An artist鈥檚 rendering of the proposed development at 1616 West Seventh Ave.
At first blush, the development proposal for an empty lot near West Seventh Avenue and Fir Street isn鈥檛 the stuff of headlines: 11 storeys, 43 units and a few townhomes.
But it鈥檚 what accompanies those details that should grab the attention of 麻豆传媒映画musicians regardless of where they live in the city.
In what鈥檚 shaping up to become the first development of its kind in the city, the building鈥檚 first two floors will include rehearsal spaces, a recording studio and small performance space.
For those about to rock, the West Side salutes you. At least that鈥檚 the city鈥檚 hope.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make something that works given the loss of space we鈥檝e seen for music,鈥� said Alix Sales, the city鈥檚 head of cultural spaces.
The Solterra Development Corp. is behind the proposal, along with architectural firm IBI Group, for the land at 1616 West Seventh Ave. The application is conditional under the area鈥檚 existing zoning 鈥� it may be allowed but requires a decision by the Development Permit Board.
That鈥檚 where density bonusing enters the question, a process of give and take between the city and developers where the municipality will leverage amenities 鈥� affordable housing, park space or purpose-built rental units 鈥� against the developer鈥檚 request for more density.
Given the city鈥檚 dwindling amount of dedicated arts space, staff are now asking the development community to include the arts in the development process.
This empty lot at West Seventh Avenue and Fir Street could be home to Vancouver鈥檚 first residential building with rehearsal spaces in it. Photo by Dan Toulgoet/麻豆传媒映画Courier
Preliminary plans for the first two floors of the building include 6,000 square feet that would include 10 or more rehearsal rooms, a recording studio and a performance space that will fit 60 to 70 people. Sales and fellow cultural planner Kristen Lambertson foresee the performance space accommodating the odd gig, but mostly used for rehearsal and as a meeting space.
It鈥檚 the kind of setup usually seen on the city鈥檚 East Side, particularly near the Clark Drive corridor. So why the West Side now?
鈥淲e have to be really opportunistic about where those spaces are depending on where the opportunity comes,鈥� Sales said. 鈥淚n East Vancouver, we haven鈥檛 got a lot of increased density and when we do, it鈥檚 often quite rightly for social housing or childcare.鈥�
A public feedback session was held in July, when area residents were mostly opposed the building鈥檚 size and its potential to block view corridors.
Few, if any, concerns were raised about the noise potential.
鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 going to be within a residential building, we want this to work,鈥� Lambertson said. 鈥淭his has been something for both the city as well as the developer in terms of really building something that is acoustically sound, that the sound can be contained within.鈥�
The proposal is by no means a done deal. It鈥檚 subject to a public feedback process that ends Nov. 15 along with a development permit board hearing on Jan. 20, 2020.
If approved, a request-for-proposal will be issued to find a non-profit provider to run the performance area, while the city will retain ownership of the space.
鈥淭his is so new for us,鈥� Sales said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e not done it before, which is we鈥檝e done so much consultation to try and ask, 鈥榃hy can鈥檛 we make this work, why can鈥檛 we come up with a shared music space?鈥�
Feedback can be sent until Nov. 15 to project facilitator Chris Miller via [email protected].
