VANCOUVER -- Concord Pacific has shared images showing initial plans for a massive development on the site of the old Molson Brewery in Vancouver.
The site, next to the Burrard Bridge and Granville Island, was sold in 2016. Concord Pacific wants to create a development it’s calling Quantum Park, which would include a mix of retail, office and residential space.
Concord’s senior vice-president of development, Peter Webb, said the idea is to create a “campus-style, mixed-use development.”
“People can live and work on the same property and ultimately reduce their carbon footprint,” said Webb.
The artist renderings show large glass buildings with sections of greenery and also an open air, indoor atrium- a dramatic shift from the current building.
“The existing building has been there for decades and never really had more than 250 employees on site,” Webb said. “By replacing a couple hundred thousand feet of commercial space you could really put 1-2,000 people on site in open office space.”
But the development is still a number of years off. The site is zoned as industrial and the plan needs a number of approval applications before moving forward.
Webb said the company is working closely with the City of Vancouver to change the zoning, but at least two studies need to be completed first: the Broadway Corridor study and another called the “Employment Lands and Economy Review,” looking at how employment opportunities are impacted by zoning.
Once those are complete, Webb hopes the rezoning and permitting process happens in “under five years.”
Concord always had plans to turn the site into a mixed-use high tech hub. Webb said the name “Quantum Park” is a reference to the study of quantum mechanics.
“We want the project to be a tribute to theoretical physics and all the scientists who have, and are, advancing the field. Part of our future vision is to encourage Vancouver to be a hub for leading physicists to meet and exchange ideas. We also believe in encouraging young scientists to be involved in physics.”
