The owners of West Vancouver鈥檚 iconic Villa Maris 鈥� more popularly known as the Pink Palace 鈥� are looking to redevelop the building along with the Shoreland apartments on Bellevue Avenue.
Live-in building manager Pavel Semenec says he understands the time has come for Villa Maris, more popularly known as the Pink Palace, to be redeveloped. The application has not yet gone to the District of West Vancouver. photo Mike Wakefield, North Shore News
The buildings have been owned by the Lachman family for the last 50 years, but family representative Bill Lachman said the 1963 and 1965 buildings need so much work now, all of the tenants would have to be evicted.
鈥淯nfortunately, the buildings are nearing the end of their lives. There are issues such as seismic concerns,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e felt because we cannot just go in and redo the buildings the way they are, that we would replace them with newer, better designed, iconic buildings for the future.鈥�
Lachman said West 麻豆传媒映画is badly needing more rental units, especially those that appeal to downsizers, singles and people with pets.
The proposal, which is still in a preliminary phase and hasn鈥檛 yet even been submitted to the District of West Vancouver, is to replace the nine-storey Shoreland building at 2190 Bellevue with a 21-storey, 206-unit all-rental building, as well as a separate six-storey 24-unit below-market rental building.
鈥淚鈥檝e found out everybody in West Van has a different idea of who should live there. We originally liked the idea of first responders鈥� There鈥檚 also teachers. It鈥檚 up to West Van,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e would design those units with families in mind.鈥�
When that it complete, the developer would replace the Pink Palace with a strata building, although the total number of storeys and units hasn鈥檛 been decided yet, Lachman added.
Lachman said he and his staff have met with almost all of the tenants of the existing 162 rental units in the two buildings who would be demovicted and has promised them a compensation package, help in finding new accommodations and first right of refusal to move into the new building once it is completed.
鈥淭hey were very positive about the idea. They know the building has got a lot of problems,鈥� he said.
Live-in building manager Pavel Semenec agreed.
鈥淎fter 50 years, nothing is up to code anymore. You name something, it鈥檚 not up to the standard,鈥� he said, noting the building has low railings, single-pane windows, no air conditioning, and the pipes and plumbing are nearly caput.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 an iconic building but everything comes to an end once in a while,鈥� he said.
Semenec said he feels he and other tenants have been well taken care of by the Lachmans and feels assured that will continue through construction.
The average duration of the currency tenancies in the buildings now is six years, Lachman said, although some folks have been living there for 25 or 30.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e our most important people,鈥� Lachman said.
Architectural historian Jeffrey Thorsteinson said he was sad to hear rare Canadian examples of the Miami Beach strand of modernism might go.
鈥淭o me it speaks to the playful exuberance of the early to mid-鈥�60s. In architecture that鈥檚 been termed the New Sensualism versus the more serious modernism that reigned before and after,鈥� he said in an email. 鈥淗ere that鈥檚 embodied in the bold use of colour, exploitation of the plastic possibilities of concrete, curved forms, and decorative iron work. 鈥� For me, the building has always connoted a sense of leisure and exoticism, something which transforms your experience of the Ambleside shore, imbuing a feeling of beach life.鈥�
The special place the Pink Palace has in the hearts of those who walk and drive by isn鈥檛 lost on Lachman and so he has given instructions to his architect, James Cheng (who did the Shaw Tower and Shangri-La) to make sure the new building lives up to the reputation of the site.
鈥淚t will be iconic for the future. It will be equally as wonderful鈥� I keep telling [the architect] it鈥檚 got to be pink,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e love the Villa Maris. We鈥檙e not doing this just to make a fast buck. This is for the long-term. This is with respect to the future of apartments in places like West Van so that the buildings don鈥檛 just deteriorate and we are looking out for the tentants.鈥�
Lachman said they will be before council before the end of the month to get some direction from council on whether they should proceed with filing a formal rezoning application. If that goes well, it could be another year or two before a final vote, followed by time to get building permits.
While that goes on, they鈥檇 focus on relocating tenants, Lachman said.
Construction on the Shoreland鈥檚 replacement would likely take another two years or more, taking the project into 2025 before demolition of the Pink Palace would be considered.
