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Vancouver City Council approved 5 projects at the July 31st public hearing including two rental buildings, a townhouse complex and two high-rises containing a mix of strata units and social housing. The first to be approved was the rezoning application for 3070 Kingsway. Designed by GBL Architects, this project will include a six-storey rental apartment building, three-storey townhouses, and over 3000 square feet of commercial spaces at grade. The project will contain a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units for a total of 40.
Residential amenities will include a landscaped courtyard with a children’s play area and indoor communal space, along with the inclusion of 24 car and 50 bicycle parking spaces. The location is well served by public transit with several bus routes nearby and only a 10-minute walk to Joyce-Collingwood Station. The new building will replace a 1-storey commercial building and a surface parking lot, and will add some much-needed rental units to the neighbourhood.
Next on the agenda was a townhouse project at 119-133 West 41st Avenue designed by DYS Architecture Inc. for Nexst Oakridge 2 Development Ltd. Two single-family parcels were consolidated and will be replaced with 40 townhouses consisting of a 4-storey building on West 41st Avenue and a 2.5-storey building on Woodstock Avenue. There will be 25 underground car parking spaces accessed by a single width parking ramp. Some of the units will have direct access to parking. Amenities will include a landscaped courtyard with a children’s play area, while each townhouse will also have private amenity spaces including front porches, rooftop terraces, and large front yards.
The third project to receive council’s approval was an application from Francl Architecture to rezone 1880-1898 Main Street. This 11-storey mixed-use building will replace an empty lot and a 1-storey commercial building. There will be over 11,000 square feet of commercial space at grade and 131 market rental units with a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. Residential amenities will consist of a gym, a patio at level 8, and a ground-level open space. There will be 109 car parking spaces for residents, visitors, and commercial tenants, and 172 bicycle parking spots. The building will be within walking distance to both Olympic Village and Main Street-Science World SkyTrain stations. The environmentally conscious project intends to achieve LEED Gold Certification.
The next two projects are in the West End within a 2-minute walk of each other, and will provide a mix of strata residential as well as social housing units. Both proposals are by Strand Development in partnership with Intracorp Projects Ltd., and are designed by NSDA Architecture. The project known as 1068-1090 Burnaby Street and 1318 Thurlow Street will include 43 social housing units from levels 1 to 8, 82 market strata units from levels 9 to 32; four levels of underground parking with 150 vehicle parking stalls and 162 bicycle parking spaces.
The development at 1055 Harwood Street will contain 82 market residential units, 39 social housing units, four levels of underground parking with 176 car parking and 160 bicycle parking spaces. Both projects have also faced public criticism for having separate entrances for strata and social housing units, the so-called “poor doors,” as well as having separate playgrounds for children living in social housing and strata units. Both projects were approved with several conditions including combining the play areas for the Burnaby/Thurlow Street building, and inclusion of the "Local Buyers First" clause for both buildings.
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.
