The Barron | 43m | 11s | Strategic Group | Gibbs Gage

UrbanWarrior

UrbanWarrior

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A thread for the residential conversion of the Barron Building....
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And a photo I took a couple hours ago...

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This GGA project has its challenges but the end products once it is pulled off will definitely help liven up that part of the downtown core. Especially being right beside the gorgeous Manulife tower and near EAP. Some fine commercial properties at a stones throw. I'm not sure if there will be a +15, that would be sweet if it is also included.
 
Calgcouver said:
It should be fairly straight forward to continue the pedestrian only zone along Stephen Avenue. With the exception of access for these parkades; 8 Avenue Parkade Access
Not sure how to work around that off the top of my head.
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It can be done - this street view is a street in Brisbane's Chinatown that has a shared street component for access to a parkade but is pedestrianized past the access. The parkade there is 50% bigger than the Holt Renfrew parkade; if everybody came to the Holt Renfrew parkade evenly distributed between say 6:30 and 8:30, that's only two to three cars per minute. And it's the only parking access from Stephen Ave until 6th St.
 
Eighth Avenue Place is a huge street-killer. It looks like it was designed to have at-grade retail. What's up with all the closed doors and tinted windows? I would say the buildings along this stretch need to significantly transform their at-grade frontages before 8th ave is read to be pedestrianized. The Barron Building is a good start. A well-designed residential+retail building at the NE corner of the intersection would be a major tipping point.
 
The sad part is the place where EAP now is used to be s bustling corner with bars snd restos. Beside it was Cowboys which was super busy..... not always the most desirable clientele, but always busy. It would’ve been a great fit for extending the mall back then
Silence&Motion said:
Eighth Avenue Place is a huge street-killer. It looks like it was designed to have at-grade retail. What's up with all the closed doors and tinted windows? I would say the buildings along this stretch need to significantly transform their at-grade frontages before 8th ave is read to be pedestrianized. The Barron Building is a good start. A well-designed residential+retail building at the NE corner of the intersection would be a major tipping point.
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Beltline_B said:
The sad part is the place where EAP now is used to be s bustling corner with bars snd restos. Beside it was Cowboys which was super busy..... not always the most desirable clientele, but always busy. It would’ve been a great fit for extending the mall back then
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Penny Lane! My high school grad party was at Quincy's in this building. I honestly wish the block still looked like this:
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EAP podium now is a steaming pile of shit that absolutely killed any hope for a decent street feel or any sort of life on that block. It is the most sterile podium i have ever seen and can't believe it was built in the era it was.

I mean look at the street activity! What a gem EAP is. Nothing sterile and uninviting about this:
EAP Street Life
 
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From 4 St west, there are only pockets of 8th Ave that have the same vibe as east of 4 St. EAP is one of the least appealing blocks for sure. It would be nice to have a redesigned Olympic Square and the new Century Gardens Park be the bookends for an extended 8th Ave pedestrian experience to rival other major cities.
 
Why stop at Century Gardens? The West Village Towers will provide a great anchor of critical mass on the west side, carry the high street through to the Downtown West End! As well, the Mewata Armoury provides a great terminus view (much better than the Municipal Building in my opinion).
 
It does suck about EAP and their dead podium at street frontage. Partly to blame is the expensive rental costs for the CRU's in the podium as the property is considered AAA and sadly that level of property cannot attract independent ma and pa shops.
Any retail that is currently there are too high end and set in such a way where the 'street' frontage is in the interior of it. They wont lure in anywhere near the traffic levels as a typical business and they also close early too..
Hope there will be some concessions due to the downturn but not holding my breath. The next block over where the Barron is at is the up and comer for activity and there is great potential for that to get even better once the conversion is done and people are living in it.
 
Yeah, it's a shame to have lost that Penny Lane block. It was the most vibrant place downtown that wasn't directly on Stephen Mall. There's a side of ,e that would like to see the office towers fill up to a reasonable vacancy rate that would help get the tax base back on track,( maybe 10%) but high enough to keep any new towers from being built.
 
Surrealplaces said:
Yeah, it's a shame to have lost that Penny Lane block. It was the most vibrant place downtown that wasn't directly on Stephen Mall. There's a side of ,e that would like to see the office towers fill up to a reasonable vacancy rate that would help get the tax base back on track,( maybe 10%) but high enough to keep any new towers from being built.
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I can't argue with that, we have an overabundance of office space in the core relative to residential. By core I mean the commercial core. Having Telus Sky be mixed use and converting the Barron building will help offset that a bit, but it's a long ways away before we see a decent balance of res/office
 
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