By Christine Lyon
Once considered a civic embarrassment, Gastown is now one of the citys most thriving areas and the transformation from marginalized neighbourhood to a Mecca for boutiques, raved-about restaurants and young companies was spurred on by the long-term vision of Vancouvers Robert Fung.
President of The Salient Group, a development firm he founded in 2000, Fung is known for Gastown revitalization projects such as the Flack Block, the Paris Block and the Taylor Building.
When he was a development manager with Concord Pacific Developments, he was responsible for rezoning and development of the former Expo 86 site.
Recently he was awarded the Museum of Vancouvers Emerging City Visionary Award at the inaugural City Shapers Awards ceremony for his restoration of the citys built heritage and his commitment to sustainable urbanism.
Fung says he saw opportunity in the run-down Gastown of the 90s.
Having an area that is tremendously unhealthy just really didnt seem to make a heck of a lot of sense, he said, explaining how his building projects, and others, have revived the neighbourhood while preserving its rich heritage.
People walk around and look up at the buildings and recognize what we have, he said of todays Gastown. The buildings tell the story, much in the same way that the museums trying to do tell the story of our city and inform on who we are and where were going.
The Salient Groups Gastown tenants include Orling & Wu, Haven, Roden Gray, Boneta, Meat & Bread, Acme Café and Oak + Fort.
Still, Fung says he recognizes the socially, economically and culturally diverse part of town is not to everyones taste.
But we also didnt want it to be recognized as the cheap seats for the city, he said. We wanted it to be an area where we could celebrate style, celebrate creativity, celebrate what isnt a ubiquitous commodity-driven real estate tower that tends, at times, to dominate.
Fung said he owes much of his success to early career advice he received from the late Milton Wong, who, along with his wife Fei, were awarded the museums City Legacy Award at the same ceremony.
The couple was recognized for their mentorship of business and community leaders, their advocacy for human rights and arts and culture, and their philanthropy.
Among their many contributions to Vancouver, the Wongs helped make possible the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre at SFU Woodwards.
Upon accepting the award, Fei spoke of art as a common language to which all people can relate.
We might have seemingly divergent groups in our community, but they tend to come together where community based art is involved, she said, adding, I hope as a city we continue to come together to create a more just and vibrant place to live.
The recipients of the two City Shapers Awards were chosen by a selection committee from more than 50 candidates, all of whom have helped mould Vancouver.
MOV CEO Nancy Noble said the museum has made a lot of changes in recent years to become more relevant to those who live in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland and introducing an annual awards ceremony seemed a logical next step.
It seemed a really natural evolution, as we move through the transformation of this 118-year-old Vancouver institution, that the museum honour and celebrate those people who have and continue to shape our city.
