A new townhome development is set to rise across the street from one of Vancouver’s beloved natural showcases.
The Whitford is a 68-unit townhouse development on the edge of VanDusen Botanical Gardens at Oak and 37th in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of south Vancouver.
VanDusen Gardens is a 55-acre collection of more than 7,500 plant species and is a leading attraction for the city of Vancouver. The townhouse project is named after Whitford Julien VanDusen, who was an early 20th century lumber magnate, and whom the garden is named after. He donated to make the space possible.
Grosvenor senior vice-president of development for Vancouver Marc Josephson said the project tried to reflect the esthetics and natural aspects of the surrounding area, while still participating in the City of Vancouver’s ambitious densification of the Cambie corridor.
“Shaughnessy historically is larger single-family homes and beautiful manicured neighbourhoods. This particular site was designated as a townhouse site as part of the Cambie corridor phase three planning process,” he said.
“It was in a sense pre-contemplated as townhouses, so the process of moving through approvals, while it took some time, was not overly controversial at all and I would say very much welcomed into the negihbourhood.”
The new project replaces seven family duplex lots with 68 townhomes “which of course is an improvement to affordability and provides housing for many people in a desirable neighbourhood that in many cases is difficult to enter,” Josephson said.
The homes, designed in collaboration with Formwerks Architecture and Ste. Marie Studio, draw from both Scandinavian design principles and the brick faces and peaked roofs prevalent in Shaughnessy.
“We wanted to emphasize the landscaping so it was somewhat reflective of our proximity to VanDusen Gardens to the extent that we could while still providing ample space for walkways, patios and all the various setback requirements of the city,” he said.
“We wanted to strike a really nice balance between some of the more traditional elements you might find in a very long and storied neighbourhhod as well as ensuring they are also contemporary and appeal to all the things modern purchasers and homeowners want in a home.”
The townhomes, Josephson said, are very well connected to the surrounding area, including the currently under construction Oakridge Park planned-community project at the site of the former Oakridge mall.
“It’s walking distance to Oakridge Park and all the many stores that are coming, which is very exciting as well as the new Jewish Community Centre (a $427 million project set for completion in late 2024), very close to a number of parks and Kerrisdale and South Granville are a short drive away,” he said.
He also compared the townhouse project to Grosvenor’s own Mayfair West development, a 14-acre planned community between Shaughnessy and Kerrisdale situated at the former Oakridge Transit Centre.
“We are excited about this project because we can bring the same quality and focus on design to these ground-oriented homes that you’d find in our larger, master-planned communities,” Josephson said in a Grosvenor release.
Construction will begin in a number of weeks, Josephson said, “and we anticipate completing construction of the whole development by late 2026 or early 2027,” he said.
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