Showing posts with label Cressey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cressey. Show all posts
How many people driving by this construction site will have already forgotten what used to be here?
It's probably about time to stop calling the crest at Arbutus Street and 16th Avenue the former site of the Ridge shopping centre. It is now the future site of Cressey's Arbutus Ridge condominium development. I say that without caring for it to be true.
I'll always miss the Ridge Centre. Over the course of 30 years, I shopped there, did my laundry there. went there with friends and by myself to see a lot of movies, and I ate a lot of meals there. I regret never trying the bowling alley.
It was a big old shopping mall with character that was associated with some of my fond memories. Now it only exists in my memory -- all the physical details I remember, down to the date stamped into original sidewalk on the south side: "1950" --all gone.
Soon to be replaced by an uninteresting condo for rich people. In three to ten years when it starts leaking I'll try not to feel good about it. Click the image to enlarge it.
[caption id="attachment_4777" align="alignnone" width="497"]
For the first time in over 60 years the iconic "RIDGE" sign is nowhere to be seen![/caption]
Work appears to be well underway on gutting the various interiors of the Ridge Centre, the 1950s-era, block long, strip mall at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, which is making way for a new Cressey condo development to be called Arbutus Ridge, as detailed in an earlier post. ►
The most visible sign the Centre is coming down is the one you can't see -- the big red "RIDGE" sign, which has sat atop the movie theatre for over 60 years, is gone. It will be restored, or recreated, to add a decorative "historical" detail to the new development. However, the bowling alley's equally iconic bowling pin is still there. Are there really no plans to save it?
The McDonalds restaurant on the North-West corner of 16th, and Arbutus has been stripped bare. The franchise owner, John Marsh, will have moved everything useful to his other McDonalds locations, numbering four or five. Every window shows a view of demolition in progress. That progress may be slow given the age of the building, and the possibility that it contains nasty old things like asbestos insulation.
On the Sunday afternoon I came by to see the "progress," the only activity at the Ridge Centre was in the restaurant on the South-West corner of 15th, and Arbutus. The owner of the Ridge Garden Restaurant, an anchor tenant in the Ridge Centre for 24 years, was there for the last time ever. He was a little emotional when I spoke to him, and, it seemed more than a little "unhappy" at the way things had turned out. He told me none of the residents in the area wanted this redevelopment -- not one. I asked him if he'd been been offered the option of coming back, when the new development was finished. He said flatly he was given no option. He told me McDonalds wouldn't be back either (a McDonalds manager at the Broadway and Granville location confirmed this).
The Ridge Garden's owner told me he was still three weeks away from opening his new location on 24th Avenue, and Macdonald Street -- a good location, I suggested, in the heart of Kitsilano, and not far at all for his regular clientele, this was certainly what he was hoping, he said. Click on the images to enlarge them.
For the first time in over 60 years the iconic "RIDGE" sign is nowhere to be seen![/caption]Work appears to be well underway on gutting the various interiors of the Ridge Centre, the 1950s-era, block long, strip mall at 16th Avenue, and Arbutus Street, which is making way for a new Cressey condo development to be called Arbutus Ridge, as detailed in an earlier post. ►
The most visible sign the Centre is coming down is the one you can't see -- the big red "RIDGE" sign, which has sat atop the movie theatre for over 60 years, is gone. It will be restored, or recreated, to add a decorative "historical" detail to the new development. However, the bowling alley's equally iconic bowling pin is still there. Are there really no plans to save it?
The McDonalds restaurant on the North-West corner of 16th, and Arbutus has been stripped bare. The franchise owner, John Marsh, will have moved everything useful to his other McDonalds locations, numbering four or five. Every window shows a view of demolition in progress. That progress may be slow given the age of the building, and the possibility that it contains nasty old things like asbestos insulation.
On the Sunday afternoon I came by to see the "progress," the only activity at the Ridge Centre was in the restaurant on the South-West corner of 15th, and Arbutus. The owner of the Ridge Garden Restaurant, an anchor tenant in the Ridge Centre for 24 years, was there for the last time ever. He was a little emotional when I spoke to him, and, it seemed more than a little "unhappy" at the way things had turned out. He told me none of the residents in the area wanted this redevelopment -- not one. I asked him if he'd been been offered the option of coming back, when the new development was finished. He said flatly he was given no option. He told me McDonalds wouldn't be back either (a McDonalds manager at the Broadway and Granville location confirmed this).
The Ridge Garden's owner told me he was still three weeks away from opening his new location on 24th Avenue, and Macdonald Street -- a good location, I suggested, in the heart of Kitsilano, and not far at all for his regular clientele, this was certainly what he was hoping, he said. Click on the images to enlarge them.
September 26 update: no more bowling pin! ►
[caption id="attachment_631" align="alignnone" width="497"]
Demolition of the Ridge Shopping Centre begins -- artist's impression.[/caption]
The Ridge shopping Centre, situated on Arbutus Street, between 15th and 16th Avenue, is coming down soon, to make way for a condo. The Centre is particularly known for two original tenants: The Ridge movie theatre, and the Varsity Ridge bowling alley. The Ridge's neon, and bulb-lit sign, and the bowling alley's giant bowling pin, have both been area landmarks for some 63-years.
