What to do with an unused parking garage
January 11, 2013
As parking demand drops (down 40 percent in some places in Vancouver), what can we do with some of that valuable vacant space? EasyPark would love to know.
How about a really great bar on the roof:
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I’d like to say that someone was building a really great bar on the roof of this Bentall Centre parkade – but it was actually a set for the Fantastic Four some years ago. You get the idea.
Look at the opportunity on this rooftop next to the Empire Landmark on Robson:
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How about some volleyball:
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If we could do it on the old industrial lands of False Creek, we could try it, with some netting, on the roof of a parking garage. Anything to take advantage of the too-short summer and the celebration of our culture in the heart of the city.
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I seem to recall that the rear of the Wedgewood (facing Burrard) had tennis courts on the roof…
Jack hammer out a floor, and the space becomes usable for almost anything. If the floor slopes, use it as theater space.
If you want an idea of what an underground parking lot would look like if you removed a floor to make it double height, check out the W2 space at the parking level. There are some support posts in awkward spots, but is is quite usable.
A “pop up” rooftop bar is a great idea – the patios in this city are packed out at the first sight of sunshine and we could do with a few more. Something like Frank’s in South London: http://frankscafe.org.uk/
The Sticky Wicket in Victoria has had a rooftop bar with beach volleyball as long as I can remember.
Pacific Centre North has had tennis courts on the roof since it was built (late 1980s?) (above the atrium (now Holt Renfrew)).
Rooftop patios work great, as long as they are far, far away from any residential uses.
In Yaletown, the proposed Opus Hotel rooftop patio was nixed a few years ago after a huge uproar in the press – although The Keg got one down the block without any problems.