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.