A previously rejected residential development at 105 Keefer St. in Vancouver has received the greenlight from the city’s development permit board (DPB) after the B.C. Supreme Court ordered the project be reassessed.
The development, led by owner Beedie (Keefer Street) Holdings Ltd., has been a source of controversy as some residents fear the project takes away valuable space for affordable housing in the struggling Chinatown neighbourhood while proponents argue it will contribute to the area’s revitalization.
Over the course of three public hearings in May and June, hundreds of people turned out to speak about the proposal. On June 12, the DPB unanimously approved the project with conditions.
In a statement to the Journal of Commerce, Rob Fiorvento, managing partner with Beedie, said the project’s approval is an “important and positive step forward for the City of Vancouver’s efforts to revitalize Chinatown.
“We support the DP board’s recommendation to review architectural enhancements to further represent the character and culturally historic neighbourhood and we look forward to collaborating with community partners as we move forward with the project.”
As previously covered by the Journal of Commerce, the development was rejected in 2017 by the permit board only to have the B.C. Supreme Court order the project be reconsidered in December 2022. The Supreme Court ruled the reasons for the board’s initial decision were insufficiently explained and thus warranted another look at the project.
The development is a nine-storey mixed-use building with retail on the first floor, cultural amenity spaces and eight levels of residential featuring 111 units. The site at 105 Keefer St. is currently a parking lot.
The three board members who approved the project ― Theresa O’Donnell, the general manager of planning with the City of Vancouver, Lon LaClaire, the city’s general manager of engineering services, and Andrea Law, the city’s general manager of development ― were not involved in the 2017 rejection.
This time around several prominent Vancouver Chinatown organizations threw their support behind Beedie, such as the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association, the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden Society and several others.
The DPB’s conditions for the project mostly consist of aligning the façade and character of the building with the prevalent style of Chinatown and ensuring the arts community is involved in shaping the building. Such conditions rang hollow with some critics of the development.
The Vancouver Tenants Union (VTU) has long advocated against the project and released a news release condemning the board’s decision.
“The ‘conditions’ imposed on the proposal are meaningless cosmetic adjustments that do nothing to address the dire need for social housing in Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside. The government’s shameful lack of commitment to defend popular opposition to the project – let alone its own rulings at city hall – severely undermines the legitimacy of its leadership,” the organization writes.
Jade Ho, an organizer with the VTU, said the approval of the building is an appalling moment in Vancouver’s history at a rally after the decision was made.
Ho said Vancouver continues to “prioritize elite developer interests and continues to prioritize profit over people.”
The approved development has no requirement to provide social or affordable housing. Board member O’Donnell told attendees during the meeting that the DPB has no jurisdiction to enforce social housing requirements on projects.
In May, Fairview Strategy released the details of a survey it was commissioned by Beedie to gauge public views on the project. It surveyed residents in the voting district that includes Chinatown and Cantonese and Mandarin speakers in Vancouver.
Fairview stated that, based on its data, it would not consider the development as controversial as more than 90 per cent of the 330 residents polled “hadn’t even heard about the ‘controversial’ project.”
And 43 per cent of respondents said they supported the project versus 17 per cent saying they were opposed.
During the May 30 board meeting, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association president Chris Gardner said the project is essential for improving the housing crisis facing the city.
“We have 500,000 new people coming to this country every single year for the next five years. They need to live somewhere, whether it’s rental housing or market housing and if we don’t start building and start building fast, the housing affordability crisis is going to get worse,” Gardner said to the board.
“We have to act boldly and we have to act quickly.”
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