East Vancouver Safeway redevelopment approved despite affordability concerns

A rendering of the towers proposed for a site in East Vancouver. (Credit: Perkins & Will architects)

A plan to build more than 1,000 units of rental housing on the site of an East Vancouver Safeway got the greenlight from city council Tuesday – despite concerns that none of the units will be affordable.

Rezoning of the site adjacent to the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station was approved by a majority after a public hearing that saw over a thousand written submissions and hundreds of speakers.

The approval marks an end to a years-long back-and-forth over plans to build housing near the busy transit hub.

Coun. Peter Meiszner, with the mayor’s majority ABC party, voted for the project. Explaining why, he echoed the sentiment of its proponents – namely that finally building a “significant” number of new rentals on a site currently occupied by a grocery store and a parking lot would be a net positive.

“Would I like to see more affordability? Yes. But right now, there’s no affordability on the site because there’s no homes on the site,” he said.

“So, I think, on balance, that this project is supportable.”

The current iteration by developers Westbank Projects Corp/Crombie REIT calls for three towers of 44 storeys, 38 storeys and 37 storeys, respectively.

None of the 1,044 rentals will be affordable or below-market. To be classified as affordable, rent for a unit must not exceed to 30 per cent of household income. A below-market rental is one that is 10 per cent less than the average rent reported annually by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The developers of this project are proposing 10 per cent of the units will be “secured at city-wide average market rents” based on CMHC data for the year in which the occupancy permit is issued, according to the report.

Coun. Pete Fry, with the Greens, abstained from Wednesday’s vote. A number of other recently approved projects that bring significant density, he noted, have pledged to deliver 20 per cent below-market units.

“We’ve driven all these projects to deliver on public benefits and affordable housing, and this particular project represents a shift away from those expectations that we’ve opposed on all those other developers,” he said.

The median income in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood is around $55,000, Fry said. The rental rates provided as examples in the staff report on the development said the “average household income served” would range from around $65,000 for a studio to $141,000 for a three-bedroom, if the units were rented out this year.

“We’re not delivering the affordability for people who need it,” Fry said. “I can’t give this project my support.”

The lone councillor who voted against the rezoning was COPE’s Sean Orr, who voiced similar concerns over a lack of affordability.

“We do need homes here, but we need bold action,” he said.

In addition to the rentals, the development will include a replacement grocery store, additional ground-level retail spaces, a city-owned daycare, and a public plaza.