Downtown Suites
Downtown Vancouver Condos

 

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Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

Gastown Lofts

Gastown is the oldest neighbourhood in downtown Vancouver.  The original fledgling city was centred around what is now Gassy Jack Square but burnt down in the Great Fire of 1886.  The Alhambra on Carrall Street is now the oldest building in Vancouver.  The area is host to a wide variety of different stratas of society.  For many years the area fell into decay and became a ghetto for the homeless and many addicts of various substances.  However, with its proximity to the downtown core and its interesting heritage architecture it became a place of choice for many of the City's artistic community and slowly a renaissance began.  Many of the poorer folk are still living here but in much improved housing thanks to the City and several institutions like the Portland Hotel Society and the Downtown East Side Residents Association who have championed their rights.  Most if not all of the seriously bad old rooming houses have been renovated, The Pennsylvania Hotel at Carrall and Hastings is probably the most recent renovation and it looks wonderful, hopefully with more funding more of these old buildings can be restored.

Several pioneers have led the way for the alternative self owned housing that is now flourishing in the neighbourhood.  The first self owned building was Mission House at 150 Alexander, this 1911 structure was refitted in the mid '80's and soon several other developers like Terry Pejan at 27 Alexander (The Alexis) and others at 41 Alexander (The Captain French) and 55 Alexander  gradually started to bulid and renovate.  Some of the other notable loft buildings in the area are 28 Powell, its neighbour The Globe, and Abbott Place at 233 Abbott.   Then about 14 years ago, Brad Holme, an old high school (Magee) friend of Nicholas Meyer, President of Downtown Suites, started to build some loft buildings on Cordova Street, The Van Horne (171 lofts) and Carrall Station (71 lofts), Nicholas assisted with the selling of these suites and still owns several to this day.

Currently, Robert Fung and his Salient Group have been restoring some wonderful architecture on Water Street, namely The Taylor Building across from the Steam clock at 310 Water, The Terminus, The Garage and The Bowman Block and Paris and the Paris Annex close by.

What were once run down old buildings are now very chic and home to fine restaurants, unique pubs i.e. The Irish Heather, boutiques and city residences; some of which are costing well in excess of a million dollars.  Possibly, the most notable contribution is the recent transformation of Woodward's, an old department store bounded by Hastings, Cordova, Abbott and Cambie Streets.  The new version, still has the old original store but there are two towers (42 and 30 stories respectively) which will probably be the catalyst to transform the area forever.  Simon Fraser University (SFU) fine arts and new media department and a new market will be amongst the main tenants.  Also close by with several campuses is the world renowned Vancouver Film School (VFS).

The city streets

 

 

Nicholas Meyer
Call me directly at 604-694-8806
Or by e-mail at: nic@downtownsuites.com

 

Downtown Suites: Selling condos in downtown Vancouver, BC

 


Downtown Suites - Vancouver BC apartments for rent
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Downtown Suites Ltd.
Phone:(604) 694-8806  Fax:(604) 682-5634
Office:Conference Plaza, #247-515 West Pender St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 6H5 Canada
Members of The Better Business Bureau and The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver


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Buildings we work in:

Spectrum One: 111 West Georgia | Spectrum Two: 668 Citadel Parade, Vanouver, BC
Spectrum Three: 131 Regiment Square | Spectrum Four: 602 Citadel Parade, Vancouver, BC
Harbour Green One , Harbour Green Two, Woodward's, The Garage,The Foundry,Pure, The Fairmount
The Alvar, Alda, Aqua, Abbott Place, Admiralty, Avila, Alberni Place, Anchor Point, Aquarius Mews, The Aquarius, 1199 Marinaside Crescent, Alexandra Place,The Alexander, Alexis, Azura 1, Azura 2, Altadena, Bauhinia, The Bidwell, The Bayshore, 1777 Bayshore, 1717 Bayshore, 1710 Bayshore, 1790 Bayshore, 1650 Bayshore, 1616 Bayshore, 1680 Bayshore, Brava, Bowman, Broughton Terrace, Bentley, Captain French, Carina, Callisto, Californian, Capital, Classico, Cooper's Park, Chinatown East, Cristalys, Coopers Landing, Creekside, Cielo, Citycrest, City Gate 1, City Gate 2, Carrall Station, Carylyle, Concorde, The Canadian, Cascina, Century Tower, Crestmark 2 , Crandall, Columbus, Conference Plaza, Coral Garden, Connaught Place, Discovery, Denia, Domus, Donovan, Dockside, Erickson, Emerald West, Eight.one.nine., Escala, Ellington, Espana, Electra, Electric Avenue, Elan, Eden, Europa, The Edge, Fusion, Freesia, Flagship, Fairmont, Firenza, The 501, Grace, Governors Tower, Galileo, Greenshields, Green Tower, Greenwich Place, The George's Place, The Grafton, The George, Genesis, L'Hermitage, H& H, Hudson, Hooper, Harbour Cove, Harbourside Park, King's Landing, Koret Lofts, Iliad, Imperial Tower, The Icon, Jardines Lookout, Jervis Court, Lakeview Court, Lumiere, London Place, Landmark, Landmark 33, L'aria, The Left Bank, The Lions, Liberte, LTD, Madison, The Malkin Building, Marinaside Resort, Mayfair House, Max 1, Max 2, Miro, MoDe, Mondrian, Metroliving, Murchies Building, Mission, Milano, House, Metropolis, The Montreux, The Melville, Nova, New Yorker, One Wall, Orca Place, The Oscar, Palisades, Paramount Place, Parkview Gardens, Pacific Plaza 1, Pacific Plaza 2, Pacific Point, Palais Georgia, Paris Place, The Park, The Pointe, Point Claire, The Pinnacle, Pomaria, Portofino Towers, Precidia, Pure, Quaywest, Robson Palais, Robson Gardens, Robinson Tower, Raffles, Rosedale, R&R, The Sapphire, Shaw Tower, Smart, Space, Shangri La, The Spot, The Savoy, The Skyline, Station Place, Sussex, Terminus, Tribeca Lofts, TV Towers, Van Horne, The Verona, Qube, Residences on Georgia, Spectrum, Shaughnessy Mansions, Seastar, The Sterling, The Taylor, Yaletown Park, Venus, 1010 Howe, Viceroy, Victoria, Vita, Wall Centre, Waterworks, Xtraordinary Lofts, 1000 Beach, Yacht Harbour Point, 888 Beach, West One, The Vine, Woodwards Building