Real Estate Department finalised the deal and presented recommendations to Council for approval. Pursuant to the Vancouver Charter, the City has statutory authority to enter into real estate transactions. 

In 2022 Council approved the terms of an agreement with Concord Pacific that, subject to Council approval of the regulatory amendments being proposed currently, would include:

•    Concord retaining three sites for the development of market housing at the same density permitted under the current ODP;

•    The City receiving three sites for the development of new non-market housing (Concord waives the purchase price for the City to exercise its option on these sites, valued at $11m); 

•    Development of new public amenities including fire hall and childcare facility; and,

•    Concord providing a $110M cash contribution that could be used for a new street network planned for Northeast False Creek.

The proposed amendments are in keeping with all previous Council decisions made over the years regarding the delivery of the remaining non-market housing units in the FCN ODP area.

The six non-market housing sites already constructed include:

238 Davie St (Bridgeview Place) – 72 units 

183 Drake St (Sydney Manor) - 74 units (senior’s)

1267 Marinaside Cres. (Roundhouse Co-op) – 137 Units 

201 Alvin Narod Mews (Yaletown Mews) – 60 units 

1010 Pacific Blvd (Quayside) – 93 units. 

525 Abbott Street - 108 units

The original anticipated # of units and # of storeys for each of the sites below are as follows: 

Address:        Non-market housing units, Number of Storeys

1502 Granville:        90 units, up to 8 storeys

431 Beach         110 units, 12 storeys

450 Pacific        80 units, up to 8 storeys

1050 Expo        100 units, up to 8 storeys

990 Beatty        104 units, up to 15 storeys

900 Pacific Blvd     114 units, 15 storeys

TOTAL:            598 units

In order to land all of the non-market housing requirement on 3 sites, the sites had to be able to take extra density. An urban design analysis was undertaken and it was determined that the two sites at 1050 Expo and 990 Beatty could accommodate the most additional density, considering tower separation, bridge separation, etc.  To achieve the minimum 661 units, one of the existing smaller sites was selected – 450 Pacific St.

Under the FCN ODP, the site at 1502 Granville Street anticipates a building up to 8-storeys given the urban design requirement to maintain a minimum 25 m separation from adjacent towers for building mass above 70 feet. In addition, adequate distance from the Granville Street Bridge is required for maintenance.  Due to these site constraints, it was determined that 1502 Granville Street may be more challenging to design and construct an efficient tower for non-market housing.

For the housing component of the project, the City is incurring costs related to due diligence and design work prior to construction commencing.  All of those costs will be reimbursed to the City through the housing project’s funding to be provided by BC Housing. The City has no responsibility for construction costs associated with the housing project as these are the responsibility of BC Housing and the Not for Profit housing partner.

The proposed projects are well-sited for families due to their proximity to shops and services, schools, employment, transit and will encourage reduced vehicle trip demand.  The site is in excellent proximity to transit and cycling infrastructure, and is required to meet the minimum vehicle requirements of the parking bylaw, which includes provisions for accessible and visitor parking, loading, and bike spaces to be provided on-site. 

The proposed developments are also being evaluated to understand their transportation impacts on the surrounding area and to encourage the use of active and sustainable transportation (walking/cycling) and transit, and reduce the need for personal vehicles. As part of the application process, Engineering staff review the application and studies with respect to transportation impacts and, if identified, may include development conditions for off-site requirements to improve mobility and safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and emergency services adjacent to the site, such as traffic signal and public realm improvements.

What would be the building footprint of the future 29 storey tower at 1050 Expo? 

The average floor plate is approximately 850 m².

How would that impact the neighbours?

The Guidelines ensure the 25 m (80 ft.) tower separations above 21.0 m (70 ft.) to maintain the privacy, and to minimise shadowing, widened spacing between buildings, create a sense of openness and optimize views for residents. 

What would be the minimum setback to the bridge and to the roads? 

The building is setback is approximately 10 m from the Cambie Bridge.

Would Expo Blvd be narrowed?

Expo Boulevard is proposed to be widened to accommodate wider sidewalks.

Would Pacific Blvd be widen?

Pacific Boulevard is proposed to be widened to accommodate wider sidewalks and a bike lane.

What would be the building separations to the existing surrounding buildings?

At the smallest pinch points, building separation is between 33 m from 1009 Expo Boulevard and 38 m from 1033 Marinaside Crescent. As per previous response, the minimum tower separation requirement is 25 m.

Would balconies be proposed and would they project into the setbacks? 

All 1-3 bedroom units have their own balconies, studio units are offered a communal balcony space. The balconies are not projecting from the building faces, although the building is proposing minor encroachments into setbacks. 

Would there be townhouse on the ground level similar to the other buildings in the area?

There are no townhouses proposed on the ground level. It is currently identified as amenity space for residents.

HI Greg,

The distance from the northern wall of 990 Beatty to the 939 Expo townhomes on the ground level is roughly 21.3m. The proposed building at 990 Beatty is 12.4m away from the property line, the 939 Expo townhomes are roughly 8.9m away from the property line. The 25 m tower separation is for building mass above 70 feet, there is no regulated building separation for mass below 70 feet.

There is no interior side yard setback anticipated under the Quayside Neighbourhood Guidelines. The guidelines outline that interior sidewalls should incorporate materials, colours, textures, articulation, and/or landscaping to enhance their visual appeal to neighbouring developments and passersby. Landscape should also be a major factor in creating a livable, healthy and environmentally responsive community through extensive use of soft landscape materials, particularly trees, and this proposal will be expected to incorporate these urban design performance measures.

The City is unable to share projected land values on privately held land. If you would like more information, please contact Concord Pacific.

The catchment area would not change as the location of the new fire hall is relatively close to the current one at 895 Hamilton, and this was/is certainly a key consideration in selecting new Fire Hall sites when replacing an existing one.  The Fire Halls are spaced apart geographically in as optimal locations as they can be, and work together as a network.

Projected population growth was taken account in the development of the City’s Long term Strategic Station Plan.  There are also different service level delivery metrics that are considered.  There is Initial Response – the VFRS target is four firefighters arriving on scene within 4 minutes of travel time, but there is also Depth of Response, and the number of firefighters that are assigned to respond are based on the level of present risk.  It is likely that more than one hall would respond to an incident.  For Moderate risk incidents – 21 firefighters arrive on scene within 8 minutes of travel time and for High Risk incidents 31 firefighters arrive on scene within 8 minutes of travel time.  The vast majority of high hazard structures are in the Downtown Core which accounts for more than half of all incident in the City.  

Hi again,

This is more of a statement than a question, please clarify the question. Vancouver House is not in the FCN ODP area so does not affect the NMH % in the ODP.

The $110M cash contribution will be used to fund infrastructure requirements to support the non-market housing as well as a portion of the street network and utility changes contemplated through the NEFC plan. 

The proposed non-market housing buildings will be funded by BC Housing and the City. Since the approval of the FCN ODP in 1990, these sites have remained empty lots as the funding model originally identified to deliver these units on six sites was no longer achievable.  The new funding model transfers ownership of three sites to the City to develop in partnership with BC Housing, independent of relying on other parties.  The City, working with BC Housing and Concord Pacific, determined that the new model proposed was the most effective way to realize delivery of the 661 or more units, on undeveloped sites under the City’s ownership, while also receiving over $110M for use to deliver the new NEFC street network.

All three non-market housing projects are subject to financing approval from BC Housing.