There has been a lot of interest in the almost ready ‘Hive North Shore’. Three years ago, the Hive team opened their first location in Vancouver and now their new flagship facility is almost ready. Located in North Vancouver on Dollarton Hwy next to the Arc’teryx headquarters, the new Hive location offers almost double the wall space as well as a full work out facility and yoga room. We thought we would check in with ‘King Worker Bee’ Andrew Coffey to see what is in store for the new location.
Andrew Coffey atop his newest project. Photo courtesy of Andrew Coffey ©
Hi Andrew, thanks for chatting with us. So, you guys are at it again! How is building another gym the second time around?
You are most welcome Tim; it is great to be able to share with you some of the things we are really excited about in this new facility! Second time around has been just as exciting as the first; in some ways it’s been easier than the first time around, but in other ways, even though I have learned to expect delays and overages, and anticipate common developments, all new projects bring with them new challenges. With the increase in size and scope of this particular project, we’re covering some new ground, trying to improve on what we already offer and in many ways, learning once again on the fly.
Can you tell us a bit about some of the features of the new gym?
The Hive North Shore will have a spectacular open-space for the main climbing area – this will be ideal for hosting events, spectating and socializing, and should help improve traffic flow. In addition to the main climbing space, the Hive North Shore will include: a dedicated courses and private lessons room, a comprehensive public training area with fitness equipment and a range of specialized climbing training apparatus, a lounge area, a very large observation deck, and a beautiful and unique studio space designed primarily for yoga.
Construction of the first section of the wall. Photo by Andrew Coffey ©
What’s your vision for when the place opens? How will it differ from the original gym?
Our vision is to continue making life better through our commitment to Climbing, Education, and Community. In our new location, we will be offering additional services that incorporate our desire to improve ourselves and each other through exploring Health and Wellness – namely, by offering a full service yoga studio and enhanced area for general fitness and climbing training. With the Hive North Shore, we have designed it such that it will enable us to contribute more richly to our vibrant community of active and enthusiastic individuals. Over the summer we will be improving the Hive Vancouver with the upper deck, aiming to be able to offer a similar experience (on a slightly smaller scale).
You must be old hat at dealing with the ups and downs of building such a huge facility. Were there any major roadblocks with this North Vancouver location?
To be perfectly honest, this facility is so much larger in scope and in sheer size, it seems like we’re doing this for the first time – which, in a sense is perfectly true, this is the first time we are building our second location. I have long since abandoned the notion that there are such things as major roadblocks – anything is possible if you are truly committed to a cause, project, or mission – when some challenge or obstacle arises, you do what is necessary to overcome it. But to answer your question, the biggest road-block to building a facility like this is Location and Zoning (assuming of course that you can secure the capital required to build it).
Zoning restrictions are very stringent, re-zoning is pretty much impossible, and buildings that are suitable for climbing gyms are necessarily located in areas that are not zoned to allow for fitness centres (big & tall warehouses are found in industrial zones). I can say that we would not have moved forward with this project if the location and the zoning were not approved outright; after this, most challenges are manageable – though some are more stressful than others. 🙂
Looking down from the upper hallway. Photo by Andrew Coffey ©
The gym is located between the Arcteryx head office and a brewery, how did you find such a great location?
Simply put, we got lucky. But I owe this luck to our Program Director, Nathan Rehorick, who put me in touch with Jennifer Hood, the owner of Jump Gymnastics – she had found this particular building and was in the process of negotiating a lease for her second location. Knowing what we do, she thought it might be a suitable spot for us, if we were looking for one. This general area and location was not really on the radar at the time, but when we went to see it for the first time, it was, as they say, ‘love at first sight.’ Zoning would allow it, it had big tall ceilings and was as large as we could possibly handle – it was almost too good to be true – so we couldn’t say no. The building is ideal and being sandwiched between these two companies is a huge bonus!
This gym will have a larger focus on training as well as yoga. Can you tell us a bit about that?
In short, because we have more space in this new facility, we will be able to offer more of the things we think are of significant value to our community and that align with our mission of providing World Class Centres for the pursuit of healthy & active living. Training is an integral part of climbing; for those of us who are dedicated to the pursuit of getting stronger, climbing harder and staying injury free, specific climbing training can be the difference between hanging around a plateau and breaking through to the other side. We also know that there are people who couldn’t care less about crushing anything harder than they already do, as well as folks to whom fitness comes first, so additional fitness space, personal training and more common fitness centre equipment will be a significant draw in its own right, in addition to the fantastic Hive community. Yoga speaks largely for itself; it is another activity that, like climbing, is intrinsically valuable and has superb connections to climbing, education, health & wellness, and community. It is something we have always wanted to offer and in this facility, we have dedicated an entire studio space for it.
Glassed off training room. Photo by Andrew Coffey ©
Lounge space. Photo by Andrew Coffey ©
This facility seems much grander in scale. Is the new gym your own vision or the work of the entire Hive team?
