COLLINGWOOD TOWER SITE OPPORTUNITIES
.png)
Client: Urban Land Institute BC | Brightside Community Homes | 2017
The Housing Foundation of BC (now BrightsideCommunity Homes) was host to a ULI BCTechnical Assistance Panel (TAP) focused on a property called Collingwood Tower. This 40-year-old 10-storey high rise contains 66 studios and 12 one-bedroom units ranging in size from 350 to 500 square feet and is located in Vancouver, BC. The building footprint covers forty percent of the site, with a surface-level parking lot for tenants. With the building aging and the site seemingly underutilized, Brightside was interested in understanding the development/redevelopment potential that could add to the net number of units to further serve their mandate of increasing affordable housing in Vancouver.
ULI BC retained Uplift Co. to plan and execute the event as well as deliver a final report. Our work included meeting with Brightside to understand their project challenge, developing a challenge statement and five key questions, advising on the creation of a Project Briefing Book, and identifying and inviting stakeholders for participation. We worked with the ULI BC TAP Committee to solicit professional volunteers for the event; in this case, six professionals formed the Bringing expertise in Architecture, Urban Planning, Real Estate Strategy and development, and Non-profit Housing Development.
Our team coordinated the logistics of introductory presentations, a site tour, and a group dinner. Following this, we managed a one-day charette with the TAP volunteers, developed a presentation of their recommendations (on the fly), and completed the writing and production of the final report. The work of this TAP provided Brightside with highly informative considerations and recommendations on how they could move forward with the potential redevelopment of their housing site.