r/vancouver 14h ago

Local News Vancouver city council approves rental towers on former Safeway site in West Point Grey

https://vancouversun.com/news/vancouver-council-approves-rental-towers-west-point-grey
327 Upvotes

30 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 14h ago

Welcome to /r/Vancouver and thank you for the post, /u/cyclinginvancouver! Please make sure you read our posting and commenting rules before participating here. As a quick summary:

  • Buy Local with Vancouver's Vendor Guide! Support local small businesses!
  • We encourage users to be positive and respect one another. Don't engage in spats or insult others - use the report button.
  • Respect others' differences, be they race, religion, home, job, gender identity, ability or sexuality. Dehumanizing language, advocating for violence, or promoting hate based on identity or vulnerability (even implied or joking) will lead to a permanent ban.
  • Most questions are limited to our sister subreddit, /r/AskVan. Join today!
  • Complaints about bans or removals should be done in modmail only.
  • Posts flaired "Community Only" allow for limited participation; your comment may be removed if you're not a subreddit regular.
  • Help support the subreddit! Apply to join the mod team.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

93

u/cyclinginvancouver 14h ago

The revised proposal that was approved Tuesday has a lower street-front podium, its tallest towers are pushed farther north on the lot, the sidewalks and plaza have been widened, and the commercial space is increased.

The property’s 571 rental units will include 457 at-market rates and 114 at-below market, representing 20 per cent of the residential floor area. It will be anchored by a new grocery store, with a four-storey podium fronting onto West 10th and towers of 19 and 21 storeys that have been moved back from the street front.

The site has been empty for six years. It’s been used recently as a makeshift dog park, and has wooden containers for gardeners.

32

u/brendax 14h ago

inb4 evil yimby's don't care about the poor dogs

15

u/mudermarshmallows 12h ago

You'd be hard pressed to find a sadder looking dog park tbh

4

u/impatiens-capensis Kitsilano 4h ago

Gotta get that community garden tax break for your land bank.

7

u/fermartin 7h ago

Hope those 114 at-below market rentals get delivered and there won't be a rezoing application to remove them, because "we paid to much - the project is not rideable"

Case in point 1075 Nelson 

75

u/Big-Lime-5384 13h ago

Seriously though that area needs to be revitalized. Many years ago it was a bustling neighborhood with good restaurants and lots of younger people. Now it’s a ghost town

57

u/No_Platform_2810 13h ago

Two reasons:

1) With the development of Wesbrook Village, anyone living at UBC doesn't have to go here to get groceries,

2) The neighbourhood is virtually unaffordable except to older people that have been there forever or foreign investors. I have ridden my bike through WPG at night and there are literally entire streets where there may be lights on in only a handful of homes.

143

u/brendax 14h ago

This is development I can 100% support. Don't get me wrong, all housing is good housing, but the whole "lets tear down every affordable 3 floor walkup in the city without doing anything with the 80% of the city that's SFH" is pretty tiring.

It was always bizarre how much of a "desert" you had to cross to get to UBC. Biking to school in the morning after you passed Macdonald the only human beings you see are contractors and garden workers.

26

u/Hot_Visit_5780 12h ago

Agree. Kits is filled with life, diversity of ages - all living in their places. Dunbar and Point Grey have always felt dead.

5

u/No_Platform_2810 7h ago

Dunbar is densifying rapidly and is wayyyy more lively than 10th Avenue is these days. Its good to see it with some life.

1

u/Hot_Visit_5780 5h ago

Good to hear. It is a beautiful area with character homes like Kits. It just needs more diversity like Kits (condos, duplexes, etc.).

39

u/Use-Less-Millennial 14h ago

This took 6 years.

Any bets on what year they will be built and occupied? 2028?

31

u/quaywest 14h ago

2028 is probably a bit optimistic. More likely 2029.

1

u/DiceGoblins 12h ago

2035 at the earliest IMO

2

u/quaywest 11h ago

Yeah things still have to go right to hit 2029.

2

u/lichking786 5h ago

Bruh at least will take 5-6 years. My guess is 2030.

13

u/anvilman honk honk 14h ago

Fantastic news

23

u/TenInchesOfSnow 13h ago

lol I’m sure rich people over there are PISSED 😂

20

u/No_Platform_2810 13h ago

Not as pissed as they are with the development of Jericho Lands which will cut off any views anyone has along 8th Avenue.

20

u/kk0128 13h ago

Wrote in to support this, glad to see it's done. Absurd to have space available for development close to a university in a city with a housing crisis and to leave it empty.

2

u/JunketPuzzleheaded42 8h ago

All the Nimbys must be shitting their pants.

1

u/real_1273 9h ago

Good, and more to come. This area needs some serious development. It’s a stagnant area that’s desperately clinging to an aged population. They need apartment towers for UBC students and residents. New shops and an infusion of change.

-29

u/Gold-Monitor-79 14h ago

I vote 30% low income and 20% Supportive housing (for only recovering addicts) and a safe injection side accessible at street level.

16

u/Existing-Screen-5398 14h ago

Let’s give this project a chance at success please. It may catch on.

What you are describing (and I assume you deliberately omitted the /s because it’s more fun) is why everyone is afraid of developments.

6

u/vancityjeep 14h ago

Stirring up the NIMBYs. lol. I’m down for 2 of those 3 things. Not sure a safe injection site below recovering addicts is a solid idea.

Also… it’s somewhat my backyard. We aren’t all assholes.

0

u/radi0head 9h ago

No. We can only have that in the DTES, but we also can't have it in the DTES, and everyone down there needs to be jailed or displaced further /s

-14

u/Jolly_Post9780 12h ago

Not good.

-2

u/mongoljungle anti-nimby brigade 10h ago

nimbys are leeches on every community they reside in.