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AUGUST 2019 | 59 IntraUrban Rivershore Industrial Park PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY PC URBAN PROPERTIES CORP. IntraUrban Rivershore Industrial Park by ROBIN BRUNET T he IntraUrban Rivershore Industrial Park is one of PC Urban Properties Corp's latest examples – the sixth, to be precise – of how the lack of avail- ability of small industrial space can be overcome in urban areas, where strata prices have increased by 42 percent over the past four years and very little indus- trial land is available for ownership. IntraUrban Rivershore was devel- oped on a Mitchell Island site that used to accommodate the former Western Steel plant. The 265,000-square-foot project includes two buildings con- structed in two overlapping phases, with upper-level flex space/mezza- nines, 26-foot ceilings, and loading bays for each unit, plus parking for 342 cars. Brent Sawchyn, principal, PC Urban Properties, points out that the IntraUrban concept was born seven years ago when his firm, a retail spe- cialist, planned to re-emerge in the light industrial sector. "The solution to land constraints was to create a model favouring owner/occupiers, with an emphasis on exterior design – which we could accomplish due to our retail experience," he says. The first outcome of this concept was an industrial condominium facil- ity in North Vancouver, "and it was successful enough for us to repeat the basic concept," says Sawchyn. "With IntraUrban Rivershore, we developed a single, large facility split into 34 condo units, sitting relatively close to two acres of fish habitat." Sawchyn adds that he was able to acquire the land partly because it was a contaminated site in an ecologically sensitive area. Christopher Bozyk Architects designed IntraUrban Rivershore to have single units ranging from 3,640 to 12,500 square feet, which could be combined for customized spaces. In addition to the dock and grade load- ing, these strata units would feature 54-foot column spacing and heavy three-phase power. As for the architectural expression, Sawchyn notes, "Chris Bozyk is very much aligned with the Bauhaus cubic expression movement whose horizon- tal lines suited our purposes perfectly. Many of Rivershore elements echo attributes of past IntraUrban facili- ties, including glass roll-up garage doors, attractive bright colours, and enhanced architectural treatments over the entrances." Bozyk says, "One of the key design premises we focus on is to give the building a personality. That in turn gives the potential purchaser pride of ownership and the image in the business community that they are a professional and serious company. "There are many tools we use in our design that accomplishes this, but the best design is one that is clear, simple, and strong." Sawchyn says, "Getting the unit and merchandising mix is the biggest chal- lenge of the IntraUrban projects, so Chris spent a lot of time providing many different itinerations of Rivershore." PC Urban and Ventana Construction undertook extensive site remedia- tion in 2017. "Obtaining a Certificate of Compliance from the provincial Ministry of Environment was crucial in this project moving forward," says Ryan Williamson, project manager at Ventana. "The steel mill had been demolished, and the remediation plan was to place a geotextile membrane on top of the contaminated soil, fol- lowed by a layer of clean fill material to cap the site as well as raise the grades above flood plain elevation. "In terms of the scope of this work, we had to remediate an area 400,000 square feet in size, which took several months. We also had to implement a complex water treatment system of settling tanks, filtration devices, swales and sumps, to treat and discharge groundwater dur- ing construction. Extra precautions were taken to ensure construction progressed without impacting the LOCATION 11111 Twigg Place, Richmond, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER PC Urban Properties Corp. ARCHITECT Christopher Bozyk Architects Ltd. GENERAL CONTRACTOR Ventana Construction Corp. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Weiler Smith Bowers Consulting Structural Engineers MECHANICAL CONSULTANT ByCar Engineering Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Nemetz (S/A) & Associates Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT M2 Landscape Architecture TOTAL SIZE 265,000 square feet TOTAL COST $40 million 10:51 AM

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