If there is one rental housing project among the many that are poised to change the look of the Broadway corridor, the proposed development on the site of the former one-storey Mountain Equipment Co-op flagship store in Mount Pleasant is a good example of the ongoing transformation.
If approved by Vancouver city council at a public hearing May 30, the project led by Reliance Properties and QuadReal Property Group will see the construction of two towers at 130 West Broadway — one at 28 storeys tall, the other at 21 storeys.
Combined, the buildings will offer 514 rental apartments.
The city’s online agenda for the hearing shows support from 63 people who wrote in to provide their views on the proposed development, including Steve Lionais of Mount Pleasant.
“The city needs rental housing, including market rate rental,” Lionais said. “This site is close to two future SkyTrain stations, the bike network on 10th [Avenue] and will add badly [needed] housing options to a very central and desirable part of the city.”
Jonathan Paulin of Mount Pleasant said he lives 50 metres from the site and that he won’t mind the “the minor disruption to my life” related to construction “so we can live in a vibrant city.”
Elaina Corrado, also of Mount Pleasant: “I live near this site and I support the proposed changes. Broadway can be very empty in the evenings in this area and more people walking around would make me feel safer. I want more neighbours.”
'Doesn't make sense'
During the city’s public feedback exercise on the project, those opposed were concerned about the height of the towers, poor design, the affordability of the apartments and increased traffic congestion.
Area businesses have also complained that they continue to deal with a downturn in business and disruption along Broadway because of the subway construction. The subway won’t be in service until the fall of 2027.
Laurel Clarke wrote a lengthy email to the city to express her disappointment in the project.
“The part that doesn’t make sense is two tall towers very close together on the same lot which is not even a full block long — wind tunnel anyone?” Clarke said.
“Also, the attempt to put a tiny park in between the two towers — which is going to be always in shadow other than an hour or so at lunchtime — makes no sense.”
Clarke said allowing the towers will add to “the further Hong Kongization of our beautiful city, since developers seem unable to think of anything but towers for housing.”
Added Clarke: “Please encourage them to concentrate on more lower-rise developments for rental units in the single-family areas that currently exist rather than just rows of towers on Broadway and elsewhere.”
Of the 514 apartments, at least 36 per cent will be “family-sized” two and three-bedroom units. The project also includes a 37-space daycare, which will be turned over to the city.
A total of 195 vehicle parking spots and 1,165 bicycle spaces are planned for the site.
The site is well serviced by transit, and is within 500 metres of the Broadway-City Hall Canada Line Station and the future Main Street Millennium Line Station. Buses run frequently along Broadway.
The developers’ original proposal called for taller towers, which would have impeded city-designated view cones crossing the site.
'Development pipeline'
The project is one of several proposed for the Broadway corridor. The previous council approved the Broadway Plan in 2022, and the city has since seen a steady interest in development in the corridor.
An April 25 city staff memo to councillors said there were 150 projects in the “development pipeline” for the area covered by the plan, which runs from Vine Street in the west to Clark Drive in the east. The other boundaries are First Avenue to 16th Avenue.
Of the projects, 120 are residential or mixed-use residential, comprising a total of 22,469 residential homes, which include:
• 263 social housing units
• 3,694 below market rental housing units
• 17,076 market rental housing units
• 1,436 strata housing units
The city said 30 of the projects are non-residential and 67 are “mixed-use residential projects with a non-residential component.” In total, these projects comprise approximately 9.3 million square feet of non-residential space.
Low vacancy rate
Vancouver has exhibited historically low vacancy rates in the last 30 years.
In 2022, the purpose-built apartment vacancy rate was 0.9 per cent. Based on the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation market rental survey, the vacancy rate for the Mount Pleasant/Renfrew Heights area is 0.5 per cent.
A vacancy rate of between three per cent and five per cent is considered to represent a balanced market, according to a city staff report.
The public hearing begins at 6 p.m. at city hall.
