Although the companies are better known for telecommunications and construction, respectively, Telus and Ledcor Group are teaming up on a development project in Vancouver, according to a rezoning application published by the City on February 5.
The project is being advanced through each company's real estate development arm, Telus Living and Ledcor Properties Investments, and is set for 354-380 East 10th Avenue, immediately south of Kingsgate Mall out block away from the prominent intersection of Kingsway and East Broadway.
The subject site is currently occupied by a three-storey bunker-type building at 380 E 10th Avenue that's being used as a Telus Central Office telephone exchange and a low-rise commercial and residential building at 354 E 10th Avenue that was originally constructed in 1989.
BC Assessment data is currently unavailable for 380 E 10th Avenue, but 354 E 10th Avenue is valued at $5,354,900 and the property is held under T Living Trinity Property Inc.
The 354-380 W 10th Avenue site in East Vancouver. / Arcadis, Ledcor Group, Telus Living
For the site, Telus and Ledcor have proposed a 25-storey mixed-use tower with 230 rental units and a new standalone telecommunications facility, with a maximum height of 258 ft and a floor space ratio of 8.61.
The 230 rental units would have a suite mix of 34 studio units, 104 one-bedroom units, 69 two-bedroom units, and 23 three-bedroom units. As required under the Broadway Plan, 20% of the residential floor area is required to be provided as below-market rental. In this particular case, the developers have proposed 47 below-market units, which represents 20.4% of the units.
The developers' proposal includes 5,444 sq. ft of indoor amenity space and 5,096 sq. ft of outdoor amenity space. In terms of parking, the proposal includes 120 vehicle parking stalls and 495 bicycle parking spaces across a four-level underground parkade.
As part of the mixed-use building, approximately 13,500 sq. ft of office space will be housed on the second floor of the building, with an additional 5,500 sq. ft of retail space on the ground floor, fronting E 10th Avenue.
The proposal for 354-380 East 10th Avenue in Vancouver. / Arcadis, Ledcor Group, Telus Living
The proposal for 354-380 East 10th Avenue in Vancouver. / Arcadis, Ledcor Group, Telus Living
According to the rezoning application, the project would unfold in two phases. The first phase would be focused on 354 E 10th Avenue and see the construction of the new Telus facility, while the second phase would then see the construction of the 25-storey tower on the site of the existing Telus facility at the corner of E 10th Avenue and Prince Edward Street,
"A new facility with a significantly reduced footprint will be constructed on the neighbouring lot, providing a right-sized and disaster-proof facility for upgraded fibre optic network equipment, and freeing up the more prominent corner of the assembly at East 10th Avenue and Prince Edward Street for development," the applicants note.
Notably, the two buildings will have synergy when it comes to heat waste recovery. A waste heat exchanger in the new Telus facility will capture the waste heat from the servers and channel it into the residential building as a source of space heating and water heating, according to the rezoning application.
Arcadis is serving as the architect of the project, and the tower is expected to feature a "grid system" that "frames and compartmentalizes different sections of the building," enhances the architectural composition, and introduces a rhythm to the façade expression, the architects said.
The City of Vancouver has scheduled the Q&A period for Telus and Ledcor's rezoning application for Wednesday, April 30 to Tuesday, May 13. The collaboration is not the first between the two companies, who are also currently working on a telephone exchange redevelopment in Victoria.
