The Spirit Trail - Connecting the North Shore Communities

The North Shore has long been known for its natural beauty - dense forests, mountains, and scenic ocean and city views. This has no doubt attracted outdoor enthusiasts from near and far to enjoy what it has to offer. The Federal Government, Provincial Government, North Shore municipalities and Squamish Nation came together in 2007 to envision the Spirit Trail. The Spirit Trail is a 35 kilometer, multi-use and fully accessible greenway that will provide pedestrians, cyclists, inline skaters and people with mobility aids a safe and accessible path along the waterfront from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. Once completed, the trail will contribute to the City of North Vancouver’s sustainability objectives and provide a healthy recreation and transportation option for North Shore residents and visitors.

Spirit Map Courtesy of the City of North Vancouver

The Spirit Trail traverses Kings Mill Walk – the City’s longest stretch of accessible waterfront park – designed, developed and donated to the City by Concert as part of the original Harbourside rezoning. Upgrades and enhancements to the park and Spirit Trail are  integral to Concert’s current mixed-use rezoning proposal. The enhancements include expanding and integrating the Spirit Trail along the development’s entire waterfront with separated bicycle and pedestrian paths; landscaping, lighting, furniture and public art that embraces the area’s unique character; areas to play or enjoy the breathtaking views of the water and downtown Vancouver; and outdoor, multi-purpose spaces for community gatherings.

Spirit Trail Improvements for Harbourside

As part of Concert’s transportation upgrades proposed for the area, a commitment has been made to improve pedestrian and bike friendly amenities. Think a bike share program between Harbourside and Lonsdale Quay, and a “bike station” with end-of-trip facilities such as lockers, showers and even a tune-up shop for cyclists and rollerbladers! Combined with the proposed Spirit Trail enhancements, including bicycle paths along Harbourside Drive and Fell Avenue for commuter cyclists, these amenities will provide residents and employees improved options to commute along the North Shore.

Imagine grabbing a coffee and enjoying the city views as you stroll along the waterfront on your way to the Seabus in the morning or avoiding rush hour and taking in the natural beauty as you cycle home. The proposed enhancements to the Spirit Trail will increase public access to outdoor space and help bring neighbouring communities closer to Harbourside. 

Creating a sense of place

With any large-scale, master-planned urban development it becomes important to consider the feeling that the environment will evoke. After all, any truly great community is striving for its own unique “sense of place” that both sets it apart and draws people to it.

When our talented group of consultants began thinking about how Harbourside could  evolve into a mixed-use community with its own special sense of place, they began by first recognizing the site’s characteristics and attributes. Harbourside’s location is uniquely in tune with the natural world – it occupies a prime waterfront location with trail connectivity and magnificent views of the ocean and the North Shore mountains. The property also has a dynamic history as part of a working waterfront which remains in operation to this day. The team spent considerable time envisioning how exactly they could create something which would simultaneously acknowledge the site’s unique position in the City while at the same time paying homage to the working nature of this stretch of North Vancouver’s waterfront – all in an effort to make Harbourside a destination for those across the North Shore and beyond. 

After much careful consideration, the resulting plan strikes a balance between all of these objectives. The creation of animated shopping streets filled with unique, boutique retailers along with dynamic gathering places would help establish Harbourside as a destination. The integration of recreational areas, including a generous amount of park space and an expansion of the Spirit Trail would further this goal – especially since an expanded Spirit Trail would provide opportunities for walking, riding, rollerblading and running for kilometers east and west of Harbourside. These efforts are intended to make Harbourside into a destination while preserving the site’s connections to the natural world. To further maintain this connection, the team is prioritizing the preservation of public and private views of the mountains and ocean. Harbourside’s uniqueness would be further accentuated with the careful selection of materials throughout the buildings and landscaped public spaces. Materials which connect to the natural world and weather authentically would be combined with elements which evoke an “industrial chic” language – think soft colored brick, concrete, wood and steel. To contrast, smooth metal panels and flush glass would be used as a subtle reference to the shine of a boat in the harbour. 

