General Vancouver Development Updates II

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

EDIT: There was a indigenous community centre/housing project from 2022 on that empty lot to the north

EDIT 2: In 2024 there were new building grades for two 24 storey towers

Both of those projects are social housing, and as I noted, it's likely a social housing project on the Cressey site could also be significantly bigger. There's an 18 storey social housing project already approved across the street.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by Glow Fun City

PNE Amphitheatre update as I load in at the Coliseum today…


All photos by me today (August 14th 2025)

Looking real good. I really hope this adds more square footage to Playland and the PNE next year. It's just so tragic to see how little there is to see there now.

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Looking real good. I really hope this adds more square footage to Playland and the PNE next year. It's just so tragic to see how little there is to see there now.

It should!

Summer Night Concerts will return to the Amphitheatre next year (sorry Freedom Mobile, I'm not calling it the Arch! ). That frees up the Coliseum for Superdogs to return there, which will free up the Agrodome to add another show — maybe medieval jousting again?

There is also a lot of space between the Amphitheatre and barns being used for construction staging right now… hopefully that will be incorporated into the fair next year as well (the old "Revel District"). But it is too bad the original plans to renovate that entire area as well got cut for budget reasons…

[jollyburger]

Exclusive: 'Serious safety risk': Work halted on several Vancouver multiplex projects built too close to power lines

Vancouver’s efforts to build more missing-middle housing has hit a snag after several construction projects were slapped with stop-work orders over serious safety risks for workers and future occupants, Postmedia has learned.

New zoning implemented in 2023 with great fanfare allows up to six homes on lots in low-density residential neighbourhoods that were previously reserved solely for single-detached houses or duplexes. The city calls these small multi-unit apartment buildings “multiplexes.”

But city hall recently halted work on at least nine projects after it was determined they were being built too close to power lines, a city spokesperson confirmed.

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/col...ar---hero-feed

[madog222]

Redevelopment proposal for the City owned 2400 Motel on Kingsway.
Four towers of 28, 26, 25, and 18 stories at 5 FSR.

2396-2400 Kingsway and 2441-2493 E 33rd Ave - Application recently submitted. Staff preparing notification - To rezone from RS-1, RT-2 & C-2 to CD-1 to allow for the development of four mixed-use rental residential buildings with ground floor commercial, 15,000 sq. ft. indoor community gathering space, 37-space childcare, and a 20,000 sq. ft. outdoor community gathering space. It proposes 863 rental residential units under the Norquay Village Neighbourhood Centre Plan 2010. An FSR of 5.04 and building heights of 18, 25, 26 and 28-storeys are proposed.

https://plposweb.vancouver.ca/Public...ctId=271641370

[jollyburger]

VHDO also submitted an enquiry for 8324-8486 Granville St in February 2025.

[logan5]

Overall, the Norquay Plan has been a real disappointment. It's been 15 years since its implementation, and very little has been built.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by logan5

Overall, the Norquay Plan has been a real disappointment. It's been 15 years since its implementation, and very little has been built.

It's not totally a bad thing considering they probably can come in with more density than anyone was thinking about 15 years ago.

[jollyburger]

But Chan Hon Goh, general and artistic director of the Goh Ballet Academy and Youth Company Canada, said expansion is needed to accommodate more performance space, students and seismically upgrade the heritage building.

“We hope that with this redevelopment, we will be able to serve many more students [up to 344 within 315, dormitory-style self-contained residences] while also providing the necessary housing to accommodate them, in a city where housing is a well-documented challenge,” Goh said in an email.

The application provides more detail on expansion, saying the development would effectively double the academy’s operations, accommodating approximately 890 students annually compared to the current 450.

“This expansion will enable increased teacher employment, performance-hosting capabilities and financial support for dancers through scholarships and foundation initiatives,” the application said.

https://www.nsnews.com/real-estate/v...uites-11092616

[jollyburger]

For that Arno Matis project at 917 Main St by that Surrey developer. Building grades were for 36 storeys.

“So this building is getting torn down,” says Tony, part of a new group that’s committed to reviving what was once Vancouver’s most famous punk bar. “That’s probably in four to six years—somewhere around there. They are building some 20-story hotel, so there is a limited amount of time.”

https://www.straight.com/music/once-...egendary-roots

[SpongeG]

not sure if these have their own thread but I visited Crate & Barrel a few months ago but this past weekend I was quite stunned but how much it has grown since that time, it's really changed the feel of the area.

