British Columbia

Grandview-Woodland resistance to housing project exasperates density advocates

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'If we can't build there ... where can we build?' asks CEO of LandlordBC

Artist's rendering of a proposed housing development at Broadway and Commercial Drive in East Vancouver, looking northwest. (Bing Thom Architects / Westbank Projects / Crombie REIT)

Density at one of Vancouver's busiest transit hubs is once again up for debate.

A recent rezoning application for redevelopment of the Safeway site near the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station is drawing criticism from local homeowners while rental advocates say they are fed up after years of pushback against development at this site.

"If we can't build high-density multi-unit residential dwellings there, then where can we build it?" said David Hutniak CEO of LandlordBC, an organization for managers and owners of rental properties.

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Redevelopment at 1780 East Broadway has been in the works for several years. Increased density was envisaged for the site under the 2016 Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

Architect Bing Thom then put forward a 2017 plan for 24-storey residential towers, but that project stalled when he died unexpectedly.

The current proposal from Westbank and Crombie REIT builds on Thom's plan, and calls for three towers ranging in height from 24 to 30 storeys, including rental units, market condos and social housing

Rental availability in the neighbourhood has dropped from a peak in the 1980s. (Abundant Housing Vancouver)

Despite neighbourhood opposition to the increased heights, Hutniak said he believes this project is actually under scale, considering the city's desperate need for transit-oriented rental.

Jennifer Bradshaw of Abundant Housing Vancouver said it is frustrating for potential renters to see locals fighting development on a site which is essentially an empty parking lot.

The Opposition

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Local homeowners represented by the Grandview Woodland Area Council worry the plan will be disastrous for the neighbourhood which has seen little increase in density since the 1970s, according to data complied by Abundant Housing Vancouver from census statistcs.

Grandview-Woodland has not seen a significant rise in population for several decades. (Abundant Housing Vancouver)

Dorothy Barkely, a past chair of the GWAC, pointed to recently approved developments on Grant Street and East Hastings Street as a sign that the neighbourhood is already moving toward greater rental density.

"There is so much going in right now, I don't see the necessity for this, to this degree," she said.

Barkely also fears the 500 condos included in the proposal will attract drivers, rather than transit users, bringing increased congestion and decreased property values to the area.

A statement on behalf of Westbank and Crombie REIT said all proposed units were geared toward transit users.

"Due to the immediate adjacency to the busiest transit station in Western Canada and changes in car ownership trends, residential parking has been limited to focus on other alternative means of transportation."

An open house on the rezoning application is expected in early 2020.