A long-awaited public hearing is scheduled for Thursday on a controversial proposal to build three rental housing towers on property currently occupied by Safeway near Commercial Drive and Broadway.
The proposal has been a long time in the making, with a rezoning application submitted in 2019, which was followed by revisions and then withdrawn in August 2023. A new application was submitted in November 2023 and revised again in May 2024.
The end result is that the proposed towers will be taller, more homes have been added and a 37-space child-care facility is now part of the plan, according to the application submitted by Westbank Projects Corp/Crombie REIT, on behalf of Snowcat Property Holdings Ltd.
The proposal calls for 1,044 rental units to be built, with 940 rented at market rates and 104 at “city-wide average market rents.” The towers will reach 37, 38 and 44 storeys, making it an application that exceeds the anticipated height and density of the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.
As of Monday morning, 80 people had registered to speak to council at the hearing, with another 124 writing letters in opposition of the proposal. A total of 146 wrote letters of support, with another eight neutral in their position.
Betsy Alkenbrack told council in her letter that she lives in the neighbourhood and said she was “dismayed” at the proposal because it doesn’t take “affordability and livability” into consideration.
“If you look at current rentals in our neighbourhood, ‘average rent’ is not really affordable,” Alkenbrack said. “There should be units offered with 20 per cent less than the average rentals as well as social housing for our neighbours who need extra support.”
'Best thing to happen'
Blair Redlin, another Grandview-Woodland resident, wrote that he agreed there should be housing towers at what is a designated transit-oriented development site. But he said the proposal doesn’t align with residents’ vision for the area, as set out in the community plan, which council approved in 2016.
“Of course, there should be housing towers at this transit-oriented site—as recognized in the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan—but this proposal is so far out of scale and so at odds with both city housing policy and the community plan that it should be sent back to the drawing board,” Redlin said.
“Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»needs affordable housing instead.”
Many of the residents who wrote to council in support of the proposal emphasized the need for more housing around the busy Commercial Drive-Broadway transit hub, where SkyTrain and buses serve thousands of commuters each day.
“Can we please stop talking about these towers and get them built?” wrote Jesse Kaltio. “My only opposition to the towers is that they are not taller. I am a homeowner in the neighbourhood and am fully supportive. This is a major transportation hub and it doesn't make sense there aren't towers there.”
Grandview-Woodland resident Sean Chilibeck: “This will be the best thing to happen to the Commercial-Broadway station area in a long time. It's just too bad it's taken so long. This part of Commercial is in rough shape, and everyone in the local area agrees. Businesses [are] closing, and drug use [has] gotten worse. A new park, an improved pedestrian realm, and more rental housing are all things we desperately need at a key SkyTrain station, significantly more than a surface parking lot.”
New bylaws, policies
To the concerns about the proposal exceeding the height and density of the community plan, city staff said in its report that the application “otherwise generally meets the intent of the plan to enable a mixed-use development with a mix of housing opportunities and large format grocery store.”
“This site is located adjacent to one of the region’s busiest transit station hubs and delivers 1,044 rental housing units without displacing residential tenants,” the report said.
“It also delivers a city-owned childcare facility, a replacement grocery store, additional commercial units, a public plaza and a publicly accessible upper courtyard.”
Since the approval of the community plan, “transit-oriented-area” bylaws and policies—as directed by provincial legislation—have changed the surrounding context, staff said.
“Proposed tower heights vary from the expected building heights in the plan,” the report said. “Staff supports this variation from the plan, as the increased height enables a reduction in the number of towers from four to three, thereby improving daylight access and views through the site.”
The hearing begins Thursday at 6 p.m. in the council chamber at city hall.
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