We are confident that these considerations will result in a community which possess its own identity and sense of place, allowing it to become one of the most dynamic and desirable communities in the Lower Mainland. 

Harbourside progress update: March 2 – 18

A summary of what’s happening in the Harbourside planning process.

Public art 
Concert has engaged Leesa Strimbiscki, principle of Urban Art Management, as the public art consultant for Harbourside. In this capacity, Leesa will coordinate the creation of public art by local artists which will be integrated into Harbourisde’s public realm with the help of PWL, the project’s landscape architect. Throughout this process, the North Vancouver Public Art Advisory Committee (NVPAAC) will provide feedback and guidance. With such experienced consultants, this approach is sure to create dynamic public environments through the integration of public art into well-planned landscaping.

Click here to view Urban Art Management’s portfolio
Click here to view PWL’s portfolio 


Connecting to district energy
Concert has been working with the LEC (Lonsdale Energy Corporation) and the City of North Vancouver to develop an innovative heating and cooling system for Harbourside which is consistent with the sustainability targets of both Concert and the City. 

The Harbourside team has submitted a high-level proposal for consideration which will be further discussed in a follow-up meeting later this month. The proposal outlines how Harbourside would utilize geothermal technology and incorporate energy trading between buildings, measures which are expected to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with heating and cooling. By utilizing an ambient loop system of energy distribution, this approach capitalizes on the fact that Harbourside would be a mixed-use community. Because commercial tenants require the most heating/cooling during the workday and residential tenants require the most heating/cooling in the evenings, it becomes possible to reap the many benefits of an ambient loop system. 

If approved, this system would ultimately be owned by the LEC and provide the residents of Harbourside with among the “greenest” heating/cooling on the North Shore. 

Concert as a community builder

Harbourside could be the third large-scale, master-planned community Concert has built in the Lower Mainland. As a result, it would benefit from the knowledge and experience gained through the development of two very successful communities.

Arbutus Walk
In 1995, Concert began to transform the six-acre Carling O’Keefe Brewery site into a desirable neighbourhood on Vancouver’s West Side known as Arbutus Walk. By 2002, the completed development contained seven, uniquely-designed buildings designed to mesh with the character of the existing community, green spaces and pedestrian-priority internal streets. The community combines condominium homes with seniors’ residences and commercial retail spaces in buildings ranging from four to eight storeys.

An award-winning community, both Ansonia and Tapestry at Arbutus Walk took home prestigious national SAM Awards from Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) for “Best multi-family housing project over four storeys” in 1998 and 2003 respectively. This is in addition to five Georgie Awards from the BC chapter of the CHBA which included “Best Residential Development in BC” in 2002 for Tropez at Arbutus Walk.

“The Arbutus Walk neighbourhood in Kitsilano is a pivotal example of residential intensification within an existing, predominately lower density residential district” – City of Vancouver Planning Department 

Collingwood Village
Located in Vancouver East, Collingwood Village is a 33-acre, award-winning master-planned community developed by Concert over a 16-year period. Adjacent to the Joyce-Collingwood SkyTrain station, Collingwood Village contains almost 2,500 condominium and rental homes. There are numerous amenities within this master-planned community including parks, soccer and softball fields, tennis courts, a basketball court and extensive green space. In addition, there is a 200-student elementary school and Collingwood Neighbourhood House, a 25,000-square-foot state-of-the-art community facility containing a gymnasium and childcare facility.

In 2002, Collingwood Village was awarded the prestigious “Livable Region” award from the Urban Development Institute. In addition, Collingwood Village Neighbourhood House took home the Georgie for “Excellence in Cooperation by Municipal Government” in 1996 as well as Georgies for Emerald Park Place (1997) and Urba at Collingwood Village (2004).

