Vancouver city council denies Drai’s night club at Trump Tower for bar liquor licence

[Harvey Specter]

Big blow for Trump tower.

There’s an old saying that what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

That was the assurance from a representative of developer Joo Kim Tiah to Vancouver city councillors that a proposed nightclub at the Trump hotel and tower would not resemble its raucous sin city counterpart.

Trump hotel representatives were at city hall Wednesday to defend their liquor licence application for a Drai’s pool bar and nightclub plus patio. But after hearing about the party zone reputation of the Drai’s nightclub in Vegas and concerns from nearby residents that loud bass and drunk patrons would spill out into the streets, councillors denied the hotel’s application.

Among those opposed to the club was Coun. Kerry Jang, who had this to say about the hotel’s approach: “I’m feeling I’m kind of getting the wool pulled over my eyes and I don’t appreciate it.”

Earlier in the hearing, Bert Hick, a representative of developer Joo Kim, described the planned Drai’s venue as a “very high end bar” that will also be used for dining, corporate events, banquets and weddings, and distanced it from something you’d find on Granville Street.

“Cheap drinks, cheap entertainment, cheap drunks,” is how Hick described that party district, which he claimed served 17 to 25 year olds.

In contrast, Trump hotel general manager Philipp Posch (pronounced posh, and fittingly so, noted Coun. Tim Stevenson), described the future Trump clientele as a fair bit older and far more refined. “We like to call them the new five-star generation,” he said.

While wealthy people and older folks can absolutely get drunk (and presumably rowdy), that’s probably less likely when they’re being charged $15 to $19 for a cocktail with hand-carved ice cubes and fresh herbs, he said.

“We’re not going to cater to a crowd where you come in and you get a $2 Jell-O shot and a $6 beer,” said Posch, who later said that he considers himself as a luxury hotelier.

“I don’t want to be dealing with a crowd of people that are running around with Canucks Jerseys — God bless the Canucks — and a cup of Molson Canadian — Go Canada — like we see on Granville Street. That’s not who we are,” Posch (who is from Austria) said carefully to laughter from councillors.

In response to concerns about noise, Hick and Posch said tower residents who had paid $2 million to $4 million for a suite and guests at a hotel with rates of $400 to $600 a night would not tolerate late partying.

Many Las Vegas visitors will be familiar with the name Drai’s. For those who haven’t heard of the party space, Jang took a few minutes to describe what he discovered about the nightclub via a link on the Trump hotel site.

“The first thing I found was ‘Drai’s Animal House’,” Jang said, proceeding to list some of the musical acts booked at the club. “Ludacris, Party Favor, Bassjackers — I don’t even know what that means. … debuts of rappers Machine Gun Kelly and A$AP (here Jang read the name out phonetically, as in A-dollar sign-A-P) Ferg.

“I’m not seeing a mature clientele there,” Jang continued. “If Drai’s has a reputation, I’m sure he would want to keep that going.”

Before the vote, Jang said he’d never seen such a lopsided response from residents, who almost unanimously came out against the nightclub. Both Vision Vancouver and the Non-Partisan Association councillors were split on the vote, with councillors Geoff Meggs, George Affleck and Melissa De Genova in favour of the nightclub and the remainder opposed.

The developer will have an opportunity to resubmit an application for the space, said Andreea Toma, the city’s chief licensing inspector. Reducing the venue’s size from 380-plus seats or seeking a food primary licence were two options, she said.

In a separate vote, councillors unanimously approved a 150-person lobby lounge for the hotel.

The denial of a licence for Drai’s will dash the hopes of many applicants who came out to a Trump hotel job fair. A claimed 10,000 Vancouver residents applied to work at the hotel, according to a spokeswoman. Given Vancouver has about 485,000 people aged 18 to 65, that’s about two per cent of the working aged population.

mrobinson@postmedia.com

[The_AK]

Are they fukt? I wanted to grab a quote from the article but I'd just be repeating everything posted above. Have they never walked down Granville? What a bullshit reason, it's obviously denied in regards to the Trump name

[zulutango]

A city run by a mayor who got a $380,000 plus election contribution from a Soros shadow organization,,,obviously has no anti-Trump bias.

Who?s funding Mayor Robertson? | Financial Post

[murd0c]

What a complete fucken BS, one of the largest night clubs in Vegas wants to open here and they say no??? Vancouver is fucked up I'm sick and tired of that BS.

[smoothie.]

Lol relax guys it'll happen

This is how they win over the neighbors.

[GLOW]

government official funded by corporate shadow organization you say?
paging CiC

[Z3guy]

Just what Vancouver needs another hotel bar for douche bags to hang out great!

[unit]

yeah i'm not sure what their argument about classy people having money is.
go to vegas, people drop $20 on a drink and they aren't classy.

[pastarocket]

Damn civic government officials continue to uphold Vancouver's reputation as a "No Fun City".

I bet that fool Kerry Jang never went to a club in Vegas or Vancouver in his life. He probably plays video games with his homies as his version of "fun".

