Latest news with #WestbankProjects
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vancouver council approves controversial Commercial Drive rental tower project
Vancouver city council has voted to approve the rezoning of a site near the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station, which is set to add more than 1,000 housing units across three towers. Westbank Projects Corp. and Crombie REIT, on behalf of Snowcat Property Holdings, brought forward the proposal in 2023 to redevelop the site at 1780 East Broadway, which presently houses a Safeway supermarket and a car park. There have been proposals to redevelop the site as far back as 2019, and now that rezoning has been approved, the controversial rental towers will proceed as planned. They range in height from 36 to 43 storeys in an area that consists mostly of single-family homes, duplexes, low-rise apartments and retail buildings.A marathon public hearing saw over 100 people talk to council about the project, with critics saying the tall towers would lead to inflated property values in the area and that they would not be affordable for a majority of Vancouverites. Ultimately, however, a majority of councillors voted in favour of the project, particularly talking up an accompanying retail space — including a grocery store, office and commercial space, a city-owned child-care facility, and a public plaza running parallel to the SkyTrain station. "I don't want to see this site remain undeveloped for another 10 or 20 years," Coun. Lucy Maloney said. "I want to see a surface car park replaced with over 1,000 homes." The units will be built across the three towers. Ten per cent of them will be secured at city-wide average rental market rates and the other 90 per cent listed at prices of the developer's choosing. Maloney acknowledged that many speakers at the public hearing expressed concern about the affordability of the housing, but said "if this project fails, there will be no affordable homes at all." Coun. Sean Orr said he thought using city-wide average rents for the 10 per cent of more affordable units was flawed, given how sky-high rents are in Vancouver. "We need rental units, but I'm worried that we are giving the developer double the height and we're not seeing the full public benefits that we could be seeing at the site," he told council. Orr was the only councillor who voted against the proposal, with Coun. Pete Fry abstaining and Coun. Brian Montague absent. Application under community plan The application was considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan. A referral report from city staff notes that the application "exceeds the anticipated height and density expected in the plan," but "otherwise generally meets the intent of the plan." Proponents of the plan argued that the city was in dire need of rental spaces, with one advocate even playing the accordion in city council during the public hearing to encourage councillors to vote in favour. "There's zero displacement of renters. It's mostly just a parking lot," said advocate Peter Waldkirch in a statement. However, the megatowers also faced sharp criticism. Speaking against the proposal, nurse Nancy Hay asked council to vote for rezoning applications guaranteeing at least 20 per cent below-market rental units, saying that many of her coworkers in the health-care sector could not afford to live in Vancouver due to skyrocketing rents. "I wonder if these monoliths, these proposed monolith towers, are going to house workers ... who are these workers going to be?" she asked. "They will not be my coworkers — health-care workers, lab technicians, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, to name a few occupations ... the proposed rent, as you've heard, is way too expensive."
CBC
11-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Vancouver council approves controversial Commercial Drive rental tower project
Vancouver city council has voted to approve the rezoning of a site near the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station, which is set to add more than 1,000 housing units across three towers. Westbank Projects Corp. and Crombie REIT, on behalf of Snowcat Property Holdings, brought forward the proposal in 2023 to redevelop the site at 1780 East Broadway, which presently houses a Safeway supermarket and a car park. There have been proposals to redevelop the site as far back as 2019, and now that rezoning has been approved, the controversial rental towers will proceed as planned. They range in height from 36 to 43 storeys in an area that consists mostly of single-family homes, duplexes, low-rise apartments and retail buildings. WATCH | Long public hearing for redevelopment: Long-awaited Commercial Drive tower development faces city hearing 1 month ago Duration 1:27 A decision on one of Vancouver's most valuable pieces of real estate is finally happening. The Safeway next to the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station has been the site of speculation for years. CBC's Justin McElroy breaks down why a conceptual debate about the land is about to get a lot more real. A marathon public hearing saw over 100 people talk to council about the project, with critics saying the tall towers would lead to inflated property values in the area and that they would not be affordable for a majority of Vancouverites. Ultimately, however, a majority of councillors voted in favour of the project, particularly talking up an accompanying retail space — including a grocery store, office and commercial space, a city-owned child-care facility, and a public plaza running parallel to the SkyTrain station. "I don't want to see this site remain undeveloped for another 10 or 20 years," Coun. Lucy Maloney said. "I want to see a surface car park replaced with over 1,000 homes." The units will be built across the three towers. Ten per cent of them will be secured at city-wide average rental market rates and the other 90 per cent listed at prices of the developer's choosing. Maloney acknowledged that many speakers at the public hearing expressed concern about the affordability of the housing, but said "if this project fails, there will be no affordable homes at all." Coun. Sean Orr said he thought using city-wide average rents for the 10 per cent of more affordable units was flawed, given how sky-high rents are in Vancouver. "We need rental units, but I'm worried that we are giving the developer double the height and we're not seeing the full public benefits that we could be seeing at the site," he told council. Orr was the only councillor who voted against the proposal, with Coun. Pete Fry abstaining and Coun. Brian Montague absent. Application under community plan The application was considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan. A referral report from city staff notes that the application "exceeds the anticipated height and density expected in the plan," but "otherwise generally meets the intent of the plan." Proponents of the plan argued that the city was in dire need of rental spaces, with one advocate even playing the accordion in city council during the public hearing to encourage councillors to vote in favour. "There's zero displacement of renters. It's mostly just a parking lot," said advocate Peter Waldkirch in a statement. However, the megatowers also faced sharp criticism. Speaking against the proposal, nurse Nancy Hay asked council to vote for rezoning applications guaranteeing at least 20 per cent below-market rental units, saying that many of her coworkers in the health-care sector could not afford to live in Vancouver due to skyrocketing rents. "I wonder if these monoliths, these proposed monolith towers, are going to house workers ... who are these workers going to be?" she asked. "They will not be my coworkers — health-care workers, lab technicians, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, to name a few occupations ... the proposed rent, as you've heard, is way too expensive."