The Salient Group

Robert Fung’s Salient Group is creating an intimate group of courtyard homes on historic Carrall Street, with 21 Doors ready for occupancy this November.

“These 21 homes will fill a need for well-designed yet more affordable housing in downtown Vancouver,” says Robert Fung, president of the Salient Group. Prices start at $209,900. Sizes range from 383-532 square feet for studio and one-bedroom homes to 789 square feet for two bedrooms. Sales commence October 15.

Community is central to 21 Doors, which is built around a stylish and private courtyard, designed to foster a sense of security as residents get to know their neighbours.

Continue reading “Salient Group Opens New Doors in Gastown” »

The Flack Block was featured on Global TV yesterday (April 7). There is a lot of interest in the positive change community health that neighbourhood heritage rehabilitation can bring. We’re pretty excited about it.

You can see the video here. (edit: video is no longer live on the GlobalTV website)

The Flack Block also has it’s own Facebook group, and you can find it here. Lots of new photos added to the group, including beautiful detail photos of the hand-carved limestone archway can be seen in the gallery.

Vancouver urban design magazine, re:place has published a story about the opening of the Flack Block. Below is their story. I encourage you to take a few moments to look at their website – lots of Vancouver history (in ’5 minute’ segments) and green content as well.

After two years of restoration by The Salient Group, and an intensive period of tenant space renovation by Renewal Partners, the 1898 Flack Block recently celebrated its official re-opening. The Flack Block is the new home to theTides/Renewal Centre, a collection of socially progressive businesses including Renewal Partners, Tides Canada, Hollyhock Leadership Institute, Forest Ethics, Rainforest Solutions Project, Penner & Associates sustainable design, and Raised Eyebrow Communications, among others.

Under the leadership and commitment of Renewal Partners, the Tides/Renewal centre office renovation in the Flack Block will achieve a LEED Gold for Commercial Interiors certification from the Canada Green Building Council. This designation is among the first in Canada in a heritage building that will be made available to lease.

You can see the rest of the story here:

The heritage landmark, The Flack Block, reopens its doors to socially progressive businesses. This video accompanies yesterday’s 24 hours news story about the need to retain our heritage buildings. 

Robert speaks about the newly reopened Flack Block building, showing off some of the great features including the magnificent hand-carved entry archway, some of the challenges of working on a heritage building, and touching on some of the historic elements of the building from it’s gold rush days.

PRESERVING THE PAST is crucial in maintaining the identity of Vancouver, according to Robert Fung.

Salient Group says: Heritage crucial to city
Dharm Makwana, 24 Hours

Should Vancouver lose its architectural past, its cultural identity may fall soon after, according to a real estate developer keen on restoring the city’s historical streetscape. 

Robert Fung, president of The Salient Group, noted that,without federal and municipal funding for heritage restoration, projects such as the Flack Block – which re-opened yesterday at 163 West Hastings Street – could never have been realized. 

“I believe that the incentive program catalyzed investment of the area that exceeds the return of any of the levels of government funding into this area over the last number of years,” Fung said. “Pouring it into social services is not unneeded but it doesn’t help build the economy… in fact it’s desperately needed – but it was also not creating balance in the neighbourhood.” 

The City of Vancouver is reviewing its heritage revitalization incentive program. Its federal counterpart has been cancelled. 

The Flack Block is being celebrated as one of the first heritage buildings in North America set to achieve LEED Gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council.

You can read the original story here, or download a PDF of the article here. (1.2MB Acrobat file)

Water Street’s ‘sculptural’ addition
Latest Gastown households move in to homes that are intensely modern spaces behind a serenely Victorian facade

In our homes, by our comparative novelty culturally, the opportunity to juxtapose old and new, later century and earlier, one design period and another, is limited — the pairing, for example, of a mid-century modern Womb chair and ottoman with the restored bay window of a Victorian railway hotel framing an Edwardian warehouse.

That’s why it’s a pleasure to show you photographs from the recently completed Terminus new-home project on Water Street in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood.

The 46 Terminus households will reside in spaces ranging in size from 623 square feet to 1,624 square feet.

They are now moving in.

The developer is The Salient Group; the architect, Acton Ostry, and the interior designer, Evoke International Design Inc.

Acton Ostry commissioned most of the photography published here and inside, for inclusion in submissions to architectural competitions. Continue reading “Vancouver Sun: terminus: Water Street’s ‘sculptural’ addition” »

A Bit of Beijing
Homes in or near some of North America’s largest Chinatowns

DETAILS: This unit is in the 46-apartment Terminus condo in the downtown Gastown district. The 2008 building, with a modern design and a shared rooftop deck, incorporates the original façade of an 1886 hotel.

WALKING DISTANCE: Chinatown, a few blocks east, remains largely untouched by new development. Water Street in Gastown, the city’s original downtown corridor that was redeveloped in recent years, has offices, homes and stores.

DIM SUM: Banquet-hall-like Floata Seafood Restaurant; try the BBQ pork bun, a standard, or desserts like deep-fried taro dumpling.

Read the full article here