Joyce-Collingwood Station review

[Waders]

After 2 years, there are some updates to projects related to the Joyce-Collingwood Station Precinct Plan.

Construction of the 30-storey 'Joyce' at 5050 Joyce Street is progressing well. From what I can see, topping out has completed.

Westbank has submitted a revised proposal for the construction of a 36(35?)-storey building at 5055 Joyce Street.

- Ground floor commercial retail units;
- 360 rental residential units including 1-floor of below-market rental housing at 20% below CMHC average rent for the neighbourhood;
- A floor space ratio (FSR) of 15.97;
- A floor area of 23,732.9 sq. m (255,457.8 sq. ft.);
- A building height of 96.1 m (315.3 ft.);
- 103 underground parking spaces, 727 bicycle spaces, and 2 Class B loading spaces.

Please note: This is a resubmission for this site. The original proposal was for a 32-storey mixed-use building with at-grade commercial and 298 strata residential units (see below). The applicant has proposed amendments to their original proposal including:

- Four additional floors changing from 32-storeys to 36-storeys;
- Changes to floor-to-floor heights thereby reducing the increase to the overall building height; and
- Change in tenure of the residential portion to 100% of the residential floor as secured rental housing, with 1-floor of rental housing at rates 20% below CMHC’s average rent for the neighbourhood;

Source: Rezoning application

Also there is a news article about the project.

Source

The area at the south-west corner of Joyce Steet/Vanness Ave. might be the next to be redeveloped.

[Feathered Friend]

Originally Posted by Waders

Westbank has submitted a revised proposal for the construction of a 36(35?)-storey building at 5055 Joyce Street.

Also there is a news article about the project.


The area at the south-west corner of Joyce Steet/Vanness Ave. might be the next to be redeveloped.

Like many things that are picked up in the media, that article was likely inspired by a recent post in this very forum. After all, it's kind of funny that so many publications have just noticed the change, considering it was posted on the project's rezoning page back in April.

Here's the information from the project's thread.

Originally Posted by jlousa

This one has been changed from 32flrs to 36 and from market condos to rental.

Ground floor commercial retail units;
360 rental residential units including 1-floor of below-market rental housing at 20% below CMHC average rent for the neighbourhood;
A floor space ratio (FSR) of 15.97;
A floor area of 23,732.9 sq. m (255,457.8 sq. ft.);
A building height of 96.1 m (315.3 ft.);
103 underground parking spaces, 727 bicycle spaces, and 2 Class B loading spaces.

Updated rezoning:
https://rezoning.vancouver.ca/applic...cest/index.htm

Council meeting is on Oct 6th, take a quick minute and send in your support.
https://vancouver.ca/your-government...c-hearing.aspx

[Marshal]

There is an issue here that City Hall (s) need to consider. Not zoning adequately for the future, like COV did along the expo line, results in construction of buildings that need to be replaced after only a small portion of their use-able life. The environmental cost is substantial and could/should impact how the city evaluates their green initiatives. They should consider a site over a period of time, because building two LEED platinum buildings, one of which gets torn down and replaced by the other, is not the best option.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Marshal

There is an issue here that City Hall (s) need to consider. Not zoning adequately for the future, like COV did along the expo line, results in construction of buildings that need to be replaced after only a small portion of their use-able life. The environmental cost is substantial and could/should impact how the city evaluates their green initiatives. They should consider a site over a period of time, because building two LEED platinum buildings, one of which gets torn down and replaced by the other, is not the best option.

I'm not clear what you're suggesting here. There was a plan for the Joyce Station area 25 years ago, and significant development on one side of the station. In 2014 Council approved a Station Precinct Plan to add additional density close to the station. The two Westbank towers are the result. The existing building on the site is not particularly large, 27 years old, and only 2FSR, with no residential component. There seem to be only two alternatives; to accept that it should be a higher density redevelopment, or not. 'Not' would mean under-utilization of the location. The existing building will have to be deconstructed and anything recyclable will be.

[SpongeG]

I was reading about this building on facebook and in the comments someone said they should not be allowed to build a rental there that it is a waste of money and should not be allowed next to a station.

[Waders]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I was reading about this building on facebook and in the comments someone said they should not be allowed to build a rental there that it is a waste of money and should not be allowed next to a station.

It is likely the developer is participating in the City of Vancouver Rental Incentive Program for this project.

'Rental 100: Secured Market Rental Housing Policy' Summary:

Objectives:
•Increase supply of 100% market rental housing (i.e. no mixed projects with both strata and rental units)
•Encourage development of market rental housing for households that cannot afford to purchase a home

Approach:
•Incentives are offered to encourage more private sector market rental housing

Structure:
Rental 100 is organized into two streams:
1. Projects that can be developed under the existing zoning (i.e. development permit process)
2. Projects that require a change in zoning

Incentives:
•DCL waiver
•Parking reductions
•Relaxation of unit size to 320 sq. ft.
•Density increases (for rezoning projects)
•Concurrent processing (for rezoning projects)

The building east side view will be blocked by the 'Joyce' building so it might not be a very hot sell as strata unit. Now the developer would retain the ownership of the land and building.

A few questions.
Is the rental vacancy% still very low? I thought some young people have moved out of rental units and moved back to live with their parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Does Westbank currently own other rental buildings?

[SpongeG]

the commentator says poor people do not deserve to live in prime areas next to transit, they can live deep in the suburbs, spots like these should be reserved for the middle class. He says this is like giving poor people gold.

[casper]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

the commentator says poor people do not deserve to live in prime areas next to transit, they can live deep in the suburbs, spots like these should be reserved for the middle class. He says this is like giving poor people gold.

Many people with weird views of the world.

Pleased that one of the attributes of our British Colonial history we have evolved away from was the class structure. There is no place in Canadian society for government to reserve certain areas for middle, poor or upper class housing.