For Sale: Vancouver’s former Metropolis Corridor, inbuilt 1964, vacated by metropolis staff in September 2011, and now owned by the Vancouver Public Faculties.
The $ 1.85 million itemizing has sparked fast hypothesis about future makes use of of the constructing, in addition to warnings concerning the doable want for costly seismic retrofits. However actual property consultants say the five-story constructing at 210 E. thirteenth St. has some massive benefits in its accessibility – a few block west of the Mill Plain entrance to Interstate 5 – viewpoint and loads of parking.
“It is twice the typical parking fee,” mentioned Charlie Kleier, a Vancouver actual property agent and dealer for the constructing. Initially constructed to accommodate metropolis clients and workers, the outdated city corridor’s basement and first flooring parking heaps have a median of three.45 areas per 1,000 sq. ft, in comparison with the standard workplace constructing customary of 1.5 areas per 1,000 sq. ft, mentioned Kleier, a director of NAI Norris Beggs & Simpson’s Vancouver workplace.
The college district will promote the constructing as surplus property to lift funds for its funding account, mentioned Todd Horenstein, the district’s assistant principal who was a part of the seven-person committee that analyzed the constructing’s use. Town returned the 40,000-square-foot construction to the district when Vancouver’s workers and authorities workplaces moved to a more moderen constructing at 401 W. Sixth St., previously occupied by The Columbian. The district owned the land underneath the outdated city corridor earlier than it was constructed.
The grounds of the outdated city corridor embody a complete metropolis block bounded by East Mill Plain to the north, C Road to the east and Broadway to the west.
“Mainly, we evaluated whether or not it will be useful for an academic program or another objective,” mentioned Horenstein.
Native actual property consultants and homeowners of close by land had hoped the varsity district would convert the vacant constructing into an progressive new college, just like HeLa Excessive Faculty, Evergreen Public Faculties’ $ 23.7 million highschool for well being and life sciences which is to be opened in autumn 2013.
“The group got here to the conclusion that it’s higher fitted to additional workplace use than for varsity use,” mentioned Horenstein.
The information was considerably disappointing to neighboring property homeowners who had been hoping for a pilot college or vocational coaching program to convey tutorial vibrancy and jobs to an space that’s already underneath improvement.
“The constructing is usable and has an excellent variety of parking areas,” mentioned Elie Kassab, a Vancouver-based developer and president of Status Improvement. His firm plans to interrupt floor for a $ 16 million residential undertaking subsequent to the previous city corridor constructing in early 2013.
Others steered that altering the zoning of the constructing from one workplace use to a different may very well be too pricey, requiring vital seismic upgrades.
“The one drawback with the constructing was the parking lids, the covers over the parking heaps,” mentioned Tim Haldeman, Facility Director for the Metropolis of Vancouver, who carried out a seismic evaluation of the constructing shortly earlier than the town staff moved out.
“It is simply costly to repair that a part of it,” he mentioned.
However workplace customers in all probability would not must do the seismic code upgrades, Kleier mentioned.
“In the event that they turned it right into a resort or a church or an residence constructing, there would in all probability be some seismic work occurring,” he mentioned.
Kassab speculated that the older constructing might grow to be an appropriate headquarters for a monetary establishment because it options an underground drive-through window constructed for metropolis transactions.
“This can be a prime location served by public transportation on C Road in addition to Mill Plain,” he mentioned. “And it’s totally near I-5.”
Editor’s observe: The caption for this story has been modified to mirror right title spelling. Jim Dolle from Nelson / Walla / Dolle and Co. in Vancouver designed the constructing.
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