The concept known as Grand Park features a number of open spaces and urban plazas and connects nearby neighborhoods with an environmental feature. Artist renderings contributed by City of Vancouver Photo Gallery
The success of the Heights District relies on Vancouver’s ability to keep the area active, with people on-site, shopping, dining, living and even working.
As presented to the City Council Monday night, the Heights District planning process has passed the halfway point and now features three concepts intended to guide development of the city-owned 12-acre Tower Mall property.
The city bought the property last year, and staff spent the time since gathering input. Long-range project manager Rebecca Kennedy said the plan has been discussed at 50 different community meetings. There’s also an online open house filled with the city’s hopes and dreams for the site that closes Friday.
“We are really trying to be open and transparent and show up where people need us to be,” Kennedy said.
At this stage, roughly 12 months from wrapping up the planning process, there’s three concepts: Promenade, Loop and Grand Park.
All three include the same mix of varying uses and operate using the same assumptions about the number of residential units (1,800) and available commercial space. The concepts also plan for connections throughout the site.
The Promenade offers a civic space connected by active retail and numerous opportunities for public engagement, such as a giant chess board and ample room for events. Kennedy described the concept as a mix of hardscape and greenscape.
Grand Park features a large number of public spaces as the principal organizing element of the development area, with density concentrated along the open spaces.
“You need that density on that open space to activate it, to enliven it, to make sure you’ve got a lot of different things happening there to maintain positive, active use,” Kennedy said.
The Loop focuses on a pedestrian walkway that connects to an existing pathway that winds through Park Hill Cemetery. This concept would feature a variety of experiences along the pathway, from benches and trees to dense retail space. The Loop is the only concept that focuses the bulk of building density near the center of the site. The Promenade and Grand Park puts much of its density along East Mill Plain Boulevard.
Kennedy said she’s received a lot of feedback from the community as staff continues to develop the Heights District plan.
“Certainly, I will not claim everyone has said, ‘Yes, do what you want to do,'” she said. “But people want amenities, they want services and they want to see this area change.”
Vancouver’s Economic Development Division Manager Teresa Brum reminded the council of past successful projects of this scale, including Esther Short Park in the past and more recently the Vancouver Waterfront Park and adjacent multi-use development.
“We can do this,” Brum said. “We can take on big things like the Heights.”
Unlike what happened with planning the waterfront development, Councilor Ty Stober said, he wants to make sure affordable housing remains in the conversation going forward.
“We’ve got to be much more diligent in that regard,” Stober said.
Councilor Bart Hansen said given the success of the $12 million pier at the waterfront, he’s interested to see what opportunities the city comes up with for the Heights District.
“We have to have some sort of landmark within it to identify it,” Hansen said.
Brum said that will absolutely happen.
“This will be the kind of world class development just like the waterfront,” Brum said. “Everyone will point to it and say, ‘I can’t believe you did that.”‘
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