West Pender Place the
latest chapter in downtown epic
Residential purpose replaces industrial;
'It's amazing the change,' developer says
Sun
Saturday, November, 24, 2007
NEW HOMES
Project Profile
West Pender Place<
Location: Downtown Vancouver
Project size: 144 residences, 3 buildings: 36 storeys, 10 storeys, 5 storeys
Residence size: Varies by building, from 800 sq. ft. - 900 sq. ft. and from 1,200
sq. ft. - 2,000 sq. ft.
Prices: Lowest building, from $600,000; taller buildings, from $1 million
Presentation centre: 1409 West Pender
Hours: 12 - 5 p.m., Thu. - Sat.
Telephone: 604-682-6999
Web: westpenderplace.com
Developer: Reliance Properties
Architect: IBI Group
Interior design: Alda Pereira Design
Occupancy: Summer/fall 2010
Westcoast Homes
More than 40 years ago, Reliance
Properties built what would be one of the first commercial buildings on the south
shore of Coal Harbour. But times have changed and the low-profile property at
the corner of West Pender and Broughton Street will soon be replaced with yet
another Reliance project -- this time, a luxury condominium complex.
West Pender Place is comprised of
a 36-storey highrise to the west, a five-storey building in the centre, and a
10-storey midrise on the eastern point of the project designed by IBI Group. Interior
designer Ala Pereira has given the interior space a retro feel, harkening to days
when Reliance first built the smaller commercial property.
"It's amazing the change,"
Reliance CEO Jon Stovell says of the area.
"Coal Harbour used to be all
rail tracks and log booms. This building was initially built in the early 60s
as a resource building. Now Coal Harbour has become this premiere residential
neighbourhood. It's the go-to location. It's right downtown but an urban oasis.
That's why Coal Harbour has incredible demand."
Reliance is known for specializing
in heritage projects, particularly in Gastown. Its heritage work there allowed
it to increase density on the West Pender Place site. The largest nearby tower
is a 26-storey highrise, but the West Pender Place highrise will have an additional
10 storeys.
West Pender Place will also have
15,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor level, but all three residential
buildings will have their own separate lobbies. This, says Stovell, will add to
that feeling of "exclusivity" the architect has created with the residences.
There will also be floating panels in metallic gold in the lobbies, giving a soft
glow to the decor.
"The architect has done an excellent
job," says Stovell. "The buildings have responded to the site. Two sides
are angled and the other two sides are straight."
He adds it was a challenge for the
architect because the site is so shallow, but he is pleased with the design because
it allows most of the suites expansive views of the North Shore, even from the
second floor.
"There's a real diversity of
unit type, including dramatic urban lofts with a 20-foot-high glass wall with
private upper areas. I think those suites will be groundbreaking," says Stovell.
While some suites, such as the lofts,
are unique, all the condos will be built to the same high specifications.
"Everyone gets the same exceptional
quality," says Stovell. "We're not going to deprive people in the small
units."
That means all suites will have oak
hardwood flooring, air conditioning, a custom-designed Italian Dada kitchen, and
eight-foot sliding closet doors with brushed metal and back painted glass panels.
The kitchens will have an extra deep
kitchen island to allow counter height seating and quartzite slab backsplashes
and counter tops. The upper cabinets are done in a high-gloss polyester lacquer,
while the lower cabinets are done with rift-cut wood and aluminum edge detailing.
The en suite bathroom features a
wall-hung vanity with integrated recessed vanity lighting, full-height mirrors
and Italian marble slab countertops. There's also a frameless clear-glass shower
enclosure with glass or marble wall tiles, and rain-shower showerhead. All en
suites have either a free standing or built-in soaker tub.
Amenities include 24-hour concierge
service, a guest suite, in-house caretaker, fully-equipped gym, pool with lounge
opening to an outdoor garden area with built-in barbecue. There's also a steam/sauna
area with his and hers change rooms and a conference/activity room.
HOW TO REALLY DO DADA ON WEST PENDER
What follows is an aside, an artwork
suggestion for the eventual West Pender Place households and their Dada kitchens
and German appliances. It is one result of asking Google for returns on the words
'Dada kitchen.'
The 11th return was a photomontage
"Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural
Epoch in Germany" (1919 --1920).
Its creator was a German Dadaist,
Hannah Hoch (1889 -- 1978).
On the Internet, Hoch is lauded as
a Dada and feminist original, the latter because she was one of the few Dadaists
who was a woman and because of her pioneering exposition of feminist themes in
her artwork.
In a West Pender Place home, a reproduction
of anything by Hoch would seem so right for site, something different, obscure
even, from the Old World commensurate to the presence of Italian cabinetry and
German appliances in a home located in the most distant reaches of the New World.
The Dada cabinetry in the West Pender
Place kitchens will have different finishes. The upper will be finished in a high-gloss
lacquer; the lower, rift-cut veneers, with edges in aluminum.
Quartzite will top counters and face
the backsplashes.
Gaggenau ("founded in 1681 in
Germany") will supply all the kitchen appliances except the refrigerator.
Sub-Zero will supply it.
© The Vancouver
Sun 2007
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