The Ridge theatre screened its last film a few months ago, and the supermarket space, has stood empty since speciality grocer Meinhardt Fine Foods left over a year ago (leaving them with their original South Granville store. Otherwise it's business-as-usual for the bowling alley, A McDonalds, a Chinese restaurant, a laundromat, yoga studio, and book store.
The Centre, which opened in 1950 (there's still original sidewalk embossed with that date) crowns a block of prime real estate which commands a stunning view North, South, and West. On those sides it is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods. Standing on the corner of Arbutus and 16th, looking South-West, you are looking out over a sea of new wealth -- well-to-do homes, cresting in a ridge, a few kilometres away, studded with mansions and gated estates of the truly wealthy. I've binned up there and it's really spiff; incredible sunrises and sunsets. Looking East -- just across Arbutus Street, in fact, you can almost see the unused Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) tracks, and the Western edge of old wealth -- Shaughnessy Heights, developed by the CPR in the first two decades of the 20th Century, and stuffed with mansions, imposing stone walls, 16-foot-high hedges, and nary 100-metres of straight road. The Ridge Centre sits in the middle of all this like a sun-dial.
Cressey Development Group bought the block-long property in June 2011, and is pre-selling condo units in its "Arbutus Ridge" development, which will include ground-level retail. As is the fashion in Vancouver real estate, when a developer eats the very old, it leaves one of the indigestible bits on display, ostensibly to pay respects to history, but it's really good marketing. In this case a facsimile of the movie theatre's sign will be a signature element of the building -- no word on the bowling pin though.
The Ridge Centre didn't have much chance of dodging the wrecking ball. It's old, but not that old, and most people in the area couldn't really care less.
The entire area, sedate as it looks, is undergoing dramatic demographic change, so there's less, to no, interest in the area's historic past. The newcomers, just like the old money, see the area as a place to live, not a place to go shopping -- they don't need local services. They will pile into their Lexi and Escalades, and shop where they please, thank you very much. They'd rather not have local shops, as they just attract people who do need that sort of thing (it's the same rationale Shaughnessy residents have used when explaining to me why they don't authorize their city tax dollars towards paving their lanes). Bad enough they have to have a gas station in the area!
Like most of Vancouver, I'll miss the Ridge theatre and the giant bowling pin. Everything else is available less than a kilometre away.
Demolition of the Ridge Shopping Centre begins -- artist's impression.[/caption]The Ridge shopping Centre, situated on Arbutus Street, between 15th and 16th Avenue, is coming down soon, to make way for a condo. The Centre is particularly known for two original tenants: The Ridge movie theatre, and the Varsity Ridge bowling alley. The Ridge's neon, and bulb-lit sign, and the bowling alley's giant bowling pin, have both been area landmarks for some 63-years.
The Ridge theatre screened its last film a few months ago, and the supermarket space, has stood empty since speciality grocer Meinhardt Fine Foods left over a year ago (leaving them with their original South Granville store. Otherwise it's business-as-usual for the bowling alley, A McDonalds, a Chinese restaurant, a laundromat, yoga studio, and book store.
The Centre, which opened in 1950 (there's still original sidewalk embossed with that date) crowns a block of prime real estate which commands a stunning view North, South, and West. On those sides it is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods. Standing on the corner of Arbutus and 16th, looking South-West, you are looking out over a sea of new wealth -- well-to-do homes, cresting in a ridge, a few kilometres away, studded with mansions and gated estates of the truly wealthy. I've binned up there and it's really spiff; incredible sunrises and sunsets. Looking East -- just across Arbutus Street, in fact, you can almost see the unused Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) tracks, and the Western edge of old wealth -- Shaughnessy Heights, developed by the CPR in the first two decades of the 20th Century, and stuffed with mansions, imposing stone walls, 16-foot-high hedges, and nary 100-metres of straight road. The Ridge Centre sits in the middle of all this like a sun-dial.
Cressey Development Group bought the block-long property in June 2011, and is pre-selling condo units in its "Arbutus Ridge" development, which will include ground-level retail. As is the fashion in Vancouver real estate, when a developer eats the very old, it leaves one of the indigestible bits on display, ostensibly to pay respects to history, but it's really good marketing. In this case a facsimile of the movie theatre's sign will be a signature element of the building -- no word on the bowling pin though.
The Ridge Centre didn't have much chance of dodging the wrecking ball. It's old, but not that old, and most people in the area couldn't really care less.
The entire area, sedate as it looks, is undergoing dramatic demographic change, so there's less, to no, interest in the area's historic past. The newcomers, just like the old money, see the area as a place to live, not a place to go shopping -- they don't need local services. They will pile into their Lexi and Escalades, and shop where they please, thank you very much. They'd rather not have local shops, as they just attract people who do need that sort of thing (it's the same rationale Shaughnessy residents have used when explaining to me why they don't authorize their city tax dollars towards paving their lanes). Bad enough they have to have a gas station in the area!
Like most of Vancouver, I'll miss the Ridge theatre and the giant bowling pin. Everything else is available less than a kilometre away.
Update, September 1, 2013, demolition begins ►
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)