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Condos are stifling Vancouver's entertainment districts; Rogers Arena will have less concerts with rental condos


nitronuts

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New Condos at BC Place, Rogers Arena Kill False Creek Entertainment District

The recent controversy and firestorm with the Waldorf Hotel’s closure for redevelopment into condos is perhaps evident of a city reaching a breaking point over its dwindling cultural and entertainment venues. There is no doubt the core of Vancouver’s entertainment district lies in and around the Downtown peninsula, and it is no secret either that rampant condo development in the city centre has severely hampered the ability of entertainment-based businesses and zones to flourish. This now impacts Vancouver’s premier entertainment venues, BC Place and Rogers Arena, as well as the False Creek entertainment district that had originally been envisioned for the stadium precinct...

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Instead of a commercial/office-only (entertainment-zone friendly) development, a multi-tower residential component has now been added to the Aquilini Group’s development vision for Rogers Arena. Vancouver City Council has approved 3 mixed-use towers, with office/commercial usages slated for the lower floors and residential rental units in the top floors. In total, 614 rental condo units will be built in the three towers wedged between Rogers Arena, the Dunsmuir/Georgia Viaducts, and Expo and Pacific Boulevards. Construction has already begun on the North Tower, which will utilize the first five floors of the building for an much-needed expansion of the cramped Rogers Arena concourse and in-arena food services. The remaining 17 floors will be residential.

What is troubling about this project, which now includes a very dominant residential component, is its impact on events at Rogers Arena. The Aquilini Group has openly admitted there will be less concerts and events at Rogers Arena in order to appease the arena’s future residents. According to Aquilini Development president David Negrin, an arrangement has been made “to ensure that the company doesn’t put on too many events at the arena that would disturb the nearby tenants. ‘We will lose some concerts, we know that. But we need to rent the places (condo units). It is in our best interests to control [the noise].’”

Read the rest of the article (with many illuminating photos and diagrams) and the comments here: http://www.vancitybu....ment-district/

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It's shocking how much the city's once very respectable entertainment and nightlife venues have disappeared, this has gone from what was once one of the more edgy and happening cities on the West Coast to the No Fun City tomb it is today.

An overgrowth of condos and boutique businesses is part of it, but I think it owes more to having so many recent immigrants who largely aren't interested in the same type of entertainment, and especially in the fact that the city seems to have aged in entertainment tastes along with the Boomers.

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I recently had a work part at the Biltmore, and right across the street from the doors to the bar there are condo's that are just being finished. You just know that people are going to move in there, and then bitch about the noise, even though the bar has been there for decades!

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So a bunch of NIMBYs are going to move into an area they have full knowledge is going to produce noise, and then proceed to complain about the noise....

Don't see why the city can't just continue residential construction in the False Creek area and actually follow through on its plan for the "Entertainment District". The current entertainment area of Granville Street is a hole.

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Well it's sad to see the Waldorf go and perhaps gentrification in the city has run a little rampant. However i don't necessarily see density as a bad thing.

As for having less concerts in Rogers Arena and BC Place, I could really care less, I avoid seeing shows at these venues like the plague, tickets are usually way overpriced and the though the sound is decent, the sheer sizer of a stadium concert leaves something lacking in terms of atmosphere. I would much rather see a show at any of the smaller venues in the city.

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it's sad that we can't have an entertainment district near the arena, something like they have in LA when that was supposedly what was planned for that area. Instead it's going to be condos and IDIOTS who move next to 2 sporting/events arena's that will complain about the noise.

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I recently had a work part at the Biltmore, and right across the street from the doors to the bar there are condo's that are just being finished. You just know that people are going to move in there, and then bitch about the noise, even though the bar has been there for decades!

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Well it's sad to see the Waldorf go and perhaps gentrification in the city has run a little rampant. However i don't necessarily see density as a bad thing.

As for having less concerts in Rogers Arena and BC Place, I could really care less, I avoid seeing shows at these venues like the plague, tickets are usually way overpriced and the though the sound is decent, the sheer sizer of a stadium concert leaves something lacking in terms of atmosphere. I would much rather see a show at any of the smaller venues in the city.

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The building/bar may have been there for decades, but the decent concerts only started a few years ago. Up til then it was the friendly neighborhood cold beer&wine you shuffled into nervously, slid your money under a bullet proof window, and took your beer while hoping you wouldn't get stabbed by the lowlifes shuffling around outside.

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