INTERSECTION: Cambie St. and Broadway to be new city centre
Jeani Read
Province
ARTIST RENDERING COURTESY OF BOB RENNIE MARKETING
Eddie Mok, below left, looks at the model of the townhome he’s buying at Cross Roads. Photograph by : Wayne Leidenfrost, The Province
The kitchens, above, have white granite counters and island, plus a counter-depth refrigerator in a titanium finish. Photograph by : Wayne Leidenfrost, The Province
The bathrooms, below right, have slate floors. Photograph by : Wayne Leidenfrost, The Province
Cross Roads is indeed a crossroads but it’s more than that. Soon, this reviving industrial area could become a whole new city centre.
“In the new world, Broadway and Cambie will be a key intersection,” says Grant, president of PCI Group, developer of Cross Roads.
And that looks pretty likely. Down here a whole town’s worth of new projects will anchor the new neighbourhood growing between Cambie and Main.
And the actual crossroads will not only be Cambie and Broadway but two major rapid-transit lines, too: the Canada Line to Richmond and the east-west Millennium Line.
“This is going to be the first opportunity outside downtown to have a condo with access to rapid transit,” says Grant.
He also sees this mixed-use project (office, retail and residential) as a lifestyle project. Key here is the pairing of the giant Whole Foods chain within the retail space, a combination that’s dynamite south of the border and groundbreaking here.
Esthetically, Cross Roads, which should be completed in June 2009 or late 2008, will be very 21st-
century: dark basalt, enormous windowed walls and accents of wood.
Views are unique, finishes top of the line and, above the three levels of retail, the townhouses and a health club will open onto a huge garden level.
Pretty irresistible to Eddie Mok, who was looking at buying into Cross Roads long before it came on the market.
“I’ve looked at it for some time,” says the 41-year-old. “I’ve been studying this complex significantly.”
For Mok, location and lifestyle was indeed the key. “It’s the convenience and the amenities of that area, and the fact that Whole Foods will be [on the site],” says the health-conscious Mok.
What he calls the “vibrancy” of the area, which has a mixed demographic and is multi-ethnic, is a big draw, too, plus the fact that Cross Roads will be transit-central.
“You can get anywhere,” says Mok. While considering a new home Mok did look in Yaletown but “midtown is different. You can’t buy in this price range downtown. It’s reasonable here.”
He likes the idea of the health club and gym on the premises, and the restaurants and other diversions in the neighbourhood. For a while, Mok couldn’t make up his mind between the condos and the townhouse on which he eventually settled.
“The condos have different views and you don’t necessarily have to pay the big-ticket price for those views.”
DECOR TIPS
Scott Trepp of Scott Trepp Interior Design and Merike Lainevool of KudoDesign gave Cross Roads its sleek contemporary look. We asked them for decor ideas and space-maximizing strategies.
– In small kitchens, finding the space for a pantry dramatically increases the amount of storage space. Here, Trepp and Lainevool created a full-height, 12-inch deep pantry.
– Counter-depth fridges increase circulation space in the kitchen. “The refrigerator we picked was a 24-inch wide LG titanium-finish model,” says Lainevool. “It holds much more than you’d expect and the sides are the same titanium finish as the door, making them much more attractive than the [usual] crinkled black sides.”
– The kitchen counter is polished white granite. “If you are selecting granite, we recommend that you go to your stone supplier’s warehouse. Granite is a natural material that may not [match] showroom samples.”
– Lainevool and Trepp chose slate flooring for the bathroom and used a “T brick” mosaic slate of the same colour in the shower. “Slate looks rich and warm and provides good slip resistance,” they say.
– The bathroom tiles are large, 12-inch-by-24-inch glossy white, giving a fresh, modern look that’s easy to keep clean.
– “We avoided (using anything) trendy,” says Lainevool. “We wanted clean lines and modern detailing that would complement any buyer’s decor. We opted for clean, classic lines for the cabinetry — no panel styling, just slab-style doors. When updating at home, this [is] something to keep in mind.”
QUICK FACTS
CROSS ROADS
What: Eighty-eight homes in a multi-use building
Where: 536 West Broadway
Developer: PCI Group
Sizes: One-bedroom and flex, two-bedroom, two-bed and flex, three-bedroom and townhomes, 650 sq. ft.-1,417 sq. ft.
Prices: Start at $390,000
Open: Noon to 6 p.m. daily except Friday; 604-729-8695; www.crossroadsvancouver.com
© The Vancouver Province 2006
