Chinatown’s controversial condo development prompts protest

Residents protested outside Vancouver’s city hall on Monday as they opposed a condo development in the city’s Chinatown.

The protest happens ahead of the Vancouver Development Permit Board (VDPB) meeting, in which members are set to decide the future of the proposed project.

Protesters say it is a lose-lose situation as they do not see any gains if this project is passed.

“We lose as the community; the city loses because they are basically kowtowing to a developer. For what? For something that’s not going to actually benefit them,” Mark Lee told 1130 NewsRadio.

“Also, the developer is probably going to lose because it’s a poor financial decision to try to push this through.”

Lee works in Chinatown. He says the project could increase gentrification of the neighbourhood and erode public trust in the permit process.

“Increase in rents for surrounding buildings. We’d see an increase in rents for small businesses like the one that I work for because of the fact that we’ve got this brand-new shiny building,” Lee said.

The proposal seeks to get approval for a nine-story, mixed-use development at 570 Columbia Street, formerly 105 Keefer Street. The building is also expected to have a courtyard and a social services centre.

After the initial proposal was rejected in 2017, Beedie, the building’s developer, launched a lawsuit in 2019.

As a result, the project was greenlighted in 2023 under a series of recommendations, one being to improve the building’s relationship to nearby “culturally significant” features such as the Chinatown Memorial Monument.

Lee says that the renewed development proposal is still inadequate and doesn’t meet the needs of the community.

“We haven’t really seen much progress. It’s kind of like we’re really beating this dead horse and it’s starting to it’s starting to smell.”

Over 100 speakers signed up to speak at the hearing.

The VDPB will hear from ass those residents who wish to speak before a decision is made.

This is a developing story; more to come.