A Davie Street resident is worried about sleepless nights after a light display was switched on at a new development.
Video game designer James Sweatman says the light display at the Davie Street Safeway and residential development was turned on last night, ahead of the store’s grand opening today.
He says the lights stayed on all night, illuminating his apartment across the street in a green glow and making it difficult to sleep.
Sweatman says he’s been reassured by Safeway Canada that the lights will not be on tonight, however, as of 5:30 p.m. May 21, they are still on, although not visible in the daylight.
The development, by Westbank and Crombie REIT, includes hundreds of new apartments and a 44,000 sq ft. Safeway store.
The situation is reminiscent of another Westbank development, Telus Garden, which illuminated the Yaletown neighbourhood in LED lighting after it was completed in 2016. The lights were subsequently dimmed.
Sweatman reported on Thursday night that the lights were turned off around 8:30 p.m.
Happy to say that the lights are now off. Glorious.
Have a lovely evening folks. pic.twitter.com/TH9pZ43TaU
— James Sweatman (@ThatManJim) May 22, 2020
Westbank provided the following statement after being contacted by urbanYVR:
The current light feature at Westbank and Crombie REIT’s Davie Street project is a prelude to a work of art that will speak to the surrounding community. We’re currently in the testing stage and an error in programming resulted in the light feature being left on overnight on May 20th, when the intent is to have the lights at a reasonable ambient level that is complementary to the surroundings and not invasive. The panels are intended to be lit during the day and into the early evening, not overnight. We understand that this was disruptive to the residents in the community, and we apologize to those who were impacted. Precautions have been put in place to ensure this does not happen going forward, and we are committed to being a responsible neighbour.
We’re looking forward to unveiling the completed art installation later this summer and are happy to share further details on the piece as well as the launch of the rental residential at the project, when details are finalized.