“Collingwood Village is a model of community-based planning in which residents of the surrounding community have benefited from substantial improvements in local amenities and services by participating in a co-operative planning process with the developer and the City” – City of Vancouver Planning Department

Both of these master-planned communities were a success not simply because they delivered quality housing, but because they complimented the existing neighbourhood and brought with them valuable community amenities. If you visit either of them today you will see that what Concert has really done is created an environment which has allowed a true sense of community to grow and flourish over the years. The very same principles would be applied to Harbourside to ensure what Concert creates fits with the existing community, adds needed amenities and is ultimately able to establish its own unique sense of place.

Our consultant team

In order to bring Concert’s vision for a complete mixed-use Harbourside to fruition, we rely heavily on the team of skilled consultants we have assembled. Each of these key individuals were selected for their extensive knowledge on particular aspects of community planning and design. 

Richard Henry of Richard Henry Architect was brought on board to develop Concert’s vision through the OCP amendment and rezoning phases. Richard brings 25 years of experience in major rezonings in addition to five years of recent experience sitting as a member of the Vancouver Urban Design Panel. Throughout his longstanding relationship with Concert he has worked on over 20 of our developments. 

Karen Marler of Hughs Condon and Marler Architects (HCMA) is working in conjunction with Richard on urban design as well as consulting on sustainability. In addition to the work HCMA has done for Concert over the years,  which includes our Arbutus Walk master-planned community in Vancouver, the firm recently completed the UniverCity Childcare Facility at SFU which is one of the world’s greenest buildings due to its target of a net zero footprint. Karen is also working on Vancouver’s East Fraserlands development, a 130-acre industrial site being transformed into a mixed-use community. 

Derek Lee of PWL is serving as the landscape architect for Harbourside. PWL worked with Concert on the original landscape architecture and urban planning of Harbourside Business Park in addition to Concert’s recent developments such as Salt and Tapestry at Wesbrook Village in Vancouver. Derek brings experience working on high-profile projects such as the landscape design of Olympic Village in Vancouver’s Southeast False Creek and New Westminster’s Pier Park. In addition, he served as the former Chair of the City of North Vancouver’s Design Panel advisory body. 

Alex Boston, in conjunction with his team of engineers at Golder and Associates, is working to address sea level rise at Harbourside as well as aiding in sustainability planning in conjunction with HCMA. Golder and Associates bring a host of experience to their work on Harbourside which includes engineering services for the Vancouver Convention Centre West. 

Paul Dorby and Peter Joyce of Bunt & Associates are responsible for the comprehensive transportation analysis and mitigation recommendations which will work to alleviate traffic and transportation related concerns at Harbourside. Bunt & Associates’ extensive experience includes working on the strategic transportation plan for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games in addition to traffic demand strategies for shopping centres such as Metrotown and Guildford Town Centre. Paul and Peter have also been involved on numerous Concert projects through the years. 

Concert is proud to have been able to assemble an “all star” team for this project and looks forward to drawing on their extensive experience as we take the next steps in this exciting process. 

Harbourside progress update: February 18 – March 1

A summary of what’s happening in the Harbourside planning process.

Meetings with ACDI & ADP

With the support of the Integrated Transportation Committee (ITC), Advisory Planning Committee (APC) and Parks and Environment Advisory Committee (PEAC), the team recently met again with the remaining two advisory bodies to review comments previously made and to provide further information. 

The team received the unanimous support of both the Advisory Committee on Disability Issues (ACDI) and the Advisory Design Panel (ADP) as well as constructive feedback. Although not a requirement, Concert has made a commitment to continue meeting with ACDI throughout the various development permit stages to ensure they are able to provide meaningful input. 

We are pleased to now have the support of all five advisory bodies as we move into the rezoning process. 


Finalization of DPA guidelines

The team circulated a second draft of the Development Permit Area (DPA) guidelines document to City staff and the various advisory bodies for their review early in February. Having had a chance to meet individually with each advisory body again, the team is now working to incorporate their feedback. Once completed, City staff will finalize the document for Council’s consideration at the future Public Hearing. 

DPA guidelines control the form and character of a development in addition to regulating the look and feel of the surrounding public realm.