The City of Vancouver is holding a virtual open house to receive feedback regarding a proposed 20-storey tower with 86 strata units at 2120-2150 West 10th Avenue.
The online Q&A ends on December 3, 2024. The City is not mailing notification postcards to inform the public in the area, citing the Canada Post strike that started on November 15th. However, staff are making no attempt to provide an extended timeframe for their Q&A (Nov 20 to Dec 3). Staff did not attempt to send out the notices prior to the beginning of the strike.
The proposed tower would have a height of 66.1m (217 ft.) and a FSR of 6.93. Commercial uses are proposed at grade. While staff claim that this rezoning is coming in under the Broadway Plan, it technically does not follow this plan as there are residential floor to floor heights in excess of the maximum 10ft (at 11′-2″). A total of 144 parking stalls are proposed in 4 levels of underground parking (or a ratio of 1.62 stalls per condo unit).
The proponents are Bastion Development Corporation while Arcadis are the architects.
This site has a bit of a history and merits further attention as a case study of the workings of the Broadway Plan. The site is where Gordon’s Auto Body served customers for many years. The property was sold, staff were laid off, and the shop closed a few years ago to make way for a six-storey mixed-use building under then existing zoning (DP-2021-00545, approved internally by then director of planning Theresa O’Donnell in November 2021, after a public comment period). One of the most magnificent elm trees in Vancouver had to come down after Bastion was able to find a third arborist who concluded the tree was diseased (evidently, the first two arborists had reached the “wrong” conclusion) and Bastion’s lawyer issued a threatening letter to the City. Delays in moving ahead with the project appear now to have paid off with potential windfall profits for Bastion, which looks to make windfall profits under the Broadway Plan (which went into force in Sept 2022), with this application for 20 storeys instead of just six. Where does the extra profit end up thanks to the Broadway Plan? Does it benefit society, or the developer. See links at the bottom to our previous coverage of this story, and photos below regarding the loss of the elm tree. This story is also about how a massive amount of public concern and input gets boiled down into a sentence or two when it gets to the decision-maker, the director of planning, on internal decisions.
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THE BACK STORY – https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/2120-w-10-ave
At 10th and Arbutus locals try to save 90-year old elm tree from Bastion development, a block from Arbutus Greenway in Kits (2120 West 10th, DP-2021-00545) – 5-Aug-2021 – https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/2120-w10th-90-year-tree-bastion/
Can the magnificent elm tree at the gateway of 10th and Arbutus be saved? Yes, and here’s how.
Posted on 19-Aug-2021 – https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2021/08/19/saving-magnificent-elm-10th-and-arbutus/
Tree coming down week of March 16: ‘Celebration of Life’ & report on the back story of City’s decision to remove a magnificent old elm at 10th and Arbutus in Kitsilano (event held12-Mar-2022) [Updated]
Posted on 11-Mar-2022 – https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2022/03/11/elm-10th-arbutus-celebration-life-mar-12/
