Are market rental towers the new SRO replacement plan?

by Jean Swanson

Vancouver developer Westbank wants to build 3 towers in the 1000 and 1100 blocks of East Hastings. One tower would be 39 stories, one would be 38 stories (767 apartments total) and one would be 19 stories (157 units). The tallest two would be for rental apartments for mostly middle income and some higher income folks.

The shorter one (replacing the Vernon Hotel) would be seniors social housing with 52 units at shelter rate, and 105 units for middle income people. It's not clear how much money the government is putting into the social housing building. Because the city would be allowing the developer to build 2 towers much higher than the current zoning allows, the city can extract community benefits like social housing from the developer. It appears that the developer will pay for at least some of the social housing building and has handed it over to BC Housing.

Does the city want to use this strategy for the Oppenheimer District (DEOD)? In this area, surrounding Oppenheimer Park and with a finger going down Hastings to Columbia, the current zoning requires that privately owned rental housing buildings include social housing. Only 2 buildings have been built in 10 years under this condition. But, coupled with a condo restriction in the area, property values have been low and about 15, 100 per cent social housing buildings have recently opened or are in the planning and development stages.

Plus we have got some social housing and 20 percent of it at shelter rate in the two mixed private and social housing buildings.

Last year City Council passed a motion to "Explore options to update the DTES Area Plan, with the goal to deliver a greater number of social and supportive housing units in the DEOD." Does the E. Hastings tower proposal mean the city wants to allow huge market rental towers to replace SROs in the DEOD in order to extract enough funds from developers to replace a few SRO rooms?

Is this the new plan for the rest of the Downtown Eastside?

If you're concerned about the DTES getting more housing that mostly excludes low income residents, the city is holding a public information meeting on October 17th from 5pm to 7:30 pm at the Japanese Hall, 457 Alexander St. Or, if you are a DTES residents come to the regular Fri lunch Carnegie Housing Project meetings to learn more.