3701 – 3743 West Broadway

It seems like whenever St. James Community Square hosts an open house, it is either packed with people, filled with angry voices, or often both. Still, Darren and I tried to keep an open mind, but before we left this event history had repeated itself, as over 220 individuals had stopped in. I recognized many from local media coverage, as well as a previous meeting when a six floor building was proposed here under a different program several years ago.

That concept allowed for an additional six floor expansion, as the old design team recognized that Broadway and Alma was already an important transit connection, and would only grow in the future. Yet, following the approval of the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program, that vision was abandoned for this project. It seeks to provide 14 floors of rental housing with 20% dedicated to households earning between $30,000- 80,000 a year, but that aspect became a lightning rod for criticism.

This opposition did not just come from one or two isolated voices, as many expressed that city staff should be embarrassed to consider this type of housing here. My heart broke to hear other young adults, who only wanted a chance to rent a home, told they were lazy, spent too much on food, and should move out of Vancouver until they made over $300,000 a year. Others blunted stated that renters do not belong in this part of Vancouver.

Far more described their pride to have bought a home in this prestigious area, which would be diminished by this form of communism. As they felt renters were transients, the idea that families would inhabit any of the 44 homes with 2 and 3 bedrooms was dismissed. When I noticed local MP, Joyce Murray, I hoped these conversation would become more civil. This seemed to happen, despite her appearing to sympathize with concerns about this building’s fit.

Which is a little ironic, since, as a longtime resident, she must remember this property was once home to a blues club owned by Tommy Chong, and opened to a performance by the Ike and Tina Turner Review. Protests from local residents forced that venue to close within a couple months, and a few years later they succeeded in downsizing this neighbourhood. However, before that happened, a few buildings similar in size to this one were built down the hill.

It is hard to believe, but several people claimed, if they had the power, they would demolish those homes as they were eyesores like this “prison.” That said, the majority of those opposed focused on preventing new developments, which is why they were committed to stopping the SkyTrain extension to UBC. There was a sick irony that complaints about this “luxury train” for “foreign students,” were often followed by questions about what “the Indians” were doing at the Jericho Lands.

Aside from a walking tour, and speaker series not a lot has happened since that planning program launched. In contrast, there have been changes throughout this concept, as the rooftop has been better defined with the rotation of the indoor amenity, and the street-front feels more open than the pre-application design. The townhomes along West 10th Avenue have also undergone a large move, as they have been shifted to the mid-block connection. Though, a larger issue consumed the room.

Many conversations revolved around a city document that incorrectly listed the proposed height as 220 feet, and separate claims there would be 17 floors here. That fails to account for the property’s steep slope, and assumes each floor is less than ten feet tall. Driven by these fears, those opposed to this project vastly outnumbered its supporters, which included a few members of Abundant Housing Vancouver. No matter your feelings, you should never be afraid to leave your comments here.

View more photos from the open house here.

Applicant Team Information:

Developer – Westbank Corp.

Architects – Leckie Studio

Landscape Architects – Hapa Collaborative