Cain: Vancouver’s waterfront project will invigorate city

By BARRY CAIN

Published: January 21, 2016, 5:00am

2 Photos

A mural depicting future development of Vancouver's waterfront offers a small glimpses of the future of the former industrial site. More than $100 million in public and private money has been invested in the site, and $150 million will be spent this year on buildings that will begin to create a new mixed-use community for the city. (Natalie Behring/The Columbian) Photo Gallery

The year 2016 is shaping up to be a landmark year for downtown Vancouver and the waterfront. Some people may know my company as historically a retail developer, and in many ways we have approached the design of the waterfront as a retail project. But the scale of the new waterfront project makes it the grandest vision we have had to date.

More than $100 million of private and public money has already been invested in the waterfront. This summer will see the start of $150 million worth of buildings.

This grand vision is shared among the city and the community. About seven years ago, that vision was revealed in the Master Plan, exemplifying how we can extend the Vancouver urban core, bringing it back to its riverfront. We use words such as “renaissance,” “reconnect,” and “re-invest.” Mainly, we are re-imagining how our region will again be vital.

And it’s not just about shops, restaurants, office space, rents, retail purchases and housing. Our larger plan encompasses using environmental strategies to transform a former industrial site into a public amenity. Our vision also includes a go-to place that will integrate with and extend the transit system, while achieving landmark stature, recognizable from the air, the Interstate 5 and I-205 corridors, rail and water.

In March, the city will put the $25 million Waterfront Park out to bid. By May, it should be fully under construction. By the end of summer 2017, it will be open to the public.

Around that same time, we will be starting two restaurant buildings that will house up to six restaurants. We’ve signed a lease for 8,500 square feet with our first restaurant, Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar. The restaurants will open in the summer of 2017.

Construction will also start on two residential buildings, one that will have 163 market-rate apartments, and one that will have 50 larger, higher-end condominiums. We also will be starting a 60,000-square-feet Class A office building. As previously announced, we have an agreement with the venerable M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, which will occupy the top two floors of that first office building.

I can tell you that I, my partners, and the city have never wavered from the vision that this will be a world-class waterfront for the city of Vancouver.

To meet that vision, designing Waterfront Park is PWL of Vancouver, B.C. They are one of the most respected and well-known park designers in the country, and understand the Northwest spirit, its people and how to design urban parks which uniquely fit specific environments.

We’re also bringing Larry Kirkland, one of the most pre-eminent public art artists in the world, into the fold. Kirkland has designed an amazing cable-stay pier that will be the centerpiece of the park, accompanied by a spectacular water feature.

The water feature will be located just to the east of the cable-stay pier. Spanning almost 200 feet, it will represent the Columbia River Basin that draws north into Canada, west to Yellowstone Park and south to the Oregon-California border. Numerous smaller tributaries run into the Columbia, and thousands of young families will come here to learn of the Columbia through representation, interaction and sight.

We have designed the waterfront for the families who will visit it; we know they will love it.

2016 Economic Forecast

Find more information from the speakers at the annual event, along with videos of the keynote speakers and each of the breakout sessions at www.columbian.com/economicforecast. (Videos will be available Friday morning)

The Columbia River is our anchor. It’s unarguably the most significant natural resource in the Vancouver-Portland area. Our sub-anchors are the spectacular features in the park, the cable-stay pier and the water feature. Other anchors are the two buildings situated right next to these two features that will house the six restaurants.

The old perception of downtown Vancouver will give way to a new reality — one where opportunities are golden and unbounded.

Barry Cain is president of Gramor Development in Tualatin, Ore.

2016 Economic Forecast

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