2.8K 
Nearly a year since our last update, and Locarno's The Grace has now reached completion in Kitsilano. The 5-storey, 71-unit, mixed-use apartment-and-retail block by Yamamoto Architecture has made a fine addition to the local streetscape, its old world charm hearkening back to a bygone era.
Located at the corner of W Broadway and Balaclava St, The Grace sits in the middle of a busy commercial thoroughfare with ample pedestrian traffic - the ideal location for a contiguous block of residential housing with retail at grade. Home to a Starbucks, Parthenon, and Orange Theory Fitness, it would appear that The Grace has touched upon a healthy mix of Vancouver-friendly businesses sure to attract local patronage.
Likely the most impressive aspect of The Grace, however, is the meticulous attention to detail and reliance upon traditional materials, that has given the structure a stately, highly unique outer appearance. Taking the form of an early 20th-century commercial block, The Grace fits nicely with the type of architecture that once defined long swaths of downtown Vancouver.
Furthermore, bedecked with a glass canopy, and outfitted with patio seating, and a gentle, human-scale massing, The Grace fills the space well. A fine addition to the local streetscape, The Grace is just the type of commercial block that the city needs to maintain a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly, urban core.
SkyriseVancouver will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
