The annual rental to be $3.00 per square foot for the first five years of the lease and then reviewed and set by the Director of Real Estate Services every five years thereafter;
5. The applicant to provide a Structural review of the areaway roof slab, sealed by a Professional Engineer, confirming that the roof slab has been designed, built and is currently capable of supporting a uniform live load of 250 pounds per square foot or a concentrated live load of 12,000 pounds over an area 2'-6" square;
6. There are to be no equipment or facilities vital to the operation of the building installed in the areaway that would preclude its removal in the future, i.e., heating systems, boilers, electrical systems, plumbing systems, bathrooms, refrigerated room, communication systems, etc.;
7. There are to be no hazardous materials stored or used in the areaway;
8. The applicant to be responsible for all plans required to raise a title to the area covered by the areaway and to define the volumetric lease area;
9. The lease to contain other terms and conditions to the satisfaction of the General Manager of Engineering Services and the Director of Legal Services.