The ‘W’ Stands for ‘What’s The Hurry?’
From idea to conception, the Empire State Building was built in 1 1/2 years, the Eiffel Tower in two. Social housing in Woodward’s? 25 years
BY PETE MCMARTIN, VANCOUVER SUN | JANUARY 21, 2010
From its birth as an idea to its completion as the first link across the country, it took 14 years to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.
It took the same amount of time to build the Golden Gate Bridge.
From the day its investors assembled the land to the day it opened, it took 1 1/2 years to complete the Empire State Building.
It took two years to build the Eiffel Tower.
Here’s something funny: A 25-metre-high replica of the Eiffel Tower was built to support the famous “W” that stood atop the old Woodward’s building. From the day the old Woodward’s building closed its doors in 1993 to the day of its reincarnation this month, it took 17 years for the new Woodward’s building, and a new “W” resting atop a new replica Eiffel Tower, to be reborn. If you add on the years the idea was first floated to convert the former Woodward’s building into a residence with a social housing component, it will have taken 25 years from start to finish. For some reason that eludes me, people felt this was a reason for celebration when it opened its doors this month.
In those 2 1/2 decades, little in the neighbourhood has changed for the better. Drugs are still omnipresent. The number of homeless are still legion. Crime, disease, the problems of the mentally ill … the grim litany continues apace 25 years down the road…
Read the full article at vancouversun.com.
A ’sanctuary’ in a challenging neighbourhood
Columnist and broadcaster commits to ‘community’ with buy-local effort
BY CLAUDIA KWAN, SPECIAL TO THE SUN | JANUARY 22, 2010
Fred Lee’s home, at less than 600 square feet, may be small, but it is a big demonstration of how to make the most with a give space. [Photograph by: Ward Perrin, PNG, Special To The Sun]
As a society columnist for the Vancouver Courier and National Post newspapers and a broadcaster with the CBC, Fred Lee is the quintessential man about town.
When he’s not out and about, but at home, he’s on the computer reading online newspapers, music drifting through the air, a glass of red wine at hand.
Home, since Jan. 1, has been a new 570-square-foot apartment on the 15th floor of one of the two Woodward’s towers. There, the social butterfly is cocooned by a cool contemporary palette of matte white, sparkling silver, moody blue and sooty grey, contrasting to the gingery brick and rust orange metalwork outside.
“It’s my sanctuary,” Lee says simply. “This is where I decompress and have my chill time…”
Read the full article at vancouversun.com.
My last interesting place to live in Vancouver
A resident writes of the attractions of a home where talent, and sunrises, are the neighbours
BY SUZANNAH MILLETTE, SPECIAL TO THE SUN | JANUARY 22, 2010
Newlyweds Suzannah and John Millette’s Woodward’s apartment is located on the 30th floor of the taller of the two towers, with views to the east and south -and of the revolving ‘W’ turned on a week ago today. Suzannah is keeping a journal of their life at Woodward’s. [Photograph by: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun, Special To The Sun]
I live in a Woodward’s home because I love a good story. I only know through legend and hearsay how this one started and I don’t know how it will end. But I do know I am here for its most intriguing chapter.
I get to live among the most dynamic and talented people in this city. I knew the area is home to Vancouver’s creative companies: design firms, production houses, architectural firms, boutiques, independent restaurants, and at least one famous recording studio. What I didn’t know until I unpacked was how many like-minded people I’d be sharing a roof with. And I certainly didn’t know there would be an unofficial art gallery at my doorstep. At any given time, there is usually at least one artist selling his works on the corner of Cambie and Cordova. So far, we have two Ken Foster pieces. The second was bought when he came up to the apartment: he really wanted to see inside Woodward’s.
I was happy to share it with him. The world outside my door is intriguing, but waking up in this apartment is the best part of my day. If the sunrise is bouncing off the glass towers of downtown, I jump out of bed and onto the deck to see the day turn on behind Mount Baker. If it’s overcast, I watch the city wake up; my view stretches from the helicopter terminal by the SeaBus station, up the Inner Harbour and around to Victory Square.
Soon SFU will open and a series of world-class shows will be an elevator ride away. Even the obnoxious, flickering “W” makes me smile, although I admit I live above the reach of its LED light show. The sign represents what’s possible when a group of people takes on a seemingly impossible task. This block was the city’s first hub; now, it is the last interesting place to live in Vancouver…
Read the full article at vancouversun.com.
Woodward’s Project
Woodward’s Project Panel in Vancouver, is a multi-faceted redevelopment complex that aims to rehabilitate one of the bleakest urban areas in the country…
The Woodward’s Project is being billed as the most ambitious and riskiest experiment in urban renewal that the city, perhaps the entire country, has ever seen. A lot is riding on its success, including the whole notion of whether the poor and disenfranchised of a city can lead a dignified life alongside their fellow citizens and whether or not both will be better off for the experience.
This week, three guests joined Michael to talk about the Woodward’s Project and what it bodes for future rethinking of our city spaces are: Robert Enright…Gregory Henriquez…and Liz Evans…
Listen to the Woodward’s segment (21:47):
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Visit The Sunday Edition site at cbc.ca.
Woodwards site officially opens in Downtown Eastside
CTV BC
[Photo: Susan Gittins]
The Woodwards redevelopment site officially opened Friday night with the lighting of the iconic ‘W’ sign and hopes that it will revitalize Vancouver’s most troubled neighbourhood - the Downtown Eastide.
While most of the 536 condos pre-sold four years ago, 18 units remain on the market.
A 2,000-square-foot, three-level stunner is the most expensive at $1.75 million.
The building has attracted a wide range of buyers, including families, single twentysomethings and couples…
Watch the full report at ctvbc.ca.
