Automotive News Canada - December 2023 - S13

BEST PRACTICES 2023
13
It took three attempts before
Vancouver city planners approved
a design for the complex that
houses the new Jim Pattison
Toyota Downtown.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
It was certainly the
most expensive
dealership we've ever
built. But we know
this would likely be
the only dealership
ever allowed back
in downtown
Vancouver. "
Bill Harbottle
President, Jim Pattison Auto Group
chase of a General Motors dealership
in Vancouver in 1961, maintained his
usual hands-off approach, Harbottle
said.
Pattison's only concern - whether
tree-lined Burrard Street would obscure
the display windows - was allayed
when he viewed a building model.
Harbottle also spent $400,000 to upgrade
to imported nonreflective glass.
" When you drive by there during
the day, you can see right in, and so it's
noticeably different, " Harbottle said.
" And when you light it up at night, it's
spectacular. " - ANC
reviewed, the timeline is reasonable and
consistent with larger projects within
the city for a development application, "
the email said.
The project also meets LEED
(Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Gold standards,
which was another city requirement,
Harbottle said.
The dealership " certainly was the
most expensive dealership we've ever
built, " said Harbottle, who declined to
disclose the cost. " But we know this
would likely be the only dealership ever
allowed back in downtown Vancouver. "
Jim Pattison Downtown Toyota is the
only full-service dealership in the city's
core, he added.
GOING BIG BY GOING DOWN
Putting 120,000 square feet (11,000
square metres) of dealership into a
downtown location required going vertical;
the service department and newand
used- vehicle inventories are located
below ground level.
This presented unique problems,
however. The service hoists, minus the
arms, had to be installed into the concrete
floor before the building above
could proceed, and an extensive air-handling
system was needed to ensure that
no exhaust fumes escaped into the building
above.
" We've got massive cardboard compactors
and bailers, because everything
has to be moved with a vehicle that's no
[taller] than eight feet, " Harbottle said.
The 55,000-square-foot
(5,000-square-metre) multitiered showroom
and office area, designed by
Vancouver architect Bing Thom, affords
customers at the reception area a view
of Toyota's entire model lineup.
" They are all ovals in the shape of the
Toyota logo, and they progressively get
bigger as you go up, with all glass railings, "
Harbottle said.
Owner Jimmy Pattison, whose
business empire began with the purLEED
CERTIFICATION
Provides independent third-party
verification that a building project
was designed and built, or operated,
to achieve high performance in
six areas of human and environmental
health:
* Location and transportation
* Sustainable site development
* Water saving
* Energy efficiency
* Materials selection
* Indoor environmental quality
Source: Canada Green Building Council
Automotive News Canada - December 2023

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