The vision for this gym has been made possible first and foremost by the hard work and dedication of the entire Hive Staff Team. The combined efforts of their amazing attitude, their care and consideration, and their commitment to facilitating incredible customer experiences has lead to the incredible support of our community, which has subsequently resulted in the need to expand and evolve.
The design and layout of this new space has been a collaborative effort with both our senior staff team and some key individuals within our community; the process involved producing sample layouts, sharing these layouts, receiving feedback, revising, re-sharing, re-revising, and rinsing and repeating a fair number of times until we were all generally satisfied.
We have also brought in a number of folks with particular expertise in the areas of personal training and yoga to help design the optimal space for a wide range of offerings and most efficient use. This project is the coalescence of things we’ve learned from the Hive Vancouver and input from various stakeholders and community members combined with incredible work from some fantastic designers, manufacturers, contractors and ultimately, the Hive’s amazing staff and our wonderful climbing community.
What’s next from here? Third location?
Maybe… 😉 One step at a time…. a third location is the logical next step, but if I were planning a third location, it would be top secret – can’t spill all the beans just yet! Let’s enjoy this one first! Our next immediate plan is to move forward with the upper deck expansion at Hive Vancouver. This upper deck will allow us to offer a similar and roughly comparable experience between our first location and the North Shore; further expansion here is also a possibility. We are also currently working on a community project for the District of Squamish – the details of which will be released sometime in the near future. 🙂
Close-up of new cave area. Photo by Andrew Coffey ©
What is your favourite feature of the new hive?
I would have to say I am most pleased with the yoga studio space. This room is absolutely beautiful and combined with the fantastic instructors we have lined up it will be a wonderful new addition to the services we already offer. On the climbing side of things, I get chills thinking about the big overhang – which we are tentatively calling the ‘Black Dyke’ – it’s tall, it’s steep and it’ll feel like a full-on route!
Construction of far right wall. Photo by Andrew Coffey ©
Has all this building taken away from your own climbing?
I have to admit that my own climbing has suffered significantly over the past 3 years, but suffered for a good cause: building the Hive North Shore. I used to climb 4 or 5 days a week and was feeling really strong, and then Hive Vancouver opened and it quickly changed to route-setting once in a while and climbing every few weeks for shorter and shorter sessions. I sincerely hope to change this and I can’t wait to get back to climbing regularly at both gyms.
What will you do after the project is complete? (relax, go away?)
You’re too funny! ☺ The Hive project is never really complete; there’s always room for improvement and always more to be done! I intend on taking some time to visit some friends in New Zealand in November, but until then I expect a great deal of my time will be spent ironing out the kinks that are inevitable, planning and preparing for spectacular community events, and looking towards the future of the Hive in whatever shape it may take. To name a few, we have the TNT summer series as usual, a number of additional side projects, and the continued development at Hive Vancouver to keep me occupied.
X-wing Wall opposite far right wall. Photo by Andrew Coffey ©
The opening of the new gym will surely increase traffic in Squamish boulders as the original location did. Does the hive have any programs or campaigns to teach people how to treat our outdoor spaces and the etiquette that is needed when sharing such a public space?
At the moment, we do not have a program or campaign to teach people how to treat outdoor spaces. We have been considering this for a while now and we recognize there is a need for such a program. I have some deeply held beliefs that the best way to learn to climb outdoors is through experienced mentorship; you can’t just learn how to be safe outside in a one day course. It takes a lot of time and practice, and requires a watchful eye from a more experienced individual. This being said, it is something we are carefully exploring, and it will likely be a little while before we begin offering an ‘Introduction to Outdoor Bouldering’ course. What I can say right now is that it is on the radar and in the works; we certainly want people to enjoy the phenomenal climbing that Squamish has to offer, both as safely and as consciously as possible.
Any shout outs to those who helped make this happen?
There are so many shout outs I can’t possibly name everyone in detail, but first and foremost, I must thank my parents, Anne and Charlie Coffey. Thank you both for teaching me the values that I hold today and that have informed the values have made the Hive so successful. Without your initial and ongoing support, I would have given up on this dream long ago.
Second, the entire Hive community deserves my utmost thanks; it is you who have made the Hive Vancouver so incredible, and the North Shore possible. The staff, the members, the youth, the visitors, the sponsors, each and every one of you has contributed to the success of the Hive Vancouver, and this has enabled us to grow and expand to better serve this amazing community.
Finally, many thanks must be given to all those who are currently working on the Hive North Shore Project including; Watershed Construction, Eldorado Climbing Walls, Flashed, and our superb senior staff team. Also, there are a whole host of additional individuals to thank, Wayne K. Tam, David Mah, Matt Corstorphine, Charlie Pentland, Bryce Hafso, and last but certainly not least, I must thank my wife Chris, for graciously and patiently putting up with so many early mornings, some incredibly long days and such little free time.
Thank you all! It’s going to be one outstanding gym!
Thanks Andrew! Best of luck to you guys! The Hive North Shore website can be found here.
