**1501 Haro St Development Application .***(Ewan Streit photo)*

CONSTRUCTION BOOM POISED TO LAUNCH
Development Permits In Progress

by John Streit
(click images to enlarge)

If you take a walk or roll around the West End, you’ll notice it’s relatively quiet in terms of new rental or condominium construction.

Looking north across Burrard Inlet in both the District and City of North Vancouver, you’ll see numerous cranes dotting the sloped skyline. Looking south over to Kitsilano Point, the sprawling ten and a half acre Sen̓áḵw development — promising 6,000 rental units — is rising on either side of the Burrard Bridge.

There is, of course, some building happening in the West End. At 1400 Robson Street, Landmark On Robson is nearing completion. This project, replacing the iconic Sheraton Landmark with 236 homes in two condo towers, is marketed by developer Magnum Projects as “the new international benchmark of luxury living.” Prices start at around $1.1 million and top at just over $4.5 million. Estimated completion is next month. Westbank’s construction of The Butterfly tower on Nelson Street is also supposed to be done this year.

So, what’s in the pipeline for our neighbourhood? Well, a lot. Hundreds of new rentals are coming.

Numerous properties in the West End have large surface/underground parking lots, plazas and green spaces where infill rental housing would appear to be an easy and relatively unobtrusive fit with current tenants unaffected.

**Artist rendering of 1005 Jervis.** *(Image courtesy City of Vancouver)*

Metcap Living is capitalizing on ample space on their properties with plans for infill housing adjacent to three of its distinctly white and grey painted rental apartment buildings. Development permit applications have been submitted to the City of Vancouver for 1005 Jervis Street near Nelson and 1501 and 1755 Haro Street.

At 1005 Jervis, a six-storey residential infill building with 52 secured market rental units is being proposed. No new parking is included in this project because the original building already has a spacious three level underground parking lot.

**Artist rendering of 1501 Haro Street. (***Image courtesy City of Vancouver)*

Down at 1755 Haro across from the West End Community Centre, Metcap Living has applied to build a six-storey residential infill building with 60 secured market rental units. No new parking will be built.

And a couple of blocks up at 1501 Haro, two infill buildings are being proposed including a six-storey apartment fronting Haro, and a three-storey townhouse along Rosemary Brown Lane. Planned are 61 secured market rental units with no new added parking as the building already has 2.5 levels of existing underground parking. According to the City of Vancouver, all three of these applications are “conditional” and may be permitted because they fall under the existing RM-5A zoning.

**Artist rendering of 1755 Haro.** *(Image courtesy City of Vancouver)*

**Artist rendering of 1000-block Barclay Street.** *(Image courtesy City of Vancouver)*

A major Vancouver development permit board decision to watch this month pertains to 1040-1060 Barclay Street and 1070-1080 Barclay — the same block as the YMCA. Bosa Properties is looking to build a 59-storey tower and a 57-storey tower with a combined 796 market rental units, 137 below-market units and 89 social housing units. Also included is a 37-space childcare facility.

**Artist rendering of 1000-block Harwood. 1066 Harwood on the right.** *(Image courtesy City of Vancouver)*

Development permits have been issued to another Bosa Properties project in the West End, two matching apartment buildings at 1065-1066 Harwood Street near Thurlow. The first is a 33-storey tower with 275 secured rental units including 56 below-market rental units and 219 market rental units. The second will have 274 secured rental units including 56 below-market rental units and 218 market rental units.

Meanwhile, Gracorp Properties has applied to the City to build a 16-storey residential building at 1045 Burnaby Street near Thurlow. Thirty-three secured market rental units and 37 below market rental units are being proposed. The application has been approved after only being submitted in August, 2023. However, it came with 12 pages of conditions. The conditions are a fascinating deep dive into the complex real estate development world and the seeming importance of dotting your “i’s” and crossing your “t’s” before submitting development proposals to the City. Some of the changes and clarifications being asked of the developer from COV’s project coordinator Katrina Hsieh and other staff include:

**Artist rendering of 1045 Burnaby Street.** *(Image courtesy City of Vancouver)*

Providing a balcony for each unit with 1.8 m x 2.7 m minimum dimensions.
Increasing the usable unit area and unit to the greatest extent feasible, which may include relocating walls and storage closets where possible.
Provision of an updated tree management plan. The following proposed species are not compliant: Achillea millifolium ‘Terracotta’, Symphyotrichum subspicatum, and Lavandula angustifolia. Grass is acceptable. Update landscape plans accordingly.
Consider larger waste room entrance widths as current illustration appears to be challenging for bins.

The letter from the City to Gracorp concludes: “it should be noted that your Development Permit will be issued when you have complied with all the above conditions. However, if these conditions have not been complied with on, or before April 26, 2024 this Development Application may stand refused.”

**Artist rendering of 998 Thurlow.** *(Image courtesy City of Vancouver)*

A handsome 1910 heritage building on the busy corner of Thurlow and Nelson which has been empty since damaged by a fire in 2018 may soon get a major makeover. Stantec Architecture has applied to the City of Vancouver for permission to alter and convert the Edwardian-style five-storey Washington Court to an eight-storey apartment building. The developer is proposing 80 secured market rental units plus the restoration and repair of the existing building facade.

So why has the building been vacant for six years during a rental housing crunch? In its project rationale to the City, Stantec explained “a Building Permit application was subsequently submitted in 2019 to the City of Vancouver and initially supported to allow for remedial work to be completed and the building restored to an occupied state. However, upon secondary review by the CoV Building Department over the following year, the scope of the restoration and repair work triggered requirements for extensive and costly structural, envelope, fire and life safety upgrades to the building.”

**Original 1910-1966 building, The Washington, at 998 Thurlow.** *(COV archives)*

The building’s owner then did more studies and found “upgrading the existing timber and wood frame structure to meet current standards was not possible, and that reconstructing the entire interior structure from the ground up would be required. Faced with the costly prospect of essentially having to build a new building within the restored facades of the existing building, through the course of 2020-2022 the owner and applicant team explored redevelopment scenarios for the building and sought direction from City staff as to the appropriate approvals process for the project.”

A six-storey addition was then proposed but that got the thumbs-down from City staff and in April 2023 the developer chose to go the development permit application route. Stantec has opted for the currently proposed three-storey addition, including reconstruction and restoration of the original sixth level facades and cornice that were removed following a second fire in 1966.

The Washington Court application awaits a final decision from the City’s director of planning.

West Ender John Streit has been a B.C. radio, TV and online journalist for more than 20 years. You can listen to John anchor Global News on 980/CKNW in Vancouver.

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