A development application has been filed to rehabilitate a vacant commercial building in the Crosstown area of Vancouver. The existing 4-storey commercial building at 41 West Pender was previously used as a warehouse for a nearby department store and has been vacant for several years.

This proposal is to add two storeys of woodframe secured rental residential to the existing building, while maintaining office and retail uses in teh existing building. The
current zoning (DD-C2) allows for 5.0 FSR, with an additional 1.0 FSR permitted if all Residential is Secured Market Rental. The existing lot is 50 x 120.

Details include:

• 5,872 SF of retail uses on ground floor;
• 18,515 SF of office use on levels 2-4;
• 9,511 SF of residential uses on 5 & 6;
• 16 market rental units (all studios);
• an amenity roof patio;
• a building height of 97 feet;
• a total density of 5.65 FSR (including Transferable Heritage Density); 
• two parking stalls accessed from the lane.

Under the site’s existing DD zoning, the application is “conditional” so it may be permitted; however, it requires the decision of the Development Permit Board.

The application describes the building program: “The existing building is a hybrid of concrete, concrete block, steel frame with solid wood joists with concrete topping. The facade is cast in place concrete, front and back, with composite masonry block firewalls. This solid building has good potential for renovation which is not only sustainable but can allow for its occupation in shorter timelines than full demolition and rebuild. The Structural Engineers were consulted from the outset and have provided the parameters of what is and what is not possible with existing structure.

For the proposal to be feasible the renovation hinges on retaining the bulk of the primary structure and adapting the fabric to meet the new use and codes with new shared stair and elevator core. The two levels of residential need to be constructed of light wood frame.”

The architect for the project is Metric Architecture.

A rezoning application has been filed for 1059-1075 Nelson Street, a two-lot assembly sold previously by our team. The plan calls to rezone the existing two lowrise apartment buildings for redevelopment in order to permit the development of a 60-storey residential building. The site sits immediately West of the Butterfly project by Westbank, now in excavation.

The rezoning proposal includes:

• 485 residential units:
  • • 113 social housing units;
    • 49 market rental units;
    • 323 market condo units;
• a building height of 555.5 ft. (585.5 ft. to the top of appurtenance)
• a total density of 24.94 FSR;
• 8 levels of underground parking with 299 vehicle parking spaces and 1000 Class A bicycle parking spaces and 26 Class B bicycle spaces.

This application is being considered under the West End Community Plan, Rezoning Policy for the West End, and the General Policy for Higher Buildings.

The architect for the project is IBI Group.

A rezoning application has been for the Langara Family YMCA property at West 49th Avenue and Alberta Street. The site sits just West of Langara College, and North of Langara Golf Course. 

The redevelopment of the 87,103 SF site at 282 West 49th Avenue entails rezoning an existing CD zone, to allow complete redevelopment of the existing YMCA facility to double the scale of the facility. The redevelopment concept has been consulting with the community and facility users for over a year.

The proposal consists of:

• a 5-storey YMCA replacement facility, including childcare, recreation (fitness, gym, and aquatic facilities), community spaces, and a cafe;
• a 13-storey non-market residential building containing 70 units;
  • 11-studios, 24 one-bedrooms, 26 two-bedrooms & 9 three-bedrooms;
• a 20-storey market residential building containing 158 condo units;
  • 41 one-bedrooms, 85 two-bedrooms & 32 three-bedrooms;
• a total density of 3.53 FSR;
• Total buildings heights of 198 ft. for the condo tower, and 145 ft. for the non-market tower.
• underground parking with 339 vehicle parking spaces and 545 bicycle parking spaces.

This rezoning application is being considered under the Cambie Corridor Plan.

The YMCA of Greater Vancouver anticipates that construction would start in 2021 and be completed in 2023.

The architect for the project is Stantec.

The full rezoning application can be viewed here: https://rezoning.vancouver.ca/applications/282w49thave/index.htm

Jameson Development Corp. has submitted a rezoning application for the former St. Mark’s Church site in Kitsilano at 1805 Larch Street. The site was sold by Colliers in May 2018 for $11,998,000.

The 150’x 118′ site is currently zoned RT-8. The rezoning proposes to permit the development of a new 5-storey rental residential building, including:

• • 63 rental units with a minimum of 20% of the residential floor area permanently secured for moderate income households;
    • 19 studios, 16 one-bedrooms, 20 two-bedrooms & 8 three-bedrooms;
  • a total density of 2.55 FSR;
  • a building height of 66 ft.; and
  • 56 underground parking spaces and 113 bicycle spaces.

This application is being considered under the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program (MIRHPP). This policy requires that at least 20% of the residential floor area (of total FSR) is to be made available to households earning between $30,000 & $80,000 per annum. 

The architect for the project is Metric Architecture.

The full rezoning application can be viewed here: https://rezoning.vancouver.ca/applications/1805larchst/index.htm

Rize Alliance has submitted a rezoning application for a site at the corner of Fraser Street and East 19th Avenue in East Vancouver. The site, currently zoned C-2, is currently developed with an older 2-storey commercial building and a parking lot. 

The proposal calls for a new 6-storey rental building, including:

• • 104 market rental units;
    • 33 studios, 32 one-bedrooms, 28 two-bedrooms & 11 three-bedrooms;
  • 13,027 SF of retail space;
  • a total density of 3.43 FSR;
  • a building height of 71 ft.; and
  • 112 underground parking spaces and 213 bicycle spaces.

This application is being considered under the Secured Market Rental Housing (Rental 100) Policy.

The architect for the project is Yamamoto Architecture.