Planning and development decisions and announcements that will change the face of large chunks of Vancouver marked 2014.
In February, council approved the Pearson Dogwood policy statement, which will guide redevelopment of the 25-acre site at West 59th Avenue between Heather and Cambie streets. The land is destined for a mixed-use development that features healthcare housing and related services, housing, community amenities and park space.
Council’s decision, which paves the way for a rezoning application, came after the policy statement was revised to address concerns about the care and support of people with disabilities, including fears about institutionalizing them in the redevelopment of the property.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) owns the property. In September, it issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the sale and development of two parcels of the land — an almost six-acre portion that runs parallel to Cambie Street where the Dogwood Lodge Residential Care Home is situated, and about 16 acres on the western part of the site where George Pearson Centre is located. VCH is keeping a 3.2-acre portion for proposed health care and community uses. An announcement on the result of the RFP is expected soon.
The future of a sprawling property in the centre in Vancouver was decided in March when council approved the billion-dollar redevelopment of the 28-acre Oakridge Centre site after three days of public hearings. Only Green Coun. Adriane Carr and NPA councillors George Affleck and Elizabeth Ball voted against the motion that passed in a 6-3 vote. The plan includes 11 residential towers, a civic centre with a community centre, a library, a seniors’ facility and a rooftop park.
In October, an historic land deal was announced: three Lower Mainland First Nations — Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh — partnered with a federal Crown corporation to acquire three former federal government properties worth $307.2 million that will be developed, including the 52-acre Jericho Lands in West Point Grey. The Jericho lands, formerly owned by the Department of National Defence, sit between West Fourth Avenue and Highbury Street to the east and Eighth Avenue to the south. The Department of Defence will remain on site until December 2015. (Property immediately to the west is owned by the provincial government.)
The Heather Street lands, located on Heather Street between West 33rd and 37th avenues, which is the site of the former RCMP E-Division headquarters, are also part of the deal. The RCMP will remain in one building until 2019. (The third, five-acre parcel is in West Vancouver)
During a press conference, the three First Nations and Canada Lands Company also announced a joint venture partnership that establishes an equal interest in the lands with 50 per cent collectively held by the aboriginal groups and the other half held by Canada Lands. Canada Lands will be project manager and oversee the redevelopment as well as the property management. Major decisions will require approval of both partners. The city’s manager of planning and development will report to council in January asking it to direct staff to treat the 52-acre parcel as a special study area or policy statement.
Other notable stories in 2014 included the formation of the Grandview-Woodland Citizens’ Assembly, which will produce recommendations for the Eastside neighbourhood’s community plan that will be presented to council next June. Council established it after residents panned the emerging directions for the community plan, which included the possibility of a 36-storey tower at Broadway and Commercial.
Neighbourhood complaints about various planning and development projects — too numerous and complicated to mention in this space — continued throughout the year.
Despite ongoing criticism about consultation and transparency directed at the Vision-dominated council, most Vision councillors were re-elected for another term mid-November. The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods, which is comprised of 25 resident groups, is seeking a meeting with Mayor Gregor Robertson to discuss its continuing concerns. The request was submitted immediately after the election.
