City approves rezoning for 44-storey East Vancouver towers

A controversial housing development at one of Vancouver’s busiest transit hubs is one step closer to breaking ground.

On Tuesday, Vancouver City Council approved a long-standing rezoning application to redevelop the Safeway location at Commercial Drive and Broadway.

Local developer Westbank plans to build three high-rise rental towers above the Safeway, adding over 1,000 new rental homes with heights reaching up to 44 storeys.

The proposal’s added height and density are being justified by nearby developments under the Broadway Plan, a major planning framework set up around the new Broadway Subway that extends to Clark Drive — within a short walk of the Safeway site.

But some affordability advocates believe the city is signing off on a future most residents can’t afford, with no below-market units and only 10 per cent priced at the “city-wide average” rental rate.

“These will be luxury suites, not affordable for the average Vancouverite, and certainly not for people who live in the East Van community,” said Paisley Woodward, spokesperson for a group called No Megatowers At Safeway.

“The fact there’s over 1,000 rental suites, and there is no affordability provision of any significance at all, is appalling,” Woodward added.

Under typical city policy, at least 20 per cent of new rental units should be priced below market. But the Safeway project is one of five being allowed under a pilot program that waives that requirement provided certain conditions are met, like building on city-owned land and including a substantial mix of family-sized units.

City staff say the pilot is meant to test a new approach: leveraging city-owned land to generate long-term revenue for public services, infrastructure, and future affordable housing.

Critics like Woodward argue the policy shift amounts to a giveaway to developers.

“They should be saying no. What are rules for? What are policies for? You have to be able to step back and think long term: What’s good for Vancouver? What’s good for affordability in the long run?”

The rezoning application for the building proposal will now move forward to a public hearing expected next month.

If approved, the development would be the largest yet within the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.