[fsy82]

no fun city at its finest here boys

[twitchyzero]

what floor is the club going to be on? I don't think if you live on the 16th+ floor you'll be bothered much by rowdy patrons
but If I paid arm and a leg for a unit there i'd probably have a bad case of NIMBY too

[meme405]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

what floor is the club going to be on? I don't think if you live on the 16th+ floor you'll be bothered much by rowdy patrons
but If I paid arm and a leg for a unit there i'd probably have a bad case of NIMBY too

Well when you bought the unit it was one of the selling features listed on the card you recieved that the hotel would have a "Nightclub worthy of any Vegas Party". So realistically if your bummed about that "feature" now, you really only have yourself to blame.

[StylinRed]

good.

[originalhypa]

Originally Posted by meme405

Well when you bought the unit it was one of the selling features listed on the card you recieved that the hotel would have a "Nightclub worthy of any Vegas Party".

Lol, like anyone is actually going to live there.
$2-$4 million condos give the wealthy a place to stay for a few weeks every year. Just like every other high end condo in Vancouver.

Vancouver has 10,000 empty condos: city report

The City of Vancouver has released a report on the number of vacant homes in the city based on B.C. Hydro data.


Nearly 10,000 condos – one in eight – sit empty in Vancouver, according to a city investigation into vacant housing, a phenomenon that’s often blamed for hurting affordability and sucking the life out of neighbourhoods.

The finding, contained in a report released Tuesday based on an analysis of B.C. Hydro smart meter data from 2002 to 2014, leaves the city grappling with how to convince owners to rent their condos in a market where rental vacancy rates hover near zero.

But the report also quashed speculation that empty homes are largely responsible for Vancouver’s affordability woes, as the city’s overall vacancy rate has remained stable at 4.8 per cent over the past decade despite skyrocketing real estate prices.

Still, the vacancy rate for condos hits 12.5 per cent compared to one per cent for single-family homes and duplexes, according to the analysis by local company Ecotagious. Of the estimated 10,800 vacant housing units, 9,750 are condos, 950 are single-family houses or duplexes and only 125 are rowhouses. The vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments is around zero.

Units were defined as non-occupied for 12 months if they were vacant for August, September and the following June and July. (Energy use data is not reliable during winter months because many units are automatically heated.) The data does not include basement suites and, since it was anonymous, does not lend any insight into why homes are vacant.

While the overall rate of empty homes is comparable to Metro Vancouver and other Canadian cities, Mayor Gregor Robertson said it’s a problem because of Vancouver’s acute affordability problems and low rental vacancy rates.
“It’s unacceptable that so many homes are left empty at a time so many of our residents are struggling to find appropriate housing,” Robertson said.

Robertson and council will ask the province for the legal tools to track property ownership and ensure occupation of vacant units. They also directed staff to investigate ways to convince owners to rent their condos, be it through taxation or incentives, and to increase the supply of units people actually live in, such as apartments and townhouses.

But Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C., is skeptical these condos are totally vacant and could easily be added to the rental supply. While many investors actively speculate in the condo market, some businesspeople and vacationers buy condos to use for a few weeks a year, he said.

“The reality is we’re going to have, especially in the downtown core area where there’s highrises and high-end property, a lot of people who own units who occupy them on rare occasions,” he said.

Other owners simply don’t want the liability of tenants, Gioventu said. The crux of the issue is whether municipal or provincial governments will step in to control how these owners use their property, he added.

Vancouver has 10,000 empty condos: city report | Metro News

[Hondaracer]

The night club is on the ground floor/2nd/3rd it's a huge space with massive concrete slabs separating common/hotel areas

Also, the first 23 floors of trump tower are hotel, so residents at 24+ won't be effected

[zulutango]

Originally Posted by GLOW

government official funded by corporate shadow organization you say?
paging CiC

Did you bother to read the link? Lots of very interesting reading...including the park going in right next door to his Island property. This is not silver foil hat territory...it's the Financial Post who are telling what and who are behind him. Here it is AGAIN....http://business.financialpost.com/fp...ayor-robertson

[westopher]

Lol who gives a fuck.
The douchebags that would go here need to go pretend to be rich somewhere else. There are plenty of dickhead accommodating bars in this city.

[JaPoola]

Getting the wool pulled over his eyes? You mean the thousands of mainland Chinese bringing their dirty cash over here and buying up prime real estate?

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by zulutango

Did you bother to read the link? Lots of very interesting reading...including the park going in right next door to his Island property. This is not silver foil hat territory...it's the Financial Post who are telling what and who are behind him. Here it is AGAIN....Who?s funding Mayor Robertson? | Financial Post

yep i read it. i wasn't refuting the information. been voting against moonbeam past couple elections.

i was just expecting CiC to make a CiC comment because of mention of shadow organization. maybe i used the wrong emoticon

[Harvey Specter]

@holborngrp Vancouver City Council approves application for liquor licence of Drai's Vancouver - Vancouver's first-ever pool bar & ultra lounge only at @trumpvancouver

[murd0c]

That's great news!!

[fliptuner]

I wonder how much it cost for the city to have a change of opinion.

[Hondaracer]

Make Vancouver great again!

[Liquid_o2]

I cant only imagine the type of people who will be hanging out at this place.... even that name makes me cringe.

[dat_steve]

ULTRA LOUNGE.

anybody else read that in the monster truck rally commercial voice?