Features
A City, A Hole, A Dream; Woodwards
At this point, who hasn't seen the pit on West Hastings? It stretches endlessly. Anyone who beholds it reels in vertigo. Well, once upon a time, a building stood there, and before long, a new building will stand there.
Late last year, I heard whispers that a massive undertaking was in progress. Then it occurred to me that I knew nothing about it. I'd vaguely recalled reading something about the Woodward's redevelopment, but couldn't find the source. I was panged with guilt: there I was, a citizen of Vancouver, and I knew jack about the single largest construction site in the history of the city.
As I sought knowledge, I discovered that virtually no one I knew had anything concrete to say about Woodward's. None of us could find a decent article outlining the who, what, when, where, and how. So I decided to write one myself. The goal was simple, at least at first: read the schematics, meet some of the players, and gather their voices under one roof, whether they agreed with each other or not. My aim was to present a manual for understanding the rudiments of this historic project.
Here is the result.
The History
How did the redevelopment come about?
Charles Woodward established his department store on Hastings and Abbott in 1903. Over the ninety years in that location, his building underwent twelve major renovations, eventually occupying an entire block at nearly 600,000 square feet.
Woodward's was the heart of retail in the Downtown Eastside, offering affordable departments that spanned the needs of the community. From clothing to groceries, Woodward's provided an unparalleled source for one-stop shopping.
As the store flourished, so did business on the Downtown Eastside. Woodward's attracted outsiders, particularly on its popular "$1.49 Tuesdays." Businesses began opening in the area to access this traffic.
For many citizens of the Downtown Eastside, Woodward's was more than a department store, it was their livelihood. Woodward's employed thousands in the area. The iconic neon "W" sign, standing atop a seventy-five foot imitation of the Eiffel Tower, was a beacon of prosperity.
In 1993, when Woodward's closed its doors, the beacon went out. By this time, the store had been floundering for years. The retail climate of the 1980s had gradually eroded its stature, forcing it into bankruptcy. At the time of the closure, 7,000 people were employed by Woodward's. Nearby shops began to fold. The community lost its array of affordable goods, and Woodward's stood derelict.
Plans for how to use the space weren't forthcoming. As Gregory Henriquez, chief architect of the redevelopment, explains, "The Liberal [provincial government] didn't really know how to solve the problem. Free enterprise wasn't banging down their door to buy the property off them, and so they were struggling with what to do."
For the rest of the 1990s, Woodward's was subject to a number of unrealised redevelopment schemes. Fama Holdings, a local developer, possessed the site, but they failed to initiate a viable plan. In 2001, the provincial government purchased the site from Fama for $22 million, but were then unable to find partnership for their proposal.
In September of 2002, Fed up with this turmoil many homeless members of the community united with local social organizations to occupy the space, a protest known as the Woodward's Squat1. The squat lasted until December, when the City funded alternative housing for the protesters. Some claim police forced the squatters to vacate, but Mark Townsend, a community worker with the Portland Hotel Society (PHS), states, "They actually voted to withdraw from the squat, because they thought it was a reasonable eal."
In the wake of the protest, the City of Vancouver resolved that it was in the best position to administer the future of the Woodward's site. Jim Green, then a member of city council, negotiated a deal with the province, stating that council would support the 2010 Olympic bid in exchange for the right to purchase Woodward's. In March of 2003, for the low price of $5 million, Vancouver owned Woodward's and the province had their Olympic Games.
The City then opened up a design competition for those interested in developing the site. Various schemes were put forth, including proposals to turn the site into a simple, empty plaza, in an attempt to transfer human density to other parts of the city.
Gregory Henriquez, head of the Henriquez Partners architectural firm2, assembled a team to enter the contest. Having designed social housing projects on the Downtown Eastside before, with Bruce Erikson Place and the Lore Krill Housing Co-op, Henriquez believed his firm was the best fit for the nuanced challenge of the Woodward's site.
"Our team had this exuberant optimism, that somehow we could do a lot more than simply transfer density up to a different part of town."
The PHS worked with Henriquez to determine the best design. As Townsend states, "Our view was that it was good for us to be involved, to make sure that there was something for the community. We wanted to make sure that the non-market housing was really for people in the Downtown Eastside."
In September of 2005, the City selected the Henriquez proposal3, setting in motion the first plan for the Woodward's site since its closure. Two years later, in a massive demolition, all but a fraction of the original Woodward's building was torn down, leaving a pit that spans the 100 block of Hastings.
Construction has begun, and in December of 2009, the Woodward's redevelopment will open for occupancy, as Henriquez declares, "Come hell or high water."
The Redevelopment
What will Woodward's look like?