Pics Aug 16

PXL_20250817_005904388 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250817_011102547 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250817_011151667 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250817_011154531 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250817_011302582 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250817_011449829 by snub_you, on Flickr

PXL_20250817_012302690 by snub_you, on Flickr

[csbvan]

2400 Kingsway (2400 Motel) redevelopment is up:

https://plposweb.vancouver.ca/Public...ctId=271641370

Job Location: 2400 KINGSWAY, Vancouver, BC V5R 5G9

Work Description: 2396-2400 Kingsway and 2441-2493 E 33rd Ave - Application recently submitted. Staff preparing notification - To rezone from RS-1, RT-2 & C-2 to CD-1 to allow for the development of four mixed-use rental residential buildings with ground floor commercial, 15,000 sq. ft. indoor community gathering space, 37-space childcare, and a 20,000 sq. ft. outdoor community gathering space. It proposes 863 rental residential units under the Norquay Village Neighbourhood Centre Plan 2010. An FSR of 5.04 and building heights of 18, 25, 26 and 28-storeys are proposed.

Type of Work: New CD-1

[jollyburger]

Vancouver’s land development plan could help pay for city budget, chief of staff says

Vancouver’s ambitious plan to develop thousands of market-rate apartments on city land could eventually bring in enough money to cover almost half of the municipal operating budget, Mayor Ken Sim’s chief of staff says.

That’s the long-term goal, said Trevor Ford, who enthusiastically described the plan as the equivalent of what Vienna, Singapore or the University of British Columbia have done by developing their own land. Vancouver’s current operating budget is $2.34-billion.

The city plans to build 4,300 market-rate apartments as a pilot project on five pieces of city land, becoming a major landlord of for-profit rentals to households earning up to $194,000, and then expand that program significantly with new sites in the coming years.

“In 40 years, it has the potential to cover hundreds of millions of dollars of the city’s operating budget. That is the estimate,” Mr. Ford said.

The city is the largest single landowner in Vancouver, with more than 700 properties in its portfolio. About 230 of them are home to 13,000 social-housing apartments.

Vancouver’s initiative, announced in February, is a highly unusual one for a North American city and in sharp contrast to previous efforts here, which have focused almost exclusively on providing subsidized housing.

The Colliers report noted that, although the city plans to limit rents somewhat in order to make their new apartments available and attractive to middle-income households, it can’t get financing from the federal Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation unless it provides a certain proportion of apartments at below-market rents.

The report makes it clear that the city is counting on getting low-interest loans from CMHC as a way of reducing the overall development cost.

In part of the report focusing on assessing various risks, it noted that the pilot projects are very large-scale developments coming into a challenging market.

The report suggested that the city assume no more than 40 absorptions a month and that it phase its large developments so that there aren’t too many units coming onto the market at once.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/cana...n-city-budget/

[PBlonde]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/cana...n-city-budget/

"could eventually bring in enough money to cover almost half of the municipal operating budget", but at what cost would it achieve that lofty goal? In light of how poorly the GVA municipalities manage development projects, it'll probably end up costing 50% more than it should and take twice as long. I'd rather see the City do a sale of the land and a buyback of a completed property. At least that way they'd have some certainty on timing and cost.

[whatnext]

Why compete with he private sector who can deliver the same product?

[madog222]

301-333 East Hastings - Salvation Army Temple Redevelopment

https://plposweb.vancouver.ca/Public...ctId=268908340

This project is a new development of a 14-storey building + 2 under-ground parkade levels. This project is a partnership between Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and BC Housing. The Healthcare portion (run by VCH) will span L1-L2, and the housing portion will span L2-L14 and will include approx. 200 units of supportive and affordable housing.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Why compete with he private sector who can deliver the same product?

There's only one poster here who has consistently cited Vienna and Singapore as positive examples of places that have extensive publicly owned rental housing. Confusingly, they're called 'whatnext' too. Now that Vancouver is proposing to start to build and own more rental housing, you're questioning the idea?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Devil's advocate: subsidized rental housing. The CoV becoming a for-profit landlord seems like it causes as many potential problems as it solves unless they also place restrictions on themselves.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Devil's advocate: subsidized rental housing. The CoV becoming a for-profit landlord seems like it causes as many potential problems as it solves unless they also place restrictions on themselves.

If the City owns rental housing, future Councils can choose how much of it is available as subsidized housing. If they don't build any housing, they will own none to potentially subsidize. In the short term they have to pay to build the new housing, and they need to cover the debt they'll have to take on to build it.

Property taxes are already expected to rise another 5% next year to cover existing programs and services, and there are plenty of other things that additional taxes could cover if the City wanted to add to that (apparently model steam trains and swimming pool filtration equipment are high on some people's priorities). The City's proposed additional rental housing will cost billions to build, but longer-term, it's a stable source of revenue. How that's spent (to subsidize future City costs, or to subsidize rents) will be up to future Councils.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by madog222

301-333 East Hastings - Salvation Army Temple Redevelopment

https://plposweb.vancouver.ca/Public...ctId=268908340

Perfect area to house people suffering from addiction and mental health issues. Very frustrating to see the DTES sliding further into the depths.

If the City keeps going in this direction, eventually Gastown and Chinatown will be abandoned.