The City of Vancouver has scheduled an online consultation and Q&A session for a 19-storey tower 1270-1290 West 11th Avenue from January 8 to January 21, 2025. If approved, this would demolish two mature rental buildings on this site and result in forced relocation of tenants.
According the the City’s description of the rezoning application, a 19-storey tower is being proposed with a floor space ratio of 6.80. The submission has a total of 155 rental units, with 20% at below market rates, along with commercial uses at grade. Three underground levels would include 104 residential vehicle parking spaces. There’s a tall “first storey” at 5.4m in height that includes a partial “mezzanine” level; there is an additional amenity level as well (height 57.24m / 184.8ft).
The rezoning is being put forward by Proscenium Architecture + Interiors Inc. Curiously, there appears to be no mention of who owns the properties or who the developer might be. Why is there such an oversight? Who’s to benefit from the money game? We’ll attempt to answer this question, so please read on and see the ownership information included at the end of this article.
The shadow studies included with the rezoning are incorrect. This is an issue of professional conduct. Ultimately, the professional associations are entrusted with maintaining standards and public trust in their profession, so we hope they actually take an interest in cases like this. It’s not up to the public to be fact-checking professional conduct. For reference, we’ve included a comparison below with one of our renderings for the same time (March 21, 10am):
We have spoken with renters in the existing buildings who are concerned about the potential impacts and disruptions on their lives. They are encouraged to read up, network and organize their buildings. The Vancouver Tenants Union website (https://www.vancouvertenantsunion.ca/) provides resources regarding tenant rights, including tips on how to organize, and to deal with relocation and demoviction under the Broadway Plan. The City and property owners sometimes hold briefings for residents about relocation and redevelopment plans via a zoom call. Tenants may wish to seek outside advice prior to attending these briefings and to also record the meeting(s) for future reference.
The Broadway Plan was adopted in 2022 under the previous mayor and Council, after a decade of intensive effort by real estate industry lobbyists and their proxies (as documented from thousands of pages of FOI revelations by CRD Watch), and is being implemented now by Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC majority. Thousands of renters are slated to be demovicted and displaced as a result, but Sim and ABC consciously chose not to keep track. On council, OneCity and the Vancouver Greens are also 100% in support of the Broadway Plan and its expansion all the way to UBC. This is unfolding in real time. TEAM for a Livable Vancouver takes a different approach. A by-election is coming within weeks, so this may be an opportunity for concerned citizens to voice their opinions. BC MLAs also need to hear from their constituents. Thousands of people have signed petitions calling for a rethink of the Broadway Plan. See information on this portal page – https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/broadway-plan/.
For further background about the plight of renters, there’s a short 3 minute teaser trailer for reference: Is this the city we want to build? The documentary, directed by David Fine of the VanPoli Facebook group, features interviews with numerous planning and housing experts as well as tenants impacted by the threat of eviction and forced resettlement.
Resources
ShapeYourCity:https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/1270-1290-w-11-ave
Ownership information
1270W11th – PID 014-688-646
As of 3-Jan-2025, this is listed as “Becision Holding Corporation” and interest holders Geoffrey Steven Glotman, and Myriam Denise Glotman.
1290W11th – PID 014688638
As of 26-Jul-2024 previously “Brother Properties” with interest holders being Geoffrey Steven Glotman and Barry Charles Glotman.
A search for “Glotman” in CHW finds this post related to donations to Vision Vancouver in 2014.
Also note:
(2015 article)
Barry Glotman, CEO of West Coast Reduction, on marrying into the family business—and how to make the unpalatable profitable
As a conversation over chicken teriyaki and tuna tataki, it feels a tad unpalatable: how Barry Glotman rose from “shovelling blood and guts” to become president and CEO of animal rendering giant West Coast Reduction Ltd.
…. The half-century-old independent renderer—Western Canada’s largest—has also expanded significantly into the canola oil distribution business in the past 20 years. Currently funnelling more than a billion dollars’ worth of canola oil to Asia through its tanks at Port Metro Vancouver, West Coast Reduction recently finished a $10-million system upgrade to unload the oil from railcars and pipe it onto cargo ships faster.
Glotman’s route into the family business started in 1988 at the invitation of his father-in-law, Gordon Diamond, who along with his late entrepreneur father, Jack Diamond, established West Coast Reduction out of their butcher shop in Vancouver.
