This week we
bring you more samples of feedback we received via comment cards at Harbourside
community engagement events.
“I worry about the market for office this
far away from transit.”
Actually transit
does currently serve the Harbourside community. That being said, we recognize
that enhanced transit service would be a necessity going forward. Our team has
been in talks with TransLink to enhance service by instituting a new route that
would serve not only Harbourside, but surrounding communities as well. To
facilitate this, Concert would directly subsidize the service through payments
to TransLink, a first among the Lower Mainland’s development community.
“I think it is good...the opportunity to
live and work in the same neighbourhood is the right direction. The addition of
residential area is mandatory to the development.”
We totally
agree, your thoughts align perfectly with our vision for Harbourside. After
all, this strategy of mixing uses within a community is not a new concept.
Rather, this time-honoured tradition has produced the most renowned cities in
Europe by imparting upon them a certain “something special” which is extremely
difficult to reproduce in single-purpose communities.
“I
really like the concept of a “whole community”. I just hope that it will be
sustainable for the retailers.”
It is our
belief that Harbourside will not only be sustainable for our retailers, but
that the community will ultimately become a premiere space for entrepreneurs to
select. A primary method of increasing traffic to our retailers will be the
transformation into a true mixed-use community by adding 800 residential and
rental homes, 200,000 sf of high-quality office space and a full-service hotel
with banquet capacity. Also, by carefully casting our retail tenants we will be
able to expand upon the boutique/artisan tone already set by current
Harbourside tenants, thereby drawing visitors from across the North Shore and
beyond. To learn more about our vision for the retail space, see “Building on Harbourside as a Destination”.
“Area is clearly underutilized with current
zoning as proven by peak-time only congestion. Addition of residential could
add work/live opportunities and tier on to Lonsdale Quay could alleviate
traffic. Proposal would largely produce counterflow traffic.”
That is
exactly the conclusion that our traffic consultants, Bunt & Associates have
drawn.
While one
might imagine that adding density to an area would automatically equate to traffic
congestion, when the use is varied, this is not necessarily the case. To
learn more about how we plan to address traffic concerns see “Traffic Concerns at Harbourside”.
For your
opportunity to learn more about Concert’s plans for Harbourside in person, and
to pose your own questions, be sure to attend our Town Hall Meeting in
September.
Town Hall Meeting
September
30, 2013
Unit 300 –
889 Harbourside, North Vancouver
6:30 –
7:30pm (open house)
7:30 –
9:00pm (presentation and Q&A)