Not Yaletown lofts, broker says of developer’s intentions for telephone-exchange building

Sun

New Homes

Project Profile

The Exchange

Creek, Vancouver

Project size: 68 apartments

Residence size: 434 sq. ft. — 1,610 sq. ft., studios, 1 bed, 1 bed +den, 2 bed

Developer: PCI Group

Prices: $354,900 — $1.6 million (for the penthouses)

Presentation Centre: 1940 Wylie, Vancouver

Hours: Noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thu

Telephone: 604-879-3200

Web: exchangeliving.com

Developer: PCI

Architect: Burrowes Huggins Architects

Interior design: Alda Pereira Design

Completion, estimated: Spring 2009

Website: www.exchangeliving.com

Westcoast Homes

The Exchange is a juxtaposition between old and new, with buyers having a unique opportunity to choose either a modern build or a heritage renovation in the old B.C. Telephone Exchange building in the ever increasingly popular Southeast False Creek neighbourhood.

Both styles of homes offer sophisticated loft living.

Buyers favouring the “old” option will discover homes rich in architectural details, including exposed fir timber beams and brick walls, while buyers preferring “new” homes will be tempted by the best features modern design has to offer, such as large balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows. Both styles will share contemporary finishes, like the exposed aggregate concrete floors, stainless steel kitchen countertops and walnut cabinetry with touch latches.

“This is not normal loft,” says George Wong of Platinum Project Marketing Group, Macdonald Realty Ltd.

“People associate lofts with the industrial look you see in Yaletown or Gastown. The Exchange is something unique. This is sophisticated, heritage-inspired living . . . It’s such an amazing location to offer true heritage suites, which is so rare for Vancouver. Now Vancouverites who appreciate loft living have another neighbourhood to choose from,” he says.

Developer PCI Group purchased the property at Wylie and West 1st Avenue, knowing the area was well situated in Southeast False Creek, Vancouver‘s emerging waterside community. The developer also appreciated the Vancouver landmark and enjoyed the challenge to preserve a piece of the city’s heritage, says Wong. The four-storey brick building containing the “old” units is undergoing restoration, while a six-storey, concrete building — home to the “new” residences — is being built adjacent to it. The boutique-sized development will have 68 suites: one bedroom, one bedroom plus den, and two bedrooms.

“We’re really striking a chord with the market,” says Wong, adding more than 2,000 people have pre-registered for the grand opening today.

He adds that the prices are great, considering the prime location; they start at $354,900 for a one bedroom, and extend to $1.6 million for a penthouse. There will be four penthouses in total, two in each building.

“The location cannot be beat. It’s west side, close to the future Cambie and First Street Canada Line station and the Olympic Village is nearby. I expect these [condos] will go fast.”

The new vision for southeast False Creek includes 26 acres of parkland, plazas, promenades, playgrounds, a boating facility, a new 30,000-square-foot community centre, sports fields, and a London Drugs and Urban Fare — all this in a neighbourhood being built as a model sustainable community, based on environmental, social and economic principals where people can live, work and play.

Because there are so many amenities nearby, Wong says it wasn’t necessary for the developer to offer an amenity package. However, residents will have the option to use a shared co-op vehicle and every suite comes with its own bicycle storage locker.

The original brick structure was constructed for the B.C. Telephone Exchange in 1914, prior to the First World War, when sawmills and shipyards abounded on the southeast shores of the creek. The building eventually changed ownership and was used for other commercial uses until PCI purchased the property in 2006.

The building, which is part of the city’s heritage inventory, will undergo a full renovation, while maintaining the distinctive early modern post-and-beam stylistic features and architectural significance.

Interior features include an Italian-imported Dada integrated kitchen system, AEG cook-top and wall oven, dual-flush toilets, front-loading washer and dryer and frameless glass showers.

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‘Bonus density’ helped developer retain building

Before the PCI development company could build homes at First and Wylie, city council had to change the zoning, or permitted use, of the property to CD-1, or comprehensive, from industrial.

Bonus density applied

PCI also sought from council, and received, density that it could then sell to other developers in the neighbourhood, to finance the preservation and renovation of the telephone exchange building.

Some comments from the report to council from the city’s planning director follow:

[1] The requested “Heritage Revitalization Agreement” would “secure

. . . rehabilitation and . . . protection and conservation of the heritage building and . . . provide bonus density for transfer to lands within the Southeast False Creek ‘Official Development Plan’ area.”

[2] “Staff have reviewed the applicant’s shortfall cost calculation and concluded that $2,190,400 is appropriate compensation to make the project viable. . . .

“The property owner has agreed with the proposed compensation, in the form of heritage bonus density area in the amount of 2,907 square metres or almost 31,300 square feet . . . .”

Qualified ‘oldest building’

[3] The “compensation” is warranted because . . .

“The heritage value of this building is based on several factors including its connection to B.C. Telephone Company; its role in the evolution of the [Southeast False Creek] industrial area; its historical value as a rare example of construction during World War I; as a building with characteristic elements of vernacular industrial design and as a visual landmark in a prominent location.

“It is the oldest building on the [Southeast False Creek] ‘Private Lands’ [lands not owned by the city of Vancouver]. The original brick and timber 1913 structure occupied the western edge of the site extending along the east side of Wylie Street from the lane north to West First.

“This structure was four bays wide by 12 bays long. Subsequent changes have been made to some of the windows along Wylie Street, but generally the initial building is quite intact . . . .

“By about 1927 a[n] addition had been added along the entire east side of the site, with a low, single storey wing extending further to the east. . . . . The building remains a prominent visual landmark in the area, being the highest existing structure in the [neighbourhood] and being quite visible from the Cambie Bridge.”

To arrive at director of planning endorsement, developer and architect had to work their way through at least 13 city council policies and plans, the report shows.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

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