The iconic Beach Towers complex near English Bay will be getting 133 new rental apartments.
After a two-year long review, Vancouver city council approved the 133-unit purpose built rental project Tuesday. It is only the second purpose-built rental housing project to be approved in the city for a decade.
Devonshire Properties plans to build a four-storey building, a nine-storey tower and townhouses, with a combined total of 133 units. Monthly rents on the units will be between $1,125 and $2,270.
Council also approved a special housing agreement that will freeze rents to ensure that they don’t increase in the interim while the new apartments are being built.
The new buildings will be integrated into the existing complex at 1600 Beach Avenue and 1651 Harwood Street, which includes four existing buildings ranging from 19 to 21 storeys in height.
The proposal was initiated under the city’s Short Term Incentives for Rental (STIR) program, which was designed to encourage developers to build rental housing. The program has since been cancelled.
According to city hall, the neighbourhood has an average rental vacancy rate of 0.85% – among Vancouver’s lowest.
“With 133 new rental units, this project is another important step toward meeting the urgent need for new rental housing in the West End and across Vancouver,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson.
“Over half of Vancouver’s population are renters and yet Vancouver’s rental stock has been in decline for decades.”
According to the city, rental housing is needed as an alternative to home ownership in the West End, where the cost of housing is too steep for many Vancouverites.
“The construction of rental housing is a crucial component of our work to make Vancouver a more affordable and livable city for everyone,” Robertson said.
The project was not without its detractors. As Business in Vancouver reported three weeks ago, the West End Neighbours (WEN) opposed the project.
Councillor George Affleck voted against the rezoning needed to approve the new project.
“This one was really challenging for me on so many levels,” he told BIV. “I really was going back and forth on which way to go and ended up voting against it, and there were two reasons. The main one is regarding the density – 190% of the allowable amount in the current zoning policy that we have.
“The location of the tower and the proximity to the tower next to it was 40 feet, as opposed to the required 80 feet in the city. These are major things. The previous version that existed of this was a much skinnier, taller tower.”
