Downtown Vancouver Updates II

[kikin]

Originally Posted by officedweller

The Georgia and Granville side awnings were cleaned and replaced by FIFA wrapped glass/plexiglass.
Maybe they decided not to do the Seymour side and removal looked better than dirty panels?

hope they put them back up as it makes the walk up Seymour much more palatable in December, January, February

They probably won't

[jollyburger]

DP application for the Nelson Park school



https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/1150-nelson-st

[officedweller]

848 Seymour

Pics by me today:

[Feathered Friend]

Originally Posted by csbvan

ABC becoming the Council of 'no' with the election approaching - shot down the West End hotel on Barclay street.

https://stop2030barclay.ca/

Community Update: The Fight for 2030 Barclay Continues
Dear Neighbours and Supporters,
First of all, thank you. Because of your incredible dedication, the thousands of signatures on our petition, and your powerful voices at the public hearings, the City Council sent Marcon’s 25-storey tower proposal back to the drawing board on March 12th. That was a massive victory for the West End, but the fight is far from over. Marcon is preparing to resubmit their application and is trying to play a game of semantics to get their massive tower approved.

When: Tuesday, July 14th, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Where: Lord Roberts Elementary Gymnasium (1100 Bidwell St.)

Marcon is hosting a "Neighbourhood Preview" to share their revised redevelopment plans for 2030 Barclay Street. They are billing this event as an update intended to respond to community feedback and City Council’s directive sending their original application back for revisions.

This preview is not a battleground or a place for confrontation. The time to formally present our neighborhood arguments will be after the application is filed and at the subsequent public hearing. For now, our focus is on information-gathering.

https://stop2030barclay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Newsletter-Marcon-Meeting-3-1.pdf

The latest version of the 2030 Barclay rezoning proposal will be revealed on Tuesday, July 14th, and the groups that successfully advocated for its rejection previously are already mobilizing.

[kikin]

Originally Posted by officedweller

848 Seymour

Pics by me today:
...

wow, they are making fast progress, when is it scheduled to open?

I saw a man come out of the Bloom cafe that is opening soon kitty corner that will be 24/7 and he said they are expected to open in a few weeks. That area is getting more vibrant, and is already pretty active late into the night around the Japadog/Rollzy sidewalk patio. Great location for a nice hotel.

[Feathered Friend]

https://www.vsb.bc.ca/new-elementary-school-at-coal-harbour


https://plposweb.vancouver.ca/Public/Default.aspx?PossePresentation=Guest&PosseObjectId=295744093

Coal Harbour’s new school has finally been issued an occupancy permit, almost 6 years after rezoning plans were first submitted. This includes both the building’s daycare, below-market homes & cəw̓as Ch’elxwá7elch Skwuláw̓txw Seaside Elementary.

https://x.com/City_Duo/status/2076834179556454644?s=20

[WarrenC12]

I assume this opening was already accounted for when parents were applying for K last year and the VSB published their data in the spring on waitlists, etc?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I assume this opening was already accounted for when parents were applying for K last year and the VSB published their data in the spring on waitlists, etc?

Isn't it mostly going to be filled with the children who attend Lord Roberts Annex, which is about to be demolished for the BC Hydro substation project?

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Isn't it mostly going to be filled with the children who attend Lord Roberts Annex, which is about to be demolished for the BC Hydro substation project?

Is it?

[jollyburger]

While awaiting the new school's completion, students assigned to the school will be temporarily placed at Roberts Annex with a few classes placed at Roberts Elementary, ensuring continuity in their education. The District has planned student placements to maximize available space, minimize disruptions and ensure classroom stability.

The 10 classes that will eventually be at the new school at Coal Harbour will be organized as follows:

7 classes will be temporarily located at Roberts Annex, using all classrooms currently in the school
3 classes will be temporarily located at Roberts

https://www.vsb.bc.ca/seaside/new-coal-harbour-school-faqs

[jollyburger]

The buildings across from the old VPD station on Main are in the process of being demolished.

[kikin]

can we all just not, and say no to these ridiculous names, bad enough the government is forcing this stuff down our throats, but we as citizens don't have to help them propagate it

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by kikin

can we all just not, and say no to these ridiculous names, bad enough the government is forcing this stuff down our throats, but we as citizens don't have to help them propagate it

Seaside Elementary too much for you to handle?

