The City of Vancouver imposed a moratorium on the West End (bordered by Burrard Street, Beach Avenue, Stanley Park and Robson) in the mid’ 90s and sent the developers Downtown.
Now that Downtown and Coal Harbour are close to being built out, the developers are refocusing on the West End, which is Vancouver’s oldest condo neighbourhood and was the address to have back in the early 1900s, which is evidenced by many remaining beautiful Victoria houses.
The West End is also steeped in history and geographically beautiful, bordering the Park and English Bay and a short bus ride to the business district.
There is a development permit for St. Johns United Church, 1401 Comox, a rezoning application has been submitted that would see the church replaced with a 22 storey condo tower.
There is a rezoning application for 1215 Bidwell for a 21 storey tower, and an application for a tower in 1700 block Pendrell. In addition there is a proposed rezoning for Beach Towers, which consists of 4 towers and was recently sold to a German company.
The above application permits have raised neighbourhood concerns about a perceived lack of public consultation. They are part of the City’s Short Term Incentives for Rental program (STIR), which is an initiative approved by council in June 2009 and it provides incentives for developers to build new market rental housing, including expedited permit processing and parking requirements.
The West End Residents Association feel the STIR program doesn’t address the number one concern of westenders, which is affordability and is calling for a review of the program.
WERA argue that a median income of $38,000 pr year wont be able to afford the hike in rents. Some residents feel there should be a long term program set out by city hall for the neighbourhood, similar to what they did in the ’80s.
This charming neighbourhood which is 80% rental, has been in the news a lot recently, as owners have given tenants notice to vacate so that they can upgrade their rental buildings and increase the rents. No doubt we shall be hearing more about West End rezoning and shall observe how city hall resolves the confrontation between the two sides.
I receive many requests from potential buyers who used to be West End renters, then moved to the suburbs to raise their family and as empty nesters wish to return to their former neighbourhood, but are disappointed that it doesn’t provide much choice of suitable accommodation for them – that is, larger and newer condos.
Some of us will remember the ’80s when the developers last focused on this neighbourhood and many elderly renters lost their accommodation and had to leave the neighbourhood. No doubt many old rental buildings are ripe for redevelopment, the question remains what form does redevelopment take.
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The development application for 1401 Comox Street is a rezoning application and concurrent development permit application for an entirely rental building – 192 rental apartments in a 22 storey building at a floor space ratio of just under 7.5 (substantially higher than almost every other existing building in the West End). As you note, the West End is already more than 80% rental, so it is debatable whether a developer should be granted a 500% increase in density to provide more market rentals – but ultimately that is a question for City Council.
Much more information is available here:
http://www.westendneighbours.ca
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