Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/147234
2300 Kingsway – Phase 1 by Robin Brunet s with any Wall Financial Group development, 2300 Kingsway has attracted considerable public attention – not to mention widespread praise for its bold design. The massive residential/commercial project is located on the site of the former Eldorado Hotel and built to LEED Silver standards. It consists of a 22-storey concrete tower with ground-level commercial space on the corner of Nanaimo Street and Kingsway; an eight-storey midrise (also with commercial space) on Kingsway; an eight-storey midrise with live/work units; a three-storey wood-framed building with eight townhomes facing a pedestrianized mews; and a singlestorey structural steel and wood-framed childcare facility that has been built to LEED Gold standards. The architectural firm Dialog designed the tower with dramatic vertical lines to resemble the prow of a ship for maximum street-level impact. Because the tower sits on the slope of a hill, residents are offered spectacular views of Burrard Inlet and downtown Vancouver. The development represents the City of Vancouver's prolonged attempt to give this working-class neighbourhood a comprehensive makeover. "The property was the focus of many proposals before Wall Group purchased the property and retained us in 2008," says Saeed Jhatam, Dialog project architect. "Fortunately, Bruno Wall had a clear vision of what form the development should take," he adds. "We designed the tower to be a visual anchor at Nanaimo and Kingsway and a node for subsequent higher-density development, flanked by the mid-sized condo units, with the smaller facilities and daycare tucked along the mews." While the tower and mid-sized buildings represent the new face of the neighbourhood, great care was taken to make the smaller townhouses a visual complement to existing homes and apartments in the area with the extensive use of wood. Jhatam adds that the only major design change was relocating the daycare from the roof of one building and transforming it into a 5,000-square-foot, single-storey, stand-alone structure. ITC Construction Group broke ground on the site in A 2300 Kingsway – Phase 1 p70-73Kingsway.indd 71 December of 2010. "Essentially the property is half a city block bisected by a city lane, with Phase 1 to the north consisting of the tower and an eight-storey building, and Phase 2 to the south consisting of the remaining three buildings," says David Bowyer, senior project manager. "However, the construction wasn't phased, it was start to finish, and the majority of the buildings went up at the same time." Complicating matters was the fact that the city lane, which served as a major access to the site, had to be ripped up for the twinning of sanitary and storm lines as well as new hydro services. "Careful coordination of people, materials and construction very much characterized our work day to day," says Bowyer. Bowyer adds that at any given time, concrete would be poured in some areas of the site while finishing took place at other areas and three tower cranes were operated simultaneously. "At peak we had 250 men working on 2300 Kingsway and altogether over 25,000 cubic metres of concrete was poured," he notes. Aiding Bowyer was assistant project manager Tsz Fung Shing, senior superintendent Bill Fenwick and superintendent Tony Oriecuia. Ada Bonini, principal of BYU Design, worked overtime to give the interiors a contemporary appearance while keeping the residences affordable (about 225 of the 423 total units ultimately sold for under $330,000). This tricky balancing act was achieved by budgeting funds into key spots such as composite stone counters for the bathrooms and kitchens, natural gas stainless steel stovetops, and square raised bowls and square soaker tubs in the bathroom. This was offset by less expensive laminate flooring and ceramic tile. photos: terry guscott / atn visuals august 2013 /71 13-07-12 1:51 PM