1 of 2 2 of 2

The developer of Little Mountain has proposed to construct another building at the former Vancouver social housing site.

The eight-storey building will be second so far since the social housing project was demolished in 2009.

A total of 224 social housing units were lost at Little Mountain, a six-hectare tract of prime land east of Queen Elizabeth Park.

Holborn Properties, a private developer, now owns the property.

In 2014, seniors and people with disabilities began moving into the first new building to be constructed at the site.

Formally opened in 2015, the building containing 55 units was the first replacement to the social housing units that were lost at Little Mountain.

The second building proposed by Holborn will have 63 “social housing rental units” above ground-level retail.

The development will front onto Main Street, the eastern boundary of Little Mountain.

In 2016, Vancouver city council approved the rezoning application filed by Holborn for the former social housing site that was previously transferred by the federal government to the province.

Holborn had asked for a rezoning to pave the way for the development of 14 residential and three mixed-use buildings.

The developer has planned 1,573 new homes, including 282 social housing units, commercial spaces, a child care facility, a neighbourhood house, public plaza, and a park.

Ingrid Steenhuisen in 2014, when the first new building at Little Mountain, shown behind her, was being constructed. CARLITO PABLO

Ingrid Steenhuisen has lived at Little Mountain for many years, and she is now a resident in the first new building at the site.

Steenhuisen continues to be in contact with some of her former neighbours, who, she said, are eager to return to Little Mountain.

A number of former residents moved out of the area before the demolition, with the province promising the redevelopment will be complete in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

“Lots of them have been waiting 10 years or almost 11 for some of them,” Steenhuisen told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “So that’s a long time.”

Holborn’s application to develop a second building is included in the agenda Wednesday (February 7) of the Urban Design Panel, an advisory body with the City of the Vancouver.