POINT OF INTEREST
Mosaic’s James Walk is attracting plenty of attention
Like parents and their children, developers probably shouldn’t admit they have favourites. But Geoff Duyker, senior vice-president of marketing for Mosaic Homes, confesses he has a soft spot for the company’s James Walk project.
“It’s one of my favourite buildings out of all the ones Mosaic has ever designed,” he says. “That comes from a combination of everything — the architecture, the interior design and the location.”
The last point seems a good place to start. Recently, many other developments have made much of being situated both on the Cambie corridor and near Queen Elizabeth Park. James Walk will have the same sweeping views of majestic trees and easy access to green space, but instead is located on the eastern edge of the park, south of East 33rd Avenue.
That makes for easy access to the amenities of both Cambie Street and Main Street, spanning big-box retailers, funky independent businesses, comfortable coffee shops, a long list of restaurants, the Canada Line, Hillcrest Community Centre and Nat Bailey Stadium. Oakridge Centre provides more shopping choices, and options abound for grocery shopping, banking, and the other necessities of daily life.
For the moment, the immediate neighbourhood is quietly residential, mainly comprised of single-family homes. However, Duyker says that is set to change in the coming years.
“This area is about to go through a significant transformation,” he says, “with all of the housing going into Little Mountain. We’re the first new opportunity for an apartment in a very long time. People who buy early into evolving areas typically reap the rewards of that — they are able to see the vision of a neighbourhood’s future now.”
Mosaic had a specific vision for the building. Following the inspiration of the company’s previous Iron and Whyte project in Vancouver’s Point Grey neighbourhood, the design melds traditional and contemporary elements, with the end result intended to look timeless.
The white brick building exterior provides crisp framing for windows lined in black metal, and dramatically dark balcony railings that appear corrugated. The penthouse level is both physically and visually set back, with dark exterior walls shaded by an overhang delineated with a charcoal roofline. White columns stream vertically down most of the building, emphasizing a sense of height.