New Construction On The Woodward's Site
In 2003 the City of Vancouver led by Jim Green purchased the building from the province for $5 million, and began a public consultation process, asking the community what they wanted from the redevelopment. After a two stage competition between three developers in September 2004 the city selected Westbank Projects/Peterson Investment Group to develop and Gregory Henriquez of Henriquez Partners Architects to lead the design of the new buildings, with Glotman Simpson as the Structural Engineers. The 400 million dollar project (almost one million square feet in size) includes 536 market housing units, 125 singles non-market housing units to be operated by PHS Community Services, 75 family non-market housing units to be operated by Affordable Housing Society, Nesters Food Store and London Drugs, TD Canada Trust, The National Film Board of Canada and civic offices, a daycare, public atrium and plaza, and a new addition to the Simon Fraser University downtown campus: the 130,000-square foot School for Contemporary Arts.
The market housing units constructed in the building feature modern-look furnishings including laminate-like countertops, formaldehyde-adhered wood veneer flooring, and power-saving vintage analog thermostats. The oldest part of the complex (built 1903–1908) was restored, and serves as a non-profit office and community space (31,500 sf), with tenants including W2 Community Media Arts. The development permit for construction was issued on January 26, 2007, and while substantial completion was scheduled for June 2010, delays pushed that completion date back to September 2010.
The "W" neon sign, which topped the building on the Eiffel Tower replica, was removed before the demolition and was replicated and re-installed on January 9, 2010, now boasting energy-saving LED lights. In 2008 the Vancouver artist Stan Douglas completed a 30' by 50' image on glass depicting the Gastown Riots of 1971. The over-sized photograph, together with a basketball hoop, has become the central focus within the atrium of the new Woodward's Redevelopment.
While the reconstruction and improvement of the Woodward's site had the side-effect of displacing some of Vancouver's sex worker population, the prostitutes that remain in the area have largely been able to find new clients in the middle-class-populated market housing of the new buildings and serve to contradict predictions that these residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside would be entirely displaced.
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