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Canada-U.A.E. relations thawing
Seattle: Theres a glimmer of hope
that Canada will resume open-skies
negotiations with the United Arab
Emirates (U.A.E.).
Emirates Airline Canadian
manager Don McWilliam said Thurs-
day that he had a short conversa-
tion with John Baird Wednesday in
Toronto after the foreign minister was
the featured speaker at a Canadian
Club lunch. He had indicated his
counterpart in the U.A.E. and him are
now talking, McWilliam said. There is
a good dialogue and discussion, which
there wasnt before, so were quite
encouraged.
Bilateral talks to expand Emir-
ates thrice-weekly Toronto-to-Dubai
service and launch a Vancouver-to-
Dubai route crashed in 2010 after
opposition from Air Canada. . The
breakdown disappointed Vancouver
International Airport Authority
and the British Columbia govern-
ment officials after wining and dining
Emirates executives at the 2010 Winter
Olympic Games.
In the meantime, Emirates is
launching a daily non-stop Seattle-to-
Dubai flight on March 1.
Nigel Page, Emirates senior
vice-president of commercial oper-
ations for the Americas, said the
Seattle service will appeal to British
Columbians seeking passage to India
because Emirates flies from Dubai to
10 destinations on the subcontinent.
Meanwhile, Emirates and Seattle-
based Alaska Airlines forged a
frequent flyer partnership Thursday,
announcing a reciprocal March-
through-May double miles launch
promotion.
Friday, January 20
Methanex to restart one
plant, relocate another
Vancouver-based Methanex Corp.
(TSX:MX) plans to restart a mothballed
methanol plant at its Motunui site in
New Zealand.
Methanex has signed a 10-year
agreement with New Zealands Todd
Energy to supply natural gas to the
Motunui site. The company also plans
to move one of its idle methanol
plants in Chile to Geismar, Louisiana,
and is to be in operation by mid-2014.
Wednesday, January 18
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Capitalizing on industrial heritage
Cressey, Aquilini Investment Group, Bastion Development and Vancouver working together
to ensure that False Creek housing projects retain links to the citys rich manufacturing past
By Glen Korstrom
C
ondominium developers in
one of Vancouvers fastest
growing neighbourhoods are tak-
ing innovative steps to preserve
heritage and capitalize on False
Creeks industrial charm.
City staff are considering al-
lowing Cressey to offer a private
business below-market rent and
have that cost be considered a
community amenity contribution
(CAC). Te concession would be a
frst for Vancouver.
Were in early days in those
discussions, but its certainly what
I consider an intriguing idea, City
of Vancouver director of planning
Brent Toderian told Business in
Vancouver.
Cressey plans to build an s8,
million, ::-storey condominium
tower called Meccanica in south-
east False Creek.
Te project is named afer car
manufacturer Intermeccanica,
which since :8: has built replicas
of :,os-era Porsches at a shop
on East First Avenue near Quebec
Street.
Allowing Intermeccanica to
lease space in the fnished condo-
minium tower, which is likely to be
completed by late :o:,, would be a
way to incorporate the old with the
new, said Cressey vice-president of
development Hani Lammam.
Intermeccanica owner Henry
Reisner said the opportunity to
stay on East First Avenue was be-
yond his wildest dreams. He was
excited that Cressey wanted to pay
homage to the company that his
father started in Italy in :,.
In addition, colours in the Mec-
canicas :o homes will resemble
those that Porsche used on some
models in the :,os.
Cressey also plans to incor-
porate car-themed accents such as
leather handle-bar grips on kitch-
en sink faucets into each Meccan-
ica suite.
The way we differentiate the
project is how much weve grabbed
on to the history of the site, Lam-
mam said.
Contributions to private busi-
nesses are rarely considered a
public benefit. But Toderian said
exceptions can be made, particu-
larly given the extraordinary ef-
fort the city has made to retain
elements of heritage in the rapidly
emerging southeast False Creek
neighbourhood.
Cressey has been part of that ef-
fort before. It named its s8, million,
:,,-home James project at :88 West
First Avenue afer James Doherty,
who, in the mid-:oth century,
owned ship deck equipment maker
Progressive Engineering Works
on the current James project site.
The biggest i nitial nod to
preserving heritage came in :oo
when the city spent s:o million to
renovate the Salt Building on the
site of what is now the Olympic
Village. In the early :oos, workers
refned raw salt in that iconic red
structure.
Heritage starts with the Salt
Building, Toderian said, but you
can see smaller details where we
have preserved heritage.
Seats near the villages plaza are
made to resemble stacks of wood or
metal dock ties. Railings similarly
incorporate a nautical theme.
But Toderian believes the most
significant heritage-restoration
project involves the historic red
Opsal Steel building at the corner
of East Second Avenue and Que-
bec Street.
The city granted Bastion De-
velopment Corp. bonus density for
a :-storey tower if the company
spent millions of dollars to restore
the -year-old Opsal building.
Workers painstakingly dis-
mantled that building, numbering
pieces of wood so they could re-
build it at a slightly diferent loca-
tion on the site.
Bastion also transferred density
from the old wood structure so that
its planned glass tower could be
the neighbourhoods tallest build-
ing, said Daren Akinci, Bastions
development and marketing co-
ordinator.
We labelled each joint. So each
joint will be put back where it was
previously was, he said. Its pretty
hard to restore a building without
doing that when youre going to put
up a :-storey tower next to it.
Aquilini Investment Group co-
owner Francesco Aquilini has also
been a keen advocate of preserving
heritage. He told Business in Van-
couver that preserving the May-
nards Auctioneers building at the
corner of West Second Avenue and
Wylie Street is a core part of his
three-building, :,,-home May-
nards Block development.
Aquilini believes the site would
be perfect for a grocery store, but he
has yet to lease it.
gkorstrom@biv.com
The way we differentiate
the project is how much
weve grabbed on to the
history of the site
Hani Lammam,
vice-president of development,
Cressey
The biggest initial nod to
preserving heritage came in
2009 when the city spent $10
million to renovate the Salt
Building on the site of what
is now the Olympic Village
Intermeccanica owner Henry Reisner said hes honoured that Cressey plans to name its condo development after
Intermeccanica, the family business his father started in Italy in 1954 and since 1982 has built replicas of 1950s-era
Porsches at a shop on East First Avenue near Quebec Street
January 2430, 2012 Business in Vancouver
3 NEWS