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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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In Our View: Vibrancy in Downtown

Groundbreaking on 101 Building a sign that city is moving in the right direction

The Columbian
Published:

In addition to the practical benefits of a new office building in downtown Vancouver, there are symbolic implications, as well.

It wasn’t that long ago, after all, that the confluence of Main Street and Sixth Street was inhabited by the Frontier cardroom, described in The Columbian as “notorious.” Now, according to plans unveiled Wednesday, that space is going to be home to a three-story, brick-and-glass office building known as the 101 Building. Vancouver-based Killian Pacific is constructing the 45,000-square-foot structure, promising that it will provide “21st century office space” that is sorely lacking in downtown.

That represents more than hyperbole. In announcing the project, Killian is helping Vancouver to transition into the 21st century and is helping to develop a city that can thrive beyond that time frame. As Mayor Tim Leavitt boasted at the groundbreaking, the 101 Building “is the first of many great projects coming into downtown Vancouver. Vancouver is going to be a world-class urban city. We’re going to be the best on the West Coast.”

That metamorphosis has been driven by one part ambition, one part wise planning, and two parts smart leadership. For a city where the downtown once was dominated by the Lucky Lager brewery and now has its share of microbreweries, Vancouver’s transformation has been slow but steady.

Some 15 years ago, a spark of foresight led city leaders to rejuvenate Esther Short Park and turn it into an accessible public gathering space. That was followed by development on all sides of the park, with Heritage Place, the Vancouvercenter, the Hilton Vancouver Washington, Esther Short Commons, and what is now Vancouver City Hall lending modernity to the downtown core. An area that once could be described as dingy now has a vibrancy that has made Vancouver relevant — and such vibrancy is contagious. The extended area has seen the construction of a new library, the growth of a popular farmer’s market, the rejuvenation of Main Street, and the development of a designated arts district — all of which help make Vancouver a 21st century mid-sized city.

The privately funded 101 Building will tap into and contribute to that vibrancy, with Lance Killian, president of Killian Pacific, saying, “We will deliver a project that the community can be proud of.” Killian Pacific, architecture firm Mackenzie, and the downtown branch of Pacific Continental Bank will serve as anchor tenants of the building, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

“To have anything resembling a crane in downtown Vancouver is a fabulous sign,” said Kelly Love, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.

Fabulous, indeed, and it speaks to the kind of future the city wishes to create for itself. With its proximity to the metropolis that is Portland, Vancouver long has found itself in a tenuous position. The city is caught in the dichotomy of being a suburb and a bedroom community and a thriving colony of its own, all at the same time. Those traits are not mutually exclusive, and with a redeveloped downtown and a proposed waterfront development on the site of a former Boise Cascade plant, Vancouver is reaching out to embrace its own identity and forge a crackling exuberance. Developments such the 101 Building, while not being transformational by themselves, are helping to turn the city from “Vantucky” into “the Couv.”

The role that a new office building will play in that might be small. But it is symbolic of big things happening in downtown Vancouver.

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