The project will be integrated with South Granville Underground Station, which will open in 2025
Vancouver City Council voted 9-2 on Tuesday to approve the construction of a 39-story rental tower in the northeast corner of Broadway and Granville, which will be integrated with a new subway station under construction.
When completed, the 407-foot tower will be one of the tallest buildings on the south side of False Creek and will include 223 rental homes, 45 of which will be rented below market prices.
A report by city staff described the development as an “urban maymaker”.
“I think it’s actually quite a beautiful building,” said the count. Pete Fry during his speeches in support of the project, the first of its kind built on a station serving the new subway line under construction from False Creek Flats to Arbutus Street.
A large grocery store and office space will occupy the lower floors of the tower, which will be built by PCI Developments LP, the same developer with two 14-storey towers for rent, which run in the 3600-block on East Hastings Street.
90 speakers
The Council’s decision on Tuesday came after hearing 90 speakers over several evenings at a public hearing, with those who supported and opposed the project being divided equally, according to results tracked by city staff.
Supporters focused on the need for more rental housing, especially on transit lines, and more family housing; at least 35% of all rented units will have two or more bedrooms.
Opponents cited the scale and height of the project, with many noting that the proposal should not be considered until Broadway’s plan comes before the council next month.
The council also received 409 letters against and 607 in support of the tower, including one from British Columbia Attorney General David Abby, who is doubling up as provincial housing minister, and another from British Columbia Environment Minister George Heyman.
It is a rare move for cabinet ministers to send letters to the city hall on a project.
“The development of mixed-use buildings, such as those that provide density to the areas around high-speed transport stations, is generally accepted as best practice in urban design, as well as the optimal use of transit infrastructure,” Abby said.
“Accordingly, the province actively supports such proposals that align and support the government’s goals of affordable housing, climate change and transport infrastructure.
“Cart in front of the horse”
count. Colleen Hardwick tried unsuccessfully to postpone the debate on the project, suggesting that the council first review Broadway’s long-awaited plan, which will outline future development opportunities along the corridor.
Hardwick said the project “skipped” Broadway’s plan and said approving it under a temporary city policy would mean “putting the cart before the horse”. Postponing the debate would restore confidence in the city’s engagement with residents, she said.
“Public confidence has been severely undermined because of this,” said Hardwick, who is the team running for mayor of Vancouver to live in the October 15 election.
“I am worried that we are making profound changes during a pandemic, when we really need to pause and go through this systematically.”
count. Gene Swanson cited affordability as the reason she didn’t maintain the tower, saying it didn’t serve low-income tenants.
“With this project, we have 20 percent available to people in the range of 50,000 to 80,000,” Swanson said. “Nothing for people below that, nothing for the average income of elderly households of 28,000, nothing for people with disabilities or [people] on social assistance, or a person receiving a minimum wage, or part-time students. “
“Towers are not uninhabitable”
count. Adrian Carr rejected Hardwick’s statement that he was putting the cart before the horse, noting that it was a council-approved temporary policy to change the area, allowing the project to go before the council.
“I don’t think that will set a precedent for the Broadway plan,” Carr said. “City staff just told us today that the Broadway plan is actually already in the pipeline. So it’s not the cart in front of the horse. “
In support of the project, Carr pointed out the increase in rental housing, proximity to transit and how the tower will be built to produce 95 percent fewer emissions than current buildings in size and shape.
It has sparked some critics concerned about another tower being built in Vancouver. She noted that she lives in the West End, where there is a large concentration of towers.
“Living in the West End is amazing,” Carr said. The towers are divided – there are no walls of towers… and between them you get older homes for heroes who are 100 years old, you get three-story buildings, you get six-story buildings, eight-story, I mean, there’s a real mix. “
Carr added: “Towers are not uninhabitable. I would not live in one, it is not my choice. But the people who live in them love them. ”
Transit-oriented development?
Although councilors Pete Fry and Rebecca Bly voted in favor of the tower, they both cited concerns about the need for 300 parking spaces in what is thought to be designed to allow more people to use transit instead of vehicles.
Fry: “I’m still struggling with six levels of parking for up to 300 cars for what we call transit-oriented development. We need to do better. I know this is in line with the policy, but we need to move our policy. “
Bly: “I absolutely agree that parking is a mistake.”
The project will take several years to complete, but its completion is expected to coincide with the opening of South Granville Tube Station in late 2025.
mhowell@glaciermedia.ca
@Howellings
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