MichaelS

MichaelS

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The DP to convert/expand the existing EQ Bank office tower in the NW corner of 12th Ave and 8th Street SW into residential has been posted. This is not only a conversion of the existing 9 storey office building, but then adding on another 13 stories.

This is the building in question:
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Here is what it is proposed to look like from the DP drawings:
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DougB said:
Looks terrible. How difficult would it be to replace some of the exterior on the lower portion to better transition to the addition?
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Yeah I'm not sure why they couldn't at least try to find a way to tie the extra floors and the existing structure together a bit better.
 
Design aside, I'm not sure it's much of a win. I'm all for converting office space, but where it's really needed is in the commercial core. Smaller offices in the Beltline help keep the area and businesses busy during the day. I guess the extra residents in the core is still a good thing though.
 
Oh, I kinda love it. And it’s in a location perfect for a large residential development, being right next to a grocery store. I’m sure it will turn out hideous, but at this point it’s just like… yes more density please!
 
jianxia15 said:
Will adding an additional 13 stories have an impact on the foundation?
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I would expect it to, they are definitely increasing the load. The new structure would likely be steel, so much lighter than the concrete, and removing the concrete cladding and replacing it with lighter materials would mitigate changes I would expect.
 
The last time we saw somethign like this (additional floors added to an older building) was Penn West Plaza. Too bad the Streetview time machine doesn't go back quite far enough to see the original, but you can see it under construction in September 2007:
www.google.com

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As it turns out I still have some old construction pics from that project
MichaelS said:
The last time we saw somethign like this (additional floors added to an older building) was Penn West Plaza. Too bad the Streetview time machine doesn't go back quite far enough to see the original, but you can see it under construction in September 2007:
www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com
Click to expand...
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I can't imagine they won't be digging out larger footings and adding new steel to the columns to support the vertical addition. Whole foundations have been underpinned before with new basement floors added. There's nothing that can't be overcome with topping up buildings or digging secret bunkers
 
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jianxia15 said:
Will adding an additional 13 stories have an impact on the foundation?
Click to expand...

maestro said:
I can't imagine they won't be digging out larger footings and adding new steel to the columns to support the vertical addition. Whole foundations have been underpinned before with new basement floors added. There's nothing that can't be overcome with topping up buildings or digging secret bunkers
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The short answer: it depends.

The long answer:

Residential buildings have a lower live load factor than office buildings, so just converting them from office to residential gives you extra capacity automatically.

Additionally, most of the older buildings I've worked on have been overdesigned, as building codes have switched from Factors of Safety Design to Limit State Design. That means when you compare the older building strength to current building codes, you'll usually find extra capacity.

If they were just adding a few floors, and depending on how conservative the original designer is, they would probably just tack on a few floors of steel on top.

In this case - given that this is more than doubling the height of the building - they'll almost certainly need more invasive strengthening.
 
DougB said:
Looks terrible. How difficult would it be to replace some of the exterior on the lower portion to better transition to the addition?
Click to expand...
You know what else looks terrible....abandoned 70's/80's office developments. It will never be a D- to A+ opportunity converting some of these old designs, but if we can make them C+ or B- and increase density and commercial opportunities, I think we have to look at wins that way. Conversions are very difficult design wise, especially trying to keep those designs somewhat cost conscious. We, and everyone else, are now paying the price for bad design decades ago

To think of it a different way, IF they were simply renovating and maintaining it as commercial....they'd replace the windows, reclad, add some LED lighting lol. The fact its residential, doesn't necessarily change the economics
 
If you see this proposal as really ugly than

I disagree on accepting ugly by blaming the 1970s and 1980s or that It's better than the 50 year old derelict structure. People including those today settling for a C+ (which I would say is generous) will be staring up puzzled by such an eyesore in 20 years time and up until it's destroyed. D minuses and Fs are upgraded to As and B pluses all the time.

Better design comes at a higher price but, it doesn't have to be that much. Also demand for the cheapest cladding raises their costs so we end up with manufacturers coming up with even cheaper composites ready for landfill in 10 to 20 years.
 
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