The Woodward's redevelopment is a radical experiment in urban design. "I think people are going to be surprised about how much stuff is going on in that site and how intense it's going to be," says Gregory Henriquez.
Due to the contentious nature of the Woodward's site, any proposed development had to accomodate the varied needs of the community. Many initial tenets of the redevelopment were laid down in the Woodward's Guiding Principles4, written by the City.
The project team took further efforts to ensure their proposal accounted for the desires of the Downtown Eastside. "There was a ton of community meetings," says Mark Townsend, "and about 800 surveys from residents of the Downtown Eastside that the Woodward's Squat group did themselves."
Rather than a simple condominium complex, the redevelopment will integrate an array of programs. "The amount of program that we've put on that site is unparalleled in Vancouver or anywhere in Canada," says Henriquez. "It's closer to Tokyo in the density." This mixed-use design is intended to replace the diversity once offered by the Woodward's department store.
What distinguishes the housing element of Woodward's from other developments is its mixed income community. This project aims to have low and high income residents co-existing. In total, Woodward's will have 500 condominiums intermixed with 200 units of social housing. The PHS is responsible for 125 of these units. "For me, it's a microcosm of a little ideal world where we can all live together," says Henriquez.
The Woodward's redevelopment will consist of four buildings. The tallest on the site will be a 400-foot high-rise on West Cordova. This building will house the bulk of the condominiums, as well as retail space and four floors of handicap-accessible housing. It is interesting to note that Woodward's has no penthouse, a feature designed to dispel hierarchy.
When put on the market last April, the condominiums sold out within two days, amounting to more than $200 million in sales. The marketers5 interviewed every potential buyer in an attempt to eliminate investors, but it can still be expected that 30% of the condominiums went to them.
The second building, located on Abbott Street, is the only building to house both condominiums and low-income units. The condominiums occupy the top portion of the building. Beneath them are 75 social housing units, administered by Affordable Housing, which will be for low-income families. The remainder of the space goes to offices and retail.
On the corner of West Hastings and Abbott sits the only original building remaining after the demolition. This is the first, 1903 Woodward's building. Once redeveloped, it will consist of retail space, non-profit city offices, and a child development centre. Situated on top of the children's centre will be the iconic "W" sign, though not the original, which was deemed a hazard to re-erect.
The best example of the mixed-use philosophy of Woodward's is the building on West Hastings. The 125 low-income housing units administered by the PHS will be here. These units are designed to replace single-room occupancy units lost due to the closure of nearby low-income hotels. "We're keeping [rent] at the welfare rate, so it doesn't come out of people's pockets," says Townsend. "The welfare rate is actually $375, but when we did the budget [for Woodward's] the rent was $325."
Directly beneath these units, in the same Hastings building, will be the new SFU School for the Contemporary Arts. The PHS was keen on the idea of having the school move in beneath them. "From our perspective, we wanted a university, because otherwise that space would be condos," says Townsend. "We thought that a university will neutralise gentrification. Students are sort of here today, gone tomorrow, and they tend to be more tolerant."
Finally, the retail component of the Hastings building will be a grocery store and drugstore. The PHS, as well as the survey conducted by the Woodward's Squat group, called for these essential retail outlets to ensure that the building remained relevant to the Downtown Eastside. It is also possible that the Toronto Dominion Bank will open in Woodward's. This would be the first bank to open in the Downtown Eastside in forty years. These outlets are, as Henriquez states, "things that make a neighbourhood
When designing the redevelopment, Henriquez took pains to guarantee that Woodward's will be open and inclusive. "It's going to be more like a train station," he explains. "There's a real public realm that everyone shares. I think that's part of the message we're sending."
An interior atrium that connects the four buildings of the site will be open to the public, as well as parks and plazas. The atrium will have an umbilical-cord shaped staircase coming out of a pool of water, "signalling rebirth metaphorically."
Community groups and galleries will set up in Woodward's to further the cause of inclusion. AIDS Vancouver6 and Video-In Studios7 are among the many groups that will call Woodward's home.
The project team strove to incorporate the heritage of the original Woodward's site. Pieces of the demolished buildings were saved to make sure that the redevelopment retained a historical spirit.
All four of the buildings incorporate green aspects. Up the sides of the high-rise will be columns of ivy, already being grown in Richmond. Deciduous trees will grace the roofs of the site, as well as corners of various floors of the high-rise, meaning that Woodward's will be seasonal: its trees will bloom in the spring and lose leaves in the fall.
Overall, the Woodward's design is intended to operate within the language of the community and honour its history. As Henriquez states, the building must be, "something so we can all stand back and think that this is about our lives and about our humanity, and not just housing people like we're a bunch of animals."