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Controversial Commercial Drive tower development discussed at public hearing
A controversial plan to redevelop the Safeway location on East Broadway near Commercial Drive was discussed at a public consultation at Vancouver city council Thursday night, with more than 120 people registering to speak. Redevelopment at 1780 East Broadway has been in the works for years with a number of past rezoning applications and withdrawals, city planner Simon Jay said at the beginning of Thursday's public hearing. Westbank Projects Corp/Crombie REIT, on behalf of Snowcat Property Holdings Ltd. has applied to build three purpose-built rental towers, ranging in height from 36 to 43 storeys, near the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station—an area that consists mostly of single-family homes, duplexes, low-rise apartments and retail buildings. WATCH | Commercial Drive tower development faces city hearing The proposed towers would have more than 1,000 rental housing units, with units equal to 10 per cent of the residential floor area available at below-market rent. The plan also includes retail space, including a grocery store, office and commercial space, a city-owned child-care facility, and a public plaza running parallel to the SkyTrain station. During Thursday's hearing, which ran for about four hours, resident Taylor Curran urged council to approve the project, saying it will deliver much-needed rental housing. "Building new housing does impose costs on existing residents and it does change the neighbourhood, but the cost of blocking new housing is so much greater," he said. Zakir Suleman of the community group No Megatowers at Safeway said housing should be built on the site, but the plan to dedicate 10 per cent of floor area to below-market housing falls short of the city's 10-year housing targets. "We do need to build on this site, we do need to densify this neighbourhood. But the proposal as it stands is unacceptable in the amount of affordability it brings in for future generations," Suleman said. Peter Waldkirch addressed council holding an accordion, saying even larger towers have been approved in Burnaby and Surrey. "I actually think it's completely kind of bizarre and backwards that we're building and approving taller, bigger, denser, more housing in the suburbs than we are here in the core of the city," he said. "That doesn't make sense to me." He then voiced his support for the project with a song he called The Happy Megatowers Polka, which he sung to the tune of The Happy Wanderer. Prior to the hearing, Adam Abti, who grew up in the area, told CBC News that he supports the towers. "The more housing we have in general, the more supply and the lower the price," Abti said. "So it's better for everyone." The application is being considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan. A referral report from city staff notes that the application "exceeds the anticipated height and density expected in the plan," but "otherwise generally meets the intent of the plan." The report also notes that the proposed towers would add more than 1,000 rental units without displacing any existing residential tenants. The public hearing was recessed Thursday night and will reconvene on June 10, and city council will vote on whether to proceed with the plan following the public hearing.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Controversial Commercial Drive tower development discussed at public hearing
Social Sharing A controversial plan to redevelop the Safeway location on East Broadway near Commercial Drive is being discussed at a public consultation at Vancouver city council Thursday night. Redevelopment at 1780 East Broadway has been in the works for years with a number of past rezoning applications and withdrawals, city planner Simon Jay said at the beginning of Thursday's public hearing. Westbank Projects Corp/Crombie REIT, on behalf of Snowcat Property Holdings Ltd. has applied to build three purpose-built rental towers, ranging in height from 36 to 43 storeys, near the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station. WATCH | Commercial Drive tower development faces city hearing Long-awaited Commercial Drive tower development faces city hearing 7 days ago Duration 1:27 A decision on one of Vancouver's most valuable pieces of real estate is finally happening. The Safeway next to the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station has been the site of speculation for years. CBC's Justin McElroy breaks down why a conceptual debate about the land is about to get a lot more real. The proposed towers would have more than 1,000 rental housing units, with units equal to 10 per cent of the residential floor area available at below-market rent. The plan also includes retail space, including a grocery store, office and commercial space, a city-owned child-care facility, and a public plaza running parallel to the SkyTrain station. Zakir Suleman with the community group No Towers at Safeway told CBC's The Early Edition last month that the proposal doesn't do enough to address the city's housing crisis. "I think that developers who stand to make a significant profit should be paying their fair share back," Suleman said. "So this proposal as it stands, it doesn't build affordability in the neighbourhood. It barely builds community amenities." Adam Abti, who grew up in the area, said he supports the towers. "The more housing we have in general, the more supply and the lower the price," Abti said. "So it's better for everyone." The application is being considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan. A referral report from city staff notes that the application "exceeds the anticipated height and density expected in the plan," but "otherwise generally meets the intent of the plan." The report also notes that the proposed towers would add more than 1,000 rental units without displacing any existing residential tenants. City council will vote on whether to proceed with the plan following the public hearing.
