14 August 2023 – I find myself researching zoning codes. Not one of my usual obsessions. It is triggered by two signs directly opposite each other at West 5th & Columbia, here in the City’s Lower Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.

South-west corner:

North-west corner:

The former: one of the rapidly disappearing examples of early settler architecture, probably an example of Gabled Vernacular, 1886-1915 (though this is my guesswork, based on VHF resources).

The latter: one of the rapidly multiplying examples of that I-1 zoning designation, in action.

And just what kind of action does I-1 make possible? I ask myself.

Later on, back home, I jump down that electronic rabbit hole.

Mostly, I am reassured by what I discover. “The intent of this Schedule,” I read, “is to permit light industrial uses generally compatible with one another and with adjoining residential or commercial districts.” It is also meant to permit “advanced technology industry and industry with a significant amount of R&D activity, and commercial uses, including office and retail uses, compatible with or complementary to light industrial uses…”

I mostly like it because it encourages intellectual activity and it is respectful of context. I am uneasy because there is no specific respect for the historical context of Mount Pleasant, even though this was the City’s first neighbourhood south of False Creek.

Click on this interactive map. You’ll see Mount Pleasant toward the lower right. You’ll also see that Historical-Area Green is only to be found farther north. We — you and I — are about to walk a few blocks of West 5th, from Columbia to Yukon, smack-dab in the middle of all that Light-Industrial Yellow.

I read the rest of the “Hi!” signage for the sassy street-corner newcomer. It offers 25,000 sq. ft. of “boutique commercial space in a mixed-use neighbourhood,” with attention not only to location and design, but also to the “health and wellness” of “you and your employees.”

Quite reasonably named 5th+Columbia, the building is a recent addition to the portfolio of Nicola Wealth Real Estate, the development arm of Vancouver-based Nicola Wealth Management. The company is active throughout North America; here in Canada most active in BC; within BC, most active in Vancouver; and within Vancouver, very active in Mount Pleasant. I count five buildings on West 5th alone. (Plus the old City Centre Motor Hotel on nearby Main Street, temporarily flourishing as City Centre Artist Lodge, until Nicola decides what it wants to do with the land.)

Enough background.

On with what I-1 looks like, in action.

South side of 5th, just in from that corner lot: the Please! Beverage Co.

It is a local distillery devoted to cocktails, creating “small-batch concoctions” with globally sourced organic spirits & ingredients, including “locally grown herbs & botanicals.” All the cocktails are made in-house, so of course they have a Tasting Room (that large opening on the left), and next to that, equally of course, a merchandise room. In keeping with their slogan “Pleasant drinks for kind spirits,” they have a water bowl, canine height, next to the sidewalk signage.

Also this notice, human height, taped to the wall:

Yes, well: very kind to their immediate neighbours, but not so kind to their neighbours across the street! (Future 5th+Columbia tenants may have opinions, one of these days…)

Back on the north side, Rad Power Bikes, an e-bike emporium with a pedal-power bike chained up outside.

Farther down the block, I fail to take a photo of Digital Hot Sauce Inc.

No!!! How could i have missed that? Take my word for it, and enjoy with me the existence of this bouncy digital marketing company, co-founded by a couple of young local entrepreneurs who couldn’t find anyone to market their creations so they moved into that business themselves.

This is the prevailing DNA: mostly recent or new buildings, relatively low-rise, not particularly interesting architecture but fresh and bright for all that, and human-scale. Also lots of creative, make that e-creative, activity.

On the S/W corner of 5th & Alberta, the “e” turns to “w.” For wood. A hand-lettered, old-fashioned finger-board of old-fashioned wood.

The top arrow catches my attention. It points south on Alberta, where — just past the blue wheelie buried in the hedge — I see a patron drinking coffee while checking his smartphone.

He is proof that Honest to Pete Coffee Roasters will sell you a cup of coffee, as well as bags of the two blends they roast right there in-house. (Retrospresso and Lessopresso, and you can guess which one is decaffeinated.)

It is yet another local enterprise on a strip with plenty of them, but this time in an older building that I hope will survive. Perhaps it has a fighting chance. It is the around-the-corner portion of Beaumont Studios, founded by an artist in 2004 to offer a supportive environment for creative professionals. The resulting activities account for the rest of those fingerboard arrows, and are housed along 5th in premises that were built well before the current burst of neighbourhood reinvention.

I generally like what’s happening on the business front, with its emphasis on mixed-use, creativity, public transit, bike-ability, walkability, and other eco-criteria.

I just don’t want all of it to be shiny-new.

Even when it’s as adorable as this front-door host…

for WildBrain Studios, the world-wide independent kids’ animation content company, headquartered right here on West 5th.