Controversial Vancouver Chinatown development approved

The Vancouver Development Permit Board approved a controversial development in the city’s Chinatown.

The Beedie project, a nine-story, mixed-use building proposal, has been in the works since 2017 and was greenlit in 2023.

Opponents, however, have been fighting the development every step of the way.

Downtown Eastside and Chinatown organizations protested on Monday at City Hall against the development, fearing it would increase living costs and accelerate the gentrification of the neighbourhood.

Other Chinatown businesses say that a new development would not be the worst, as they hope it would bring in more customers.

The director of Continuous Improvement, Mark Lee, criticizes that idea, saying it has been done before with other buildings, which have not yielded the anticipated results.

“There’s a reason why some of these businesses are not doing well, and it’s not because they’re missing one more building,” Lee told The Leader Spirit.

“We have to be real, and we have to understand there are buildings that have gone up in the last few years that have brought in tons of units – why is it that we’re still having the same problems in the neighbourhood?”

The groups say they will continue to fight for a Chinatown that does not exclude low-income and working-class residents.