Globe columnist Adele Weder critiques a revved-up Gastown as the new A+D centre of Vancouver:
… just in the last year, the area has assumed the enhanced role of archi-town: both a go-to enclave for architects and designers looking to source products; and a place for them to set up shop. Retailers like Koolhaas, Nood and p + a furniture have moved into the neighbourhood, joining the handful of homesteader design firms …
Developer Robert Fung, realtor Bob Rennie, architect Walter Francl
“Gastown has become the design epicentre of the city,” says Robert Fung, of the Salient Group, one of the main developers in the district. “There’s a growing attitude that this area is where all the talent and creative energy of the city lie.”
I agree that gastown has all the potential and people necessary, but at the same time, it is very close to east van, and until we improve that area, gastown will suffer from the proximity effect.
Cheers,
Joseph