Douglas Todd: Vancouver’s downtown waterfront could use an adventurous rethink. Not another oversized tower

Christina DeMarco, a former senior planner, is among those who say the gigantic, twisting tower proposed for this site would kill the last opportunity Vancouver has to turn the downtown waterfront into something extraordinary. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

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It costs $11.50 to park your car for half-an-hour on this small, uninviting slab of pavement on downtown Vancouver’s waterfront.

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But hosting a few dozen parking spots is, to say the least, a waste of this ultra-prime piece of property, located east of the historic Waterfront SkyTrain Station and north of Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre campus.

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This spot could be the entrance way to a spectacular new downtown waterfront, with stunning views of the North Shore Mountains, that would welcome the people of Vancouver and beyond, advocates say.

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If only city councillors had more vision — and perhaps took their cue from Toronto’s imaginative rehabilitation of its waterfront.

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Instead, developer Cadillac Fairview, which owns the parking lot and Waterfront Station, is seeking the city’s permission to erect a gigantic, twisting, tree-inspired, 22 storey edifice, which it says echoes the site’s historical Indigenous name, Grove of Maples.

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A 22-storey office building shaped like a Lego tree has been proposed to replace a parking lot alongside Vancouver’s heritage Waterfront Station. Photo by James KM Cheng Architects

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Critics, however, call the upside-down pyramid a lot of other names, including the “Drillbit.” More importantly, they remind people that the Vancouver Heritage Commission has voted against it.

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And they warn that if the office tower gets the go-ahead from the development permit board on May 11, it could kill the last chance Vancouver has to turn the downtown waterfront into something extraordinary.

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Right now, the parking lot that is the focus of the controversy is a grim site at 601 West Cordova St. Pedestrians, including tourists, flow thick and steady on the sidewalk next to it. But they avoid the lot.

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It’s encased to the north by a high, black, steel fence, which overlooks more than 10 railway tracks immediately below. The foreground view, such as it is, includes a truck thoroughfare and more bleak parking lots, including for a Helijet operation.

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In addition, the view line from the spot where Cadillac Fairview wants to plunk down its tower is blotted by the dark, elevated, enclosed walkway used by ticketed passengers heading to the SeaBus Station, which itself looks like a Second World War bunker.

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It could all be so much more inviting, according to the urbanists who have formed the Downtown Waterfront Working Group.

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“It’s a very, very unique site,” says former Vancouver councillor Tim Louis. “It could be a magnificent plaza, not a postage-stamp plaza. The vista to the north could be absolutely stunning.”

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And the concrete waterfront itself, he said, could become a wondrous place for people to enjoy.

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Charles Dobson of the downtown waterfront working group created this mock postcard in the hopes of spurring Vancouver city council to work toward creating a vibrant seafront and people place. Photo by Charles Dobson

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There are many ways that the public could be welcomed to a revamped Burrard Inlet waterfront, said Louis. It could, he said, feature restaurants, fish stores, you name it. There could be a new elevated walkway, which would be open to all.

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And, perhaps, if city councillors were willing to work boldly with Cadillac Fairview and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway company that owns the tracks, a deal could be reached to move or cover at least part of them, Louis said. That would produce endless possibilities.