News and Features
Mr. Big: Vancouver's Top City Planner
By Frances Bula published Oct 1, 2009
Brent Toderian has the respect of the world. If only local developers felt the same way
To understand how this city used to work, consider our tallest tower, that triangular shaft of light with the shimmering opalescent dots: the Shangri-La. When developer Ian Gillespie decided six years ago to add 646 feet of condos and luxury hotel atop that prominent Georgia Street site, he knew he’d need to go to the city’s central-area planning director with some rich plums. Bribes, you might call them, though “gifts” is a nicer word. They weren’t personal bribes for the planner in control, Larry Beasley. They were bribes for us, the residents and taxpayers. Gillespie offered to restore the heritage church next door, plant 57,000 trees to offset the building’s environmental impact, give $2.3 million to the city’s social-housing fund, provide space for a Vancouver Art Gallery sculpture garden, and come up with a distinctive design for the building, something Beasley would consider a worthy addition to the skyline.
There are people in this town who think Beasley was a genius for working out deals like that, which he did dozens of times in the decade before he stepped down, in 2006. He traded what developers most want—more space, especially high up, where it sells for bigger dollars—to get what he thought a good city should have but couldn’t pay for itself. But there are others who feel he bent the rules too far, cut special deals with developers, allowed too many condos in places that should have been preserved for businesses, ignored everything outside the downtown, and ran the whole show from his office.
The latter group was hopeful when Beasley left City Hall to become a private consultant. Then they worried that his successor, a 40-year-old planner from Calgary, would be just another Beasley. After all, Beasley had practically anointed Brent Toderian—an ambitious young man with a mania for talking about “good urbanism”—as his successor. As it turns out, they didn’t have to worry about that at all.
To understand how this city works now, consider the chunk of land just east of the new Marine Way station on the Canada Line. One of the city’s most experienced builders, the no-nonsense Andrew Grant of PCI, wanted to try something different on that patch of Southwest Marine. Two-and-a-half years ago, shortly after Toderian ascended to the throne of planning director, Grant pitched a complex of office space, stores, a Cineplex, and two residential towers. It seemed an ideal project for land next to a SkyTrain station, providing density, shoppers, and jobs right next to transit. But it’s industrial land, which the region is desperately trying to preserve and which developers love, because it’s so cheap that, if they can get it rezoned residential, they’ve saved themselves millions.
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But city planners, downtown business groups and commercial brokers worry ... Their big fear: that condos will end up crowding out work space, ... This is the most sought-after building in the city," says Mr. Gillespie, ... And even Vancouver's top office developer thinks mixed buildings have a place in his city. ... Vancouver City Council flashes the green light to Wal-Mart ... Chambers on behalf of Better Environmentally Sound Transportation [BEST]. ... Gordon Harris, an urban planning consultant, told Council a big box retail ... The area, says [company president] Mr Schoewe, with obvious pride, 'shows you what can happen. ... business 18 Feb 2010 ... As I've run around doing some news coverage of protests and news conferences and urban-planning issues, .... “The best part for me was the medal ceremonies,” said Bill ... Mr. Parman, who is living in a residence run by the Portland ... Big feature today in the Globe by Lisa Rochon on Surrey and its ... John brings an insight of urban planning and development, ... Look for the big red flag. For more info and details on Lorraine's tours check out ... My blog about things that float to the top of my desk ... This was Mr. Woods 161st bridge dive, afterwards he went back to his room at the Hotel Devonshire. ... management 21 Jan 2010 ... mr.x mr.x is online now. with glowing hearts ... As a host city, Vancouver has become a massive urban laboratory, with so many opportunities ... a few examples of big experiments and learnings come to mind. .... And I'd especially like to thank the people who made this the best celebration the City, ... Environment · Health · Housing · London 2012 · Planning ... Boris Johnson heard Mr Robertson's ideas for reducing road traffic by 30 per cent in ... 'This is just a start of the friendship between London and Vancouver. ... 'It was great to sit down and talk with Mayor Johnson, another big-city Mayor who has taken ... publications To understand how this city used to work, consider our tallest tower, that triangular shaft of light with the shimmering opalescent dots: the Shangri-La. 22 Oct 2009 ... The City of Vancouver has commissioned four urban planning and ... Mr. Shen manages the BRA's planning division that include the basic ... Mr. Shen is a graduate of Swarthmore College and has a Master of Architecture from MIT. [top] ... which builds on the 'Big Dig' and the Rose Kennedy Greenway. ... 17 Apr 2009 ... City planner Brent Toderian said the Go Design entry impressed the jury because ... If you can think big," she adds, "it's far easier to scale it back and ... City's best estimate of current total population is 600000. ... "FormShift has seen the future" and on that Mr. Campbell you are dead wrong. ... 824255377
It's good to see the boot is on the other foot and the planners have all the power now! I hope this idea spreads to other cities, where I live is terrible for demolishing historic buildings with real character in favor of modern designs.
JoBeth
Cold Sore Treatment
"Good planning is not a popularity contest. Being liked is not my priority" he says. Of course being liked should not be his priority, he is not in a bikini contest or something like that. Good article!
Shangri_la also has a big name here. It is one of the most luxurious choices we have. I have never spent any night there before, but I guess it should be so great..! Barcelona Tickets
A user writes:
A well done, balanced biograph—though it's worth remembering that Calgary has pinched over 25 significant Vancouver head offices in recent years.
I've felt for years that the endless condo developments in the West End, Downtown and adjacent neighbourhoods would crowd out new commercial and industrial projects, and one day see Van condo owners trekking out to Abbotsford to find work
As for the Shangri-la, people who live or work there must have a seismic death wish.
Mr. Toderian was not the cautious, watch your ass type, in 2007. He calmed Main St. traffic by eliminating lanes and managed to grid lock 100+ square blocks for months. I suggested to his do-nothingness, Mayor Sullivan, at the time that Brent was a cat which needed belling. But he was too busy dithering over the Parks Board insurrection.
His problem is that he's a rube, a certificated hick who has his binoculars turned around backwards. Like all control freaks, particularly Gen X & Y types, he's a command and control type who couldn't sell a cold beer to Lawrence of Arabia.
But these modern missed opportunities, and might have beens, pale beside the ghastly interference with Edgar Kaiser's plan to build a COMPLETE, state-of-the-art steel complex in the lower mainland. All 53 B C Steelworkers demanded a meeting with Mr. Kaiser in 1980, got it, and laid down the law to him.
He got back on the plane to California, and built the complex at Fontana CA
John Connolly
" . . . quite the hot young planning couple in the city . . ." oh for heaven's sake they are not Brad and Angelina!
If we can get beyond pandering . . .
. . . we may conclude the real purpose of the city: the creation of wealth and opportunity for all citizens to live in reasonable, affordable comfort and security free from debilitating noise, stink and ugliness . . .
Despite the super hyped hyperbole, a decade of "high-profile planning directors", their civic employees, solicitous design professionals and developers, anyone who has a scintilla of sensitivity knows the built city is an embarrassment and if we cannot be introspective about what is happening expect more of the same . . .