The Hopes
What may be the positive consequences of Woodward's?
The Woodward's redevelopment has been exhaustively planned. The dynamic between the mixed elements on the site has been managed obsessively. Everyone involved believes they have done the best possible job. On the subject of how their efforts will turn out, Gregory Henriquez says, "You just have to have faith that somehow it'll work."
The consequence of Woodward's will partly be up to its residents, particularly in their treatment of the public space. "The extent to which the public realm is programmed will really dictate its success," explains Henriquez. "The more meaningful the program is that draws people in, whether it be events, exhibits or celebrations, the more exciting it will be for the community." This planning, he states, "has to be done by a community group."
The PHS will be on the site to ensure the public space is relevant to the community. "We're there to be a thorn in their side," says Mark Townsend. "We're going to be demanding that, expecting that."
"The residents are part of an experiment that has a real statement about humanity being capable of embracing each other," says Henriquez. "They should let the quirky dimension of real people's lives inhabit the space. If that can happen, it won't be a shopping mall, it will be a real part of the city. That's my dream."
The team also hopes for positive repercussions in the community at large. Above all, they hope that the ideologies present in Woodward's will become standard for developers: "Imagine if in every project that was built, 20% had to be [social] housing, and 80% could be market housing," says Henriquez. Mark Townsend adds, "There's 20,000 square feet of community space in Woodward's. I hope that will get repeated in all developments that take place."
The City has a major role in how this hope develops. Gregory Henriquez believes the key to encouraging social housing units in future developments will be in legislation. If the City were to make it cheaper to develop in exchange for the promise of social housing, then developers would have incentive
"Because of the greed involved in the private sector, they'll do it if it benefits them, so why not let it benefit them?"
Any call for legislation must come from the citizens of Vancouver, claims Townsend: "There will have to be political will in the people, to say, 'This is a community of low-income people. They're not animals, and we don't need to chase them out. We need to protect them.' That's what we're going to struggle to achieve."
The Worries
What may be the negative consequences of Woodward's?
Though the hopes for Woodward's are high, the redevelopment remains controversial. The location and size of the site postures it as a development that will dictate the face of the neighbourhood. Some believe it already has.
David Eby is a lawyer with PIVOT Legal8, an advocacy group for citizens of the Downtown Eastside. He explains, "the Woodward's development has led to an effect all around it, where buildings are being torn down or converted to other uses in preparation for the influx of students and wealthier people. This is what we've been calling the Woodward's Effect."
Mark Townsend of the PHS objects to this analysis: "It's na"ive to think Woodward's has caused this. Woodward's wasn't the catalyst. It's sort of an illusion. No buildings across from Woodward's have been developed because of it."
The cause of closures in the area, he believes, "simply has to do with the whole city being developed, and now there's only one bit of land left."
Some worry that the success of Woodward's gave developers an unhealthy boost in confidence. David Eby says, "When Woodward's sold out in two days, it was a very strong signal to developers that people were willing to buy in the Downtown Eastside. It's caused a great amount of speculation in real estate. That's a very real concern for us."
"Woodward's gave a feeling of confidence to speculators," says Mark Townsend, but he believes that "speculation was already happening in the Downtown Eastside. Woodward's didn't create the appetite; it existed."
The pertinent worry, Townsend believes, is not whether speculation will occur on the Downtown Eastside. As he claims, speculation already "made Woodward's happen, and it's going to make other [developments] happen." The issue is whether these developments make the effort Woodward's did to embrace the community.
David Eby says, "PIVOT is very much in favour of the model of the Woodward's development, but the problem is that it's a one-off project. There are no other projects like it in the area."
As speculation progresses into construction, will projects adopt the Woodward's ideology? Much optimism fades under this question. Mark Townsend says, "I fear that it'll be, 'Let's just build condos and fill our boots with cash.'"
David Eby agrees: "[Future developments are] going to lead to a lot more private security and a lot more poor people being displaced. Because Woodward's is a one-off, there's no replacement housing being built against this cascading effect in the neighbourhood."
Gregory Henriquez is the lone voice of optimism for the future of development: "Vancouver is a city that was enlightened enough to do Woodward's," he says, "so why can't they be enlightened enough to deal with [future developments]?"
Ultimately, Woodward's is merely the largest of these sites on the Downtown Eastside. Future buildings are already in progress, and more proposals come forward every day. All agree that the fate of development rests in the hands of concerned citizens. Mark Townsend states, "Development is a factor that can be controlled, and it can be controlled by planning."
As the neighbourhoods of Vancouver endure countless revisions in anticipation of the Olympics, it is increasingly important to hold Henriquez's mantra firmly in mind: "Architecture must be the poetic expression of social justice."
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