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Granville Island, Lessons of successful mixed use – Doing more with lessBack to News
By Keith McCoy
Nov 22, 2010
As part of our research for the Encinal Terminal, an industrial waterfront site we have been working on in Alameda, CA, we recently visited Granville Island in Vancouver, Canada,looking for clues, precedents and inspiration on how to economically create a unique and interesting mixed use environment with limited resources.
Once a bustling industrial manufacturing area, today Granville Island is a 37 acre major tourist shopping, events and entertainment destination. Located on False Creek, a saltwater inlet just across from downtown Vancouver and under the south end of the Granville Street Bridge, Granville Island is also a thriving and working neighborhood with educational uses, businesses, performing arts venues, galleries, community centers, parks, boat marinas, restaurants, a large Public Market, residential uses, a boutique hotel and even a machine shop and concrete plant.
In the 1970’s the Canadian government spearheaded the redevelopment of Granville Island, a decaying and environmentally contaminated site. It is still owned and managed by the government through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Agency. With an original investment of about $19 Million, Granville Island now generates approximately $35 Million per year in taxes. Recently the non-profit organization Project for Public Places named Granville Island “One of the World’s Great Places”.
From a development perspective, one of the most intriguing aspects of Granville Island is that almost all of the buildings are simple, warehouse type structures wrapped in corrugated metal. Reflecting its industrial beginnings, the buildings are big and boxy, with large factory doors and windows. Many are the original structures that have been restored to current standards. Most have been painted bright colors creating a fun and “artsy” aesthetic. Economically, it doesn’t get much cheaper than this to build and maintain these types of buildings.
Remnants of the past include cranes, an old converted train, a dry docked fishing boat, tracks, exposed pipes, a huge propeller and other interesting artifacts which have been left in their original place or artfully located to assist in way finding. There is a certain organic and haphazard placement of buildings and public spaces. Above all, Granville Island does not feel contrived or over-commercialized. It respects its history and retains an authenticity that many hyper planned and themed developments of today can only hope to achieve.
The heart of Granville Island is it’s famous Public Market where local fresh produce, meat, fish, dry goods, prepared foods and restaurants cater to all your senses. The public market is a hub for socializing as much as it is for finding fresh bread or flowers. Accessed in the back and sides by roll up garage doors, the 50 plus permanent vendors are constantly moving goods in and out with little disturbance of “front” operations.
In the Kids zone and market there are over 35+ businesses dedicated kids and their imaginations. There is a playground, waterfront park, water-park, duck pond, walkways, benches and places for children to explore. Adjacent to nearby high density residential, the Kid Zone is easily accessible by foot or bike and separated from the more noisy and industrious uses on Granville Island. Nearby is the False Creek Community Center offering a myriad of classes and programs. It is truly an oasis for the kid, or kid at heart.
Walkways, trails and Pedestrian Oriented Streets connect all the various “zones” within Granville Island. It is easy to move around on foot or bike and the preferred method. There are no curbs or raised sidewalks in Granville Island, just pedestrian oriented narrow streets that slow traffic and feel safe. This “shared space” of cars and people seems to work fine. There is clear signage and small pockets of parking for cars and bikes evenly dispersed rather than grouped in one large parking lot or structure. There may indeed be too little parking! However, we believe this is not a problem when other transportation alternatives such as the much used water ferries and public transit are available.
Granville Island has an amazingly uncommon mix of uses at Granville Island. In addition to the Public Market, there are many artisan workshops, galleries, offices, a real estate model shop (where our East Garrison project model was created!) marine related businesses, outdoor adventure shops to name just some. While there may be some use and noise conflicts, the cement plant operates fine adjacent to the highly acclaimed Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Restaurants, bars, a brew pub, a comedy store and multiple performing arts venues create lively nightlife. A houseboat community and adjacent residential neighborhood help to populate Granville Island, not to mention the nearby high density residential towers across False Creek.
As mentioned, Granville Island was initiated and is still managed by the Canadian government. For many “challenged” sites like this, where private developers either don’t share the vision or the financial capacity to carry it through, it often becomes necessary for the local jurisdiction to take a leading role in the redevelopment process. This takes both political and community support, especially if local tax dollars are utilized. Clearly they got it right at Granville Island. They re-used the best of what was existing, added similar inexpensive structures and fostered a wide variety of uses over time which all work together to become a sort of city within a city.
As we continue to look for ways to build more inexpensively and sustainably, while at the same time creating great authentic mixed use places, we believe that Granville Island provides an excellent living laboratory from which to learn.
