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A large-scale social housing apartment complex has been proposed at 58 West Hastings Street where a row of commercial buildings previously sat. The City of Vancouver is working with the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, which proposed the project in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health and Vancouver Affordable Housing Agency. Design is by WT Leung Architects Inc., whose work includes Pacific Palisades on Jervis Street, Bravo on Cooney Road, and Elmbridge Way in Richmond. The landscape architect for the project is ETA Landscape Architecture.
The current development application calls for the building to be ten storeys, with housing above the fourth floor, in the form of 222 residential units, broken down as 23 one-bedroom units, 54 two-bedroom units, 59 micro units, and 86 studio units. The building will also contain a medical clinic and commercial retail on the first three floors, delineated in the perspective sketch above. The total gross floor area for the project will be approximately 225,000 square feet, and it will target LEED Gold certification. There will be 71 stalls for parking and separate and contained bicycle parking, with end-of-trip change facilities for commercial visitors.
The building will have several features for enhancing livability; there will be landscaped terraces on the third and fourth floors, with outdoor seating and play areas, and urban agricultural space. The retail and commercial storefronts will feature canopies to protect passing pedestrians and customers from the weather. The neighbourhood has an astonishing walk score of 98, with close proximity to a wide range of amenities, and a five-minute walk to the Stadium-Chinatown SkyTrain station.
The site has a controversial history. In 2008, Concord Pacific made a proposal to the City of Vancouver to build market housing, which faced strong opposition from activists and local residents. In 2010 the site was occupied by the Olympic Tent Village. Currently, the site is used as an urban farm operated by the Portland Hotel Society.
