At the June 5th Public Hearing, City of Vancouver Council approved four projects, including a seniors’ housing building, two purpose-built rental apartment buildings, and a mixed-use market housing building. 

3510 Fraser Street, image via DYS Architecture

First to be approved was the building at 3510 Fraser Street. The application was filed by DYS Architecture on behalf of Vancouver Affordable Housing Agency and proposes a six-storey mixed-use building with a seniors centre on the ground floor and 58 secured seniors social housing units on the upper floors. The apartment mix will include a mix of studio, one-bedroom and accessible one-bedroom units. Parking is to be provided at grade and accessed from East 19th Avenue.  

Original proposal for 3510 Fraser Street, image via DYS Architecture

The drop-in seniors centre will occupy most of the double-height ground level and offices will be located in a mezzanine. The main entry to the seniors centre will be at the corner of Fraser St and East 19th Avenue, and the residential entry will be further along East 19th Avenue. Due to very poor soil conditions at the site, excavation of underground parking would be costly and therefore 5 parking spaces and one car share space will be at grade. There will also be a scooter storage area.The initial application was submitted in October 2017. In response to public feedback, a revised application was submitted in March 2018. The revised design included the reduction in massing at the rear of the building and increase in housing units from 56 to 58.

855 Kingsway, image via Cornerstone Architecture

Next came the application for 855 Kingsway (above). The project is designed by Cornerstone Architecture for 1026651 B.C. Ltd. and includes a six-storey building containing 50 secured market rental units and 3,839 sq. ft. of commercial space at grade. The apartment mix will included studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.  Shared amenity space will include an indoor amenity room and ground-level outdoor space, including a children’s play area. There will be 25 underground parking spaces and 63 bike parking spaces. The building will also be well-served by public transit and within walking distance of shopping and other amenities on Kingsway and Fraser Streets.

1506 West 68th Avenue and 8405-8465 Granville Street, image via IBI Group

The third application approved at the hearing was 1506 West 68th Avenue and 8405-8465 Granville Street. Designed by the IBI Group, the ten-storey mixed use building will contain 12,603.4 sq. ft. of retail area at grade, 15,477.2 sq. ft. of office space and 45 market residential units with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Shared amenities will include a rooftop garden, a children's’ play area, and an exercise room.

1506 West 68th Avenue and 8405-8465 Granville Street, image via IBI Group

There will be 138 underground commercial and residential car parking space, 112 bicycle parking spaces and change rooms with showers. Located in the heart of Marpole, the building will be well-served by buses, and just a nine-minute drive from the Vancouver Airport.

4459 Rupert Street, image via Lang Wilson Practice in Architecture Culture Inc.

The last application to be approved at the hearing was for a purpose-built rental at 4459 Rupert Street.  Designed by Lang Wilson Practice in Architecture Culture Inc. for Rejoyce Investment Corp., this mixed-use four-storey development will combine commercial uses at grade and 12 secured rental housing units with a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom units.  There will be internal courtyard space on levels 2 through 4 and a rooftop amenity space. This will be a Passive House building similar to the the "Monad on West 4th" project built a few years earlier. There will be 1 car share space, 1 disabled parking space, and 28 bicycle parking spaces.  Additional parking might be provided, but will likely result in the reduction of commercial space.

Additional information and images can be found in our database files for these projects, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the field provided at the bottom of this page.

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