[madog222]

Walking a very thin line.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

The buildings across from the old VPD station on Main are in the process of being demolished.

I guess it's actually in Downtown. The development permit for the site was approved in February. The new building has hybrid concrete (3 floor) and mass timber construction, for Atira.


[changing city blog]

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Changing City

I guess it's actually in Downtown. The development permit for the site was approved in February. The new building has hybrid concrete (3 floor) and mass timber construction, for Atira.


[changing city blog]

Can a mod please move (?)

Was Atira involved? The application mentions Happy Harvest as the developer and Atira moving out the tenants from the existing SROs there?

The existing site contains two Single Room Accommodation (SRA) By-law designated buildings at 172
East Cordova Street (Kyé7e) and 307 Main Street (Vets Rooms). 172 East Cordova Street, The Kyé7e,
built in 1913, is a two-storey, privately-owned rooming house containing 11 SRA By-law designated
residential rooms which are currently operated and managed by Atira’s Women’s Resource Society. The
Vets Rooms is a two-storey, privately-owned rooming house built in 1908 and contains nine SRA By-law
designated residential rooms. As of 2021 the ground floor commercial retail unit was vacant. Both
buildings (total of 20 SRA-designated rooms) were purchased in 2015 by Happy Harvest Incorporated.
The proposed replacement of SRA Units with self-contained social housing units is discussed below
under the Single Room Accommodation By-Law section.

https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/305-main-st-dp-2021-00795-final-report.pdf

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Can a mod please move (?)

Was Atira involved? The application mentions Happy Harvest as the developer and Atira moving out the tenants from the existing SROs there?

Happy Harvest apparently bought the site in 2015, with Atira operating and managing the two SRO buildings. The original project in 2021 was to have 70 social housing units and 46 market rental, but when it got to the Development Permit Board in 2022 it had become 118 units of social housing. At that time Atira were said to have been intended as the operator of the social housing.

Whether they're still involved, I'm not sure. The project was somewhat redesigned, and only got it's DP from the Director of Planning this year (for 118 units of social housing). At the end of 2025 a 'For Sale' sign appeared on the building, (by Corbel) and that changed to 'Sold' early this year - so presumably that means there's a new owner.

[Changing City]

I've noticed a few vacant smaller office buildings Downtown recently. I was wondering whether any of them might be considered for hotel conversions? The more modest scaled projects seem to be achievable more easily than the 'big idea' hotels like DeedCorp's Granville Street tower, and there a number underway, and more proposed. 'C' Class offices have the highest vacancy rate Downtown.

CBRE have the whole of 814 Richards available for lease (42,000 sf 1971 office), and 929 Granville and 840 Cambie are both for sale. I also wonder whether Reliance's new Beatty Street office could become a hotel, if they fail to find a tenant. As they're already in the hotel conversion business, I would assume that a newly built mass timber building might not be an ideal candidate, and in theory it ought to be an attractive option for an office tenant.

(This could also have been posted in either the office or hotel thread, but I put it here).

[logan5]

More social housing for the DTES does nothing to move the needle in a positive direction, for the neighbourhood or the new tenants. It is not "supportive housing", it seems, but adding more shelter rate housing to the area can only make matters worse. Why would you put vulnerable people almost smack dead centre in the worst neighbourhood in Canada? Frustrating to see a completely destructive land use policy exacerbating the problems in the DTES.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Happy Harvest apparently bought the site in 2015, with Atira operating and managing the two SRO buildings. The original project in 2021 was to have 70 social housing units and 46 market rental, but when it got to the Development Permit Board in 2022 it had become 118 units of social housing. At that time Atira were said to have been intended as the operator of the social housing.

Whether they're still involved, I'm not sure. The project was somewhat redesigned, and only got it's DP from the Director of Planning this year (for 118 units of social housing). At the end of 2025 a 'For Sale' sign appeared on the building, (by Corbel) and that changed to 'Sold' early this year - so presumably that means there's a new owner.

This Instagram post from 2023 said Atira was going to be the operator.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqL4gPUvdVM/

315 Main sold in July 2024 for $14.5 million

https://www.bcassessment.ca/Property/Info/SjAwMDAwQURWVA==

The new permits mentions the head of this social housing operator.

https://affordablehousingsocieties.ca/category/vancouver/