We’ve included photos of a temporary community garden at 1371 West 11th Avenue to document the current state of this property. The empty lot is currently valued at $2,400,000 by BC Assessment in 2025. Is this a good use of this property, or is it simply a tax break? In a previous post, we examined a community garden at 1166 West Pender Street. The signage for the community garden looks similar for that downtown site. Is there a cottage industry around providing tax breaks in return for off leash dog parks and community gardens?
In addition to seeking tax breaks, sometimes the owners of empty lots will simply appeal the assessments to bring down the values (in order to reduce tax loads).
This community garden in Fairview is right across the street from a tower rezoning on a rental building site at 1364 W11th Avenue. The property at 1371 West 11th Avenue has a 50 ft. lot frontage; it would need to be lot assembled with one or both of the adjacent properties to make a tower site under the Broadway Plan (100 ft. minimum). The site has been vacant for years (from 2019 or 2020). There is a housing agreement on title to build 3-storeys of for profit rental here with 13 units and one level of underground parking.
We’d like to credit to Stanley Q Woodvine, who brought this site to our attention (posted via x.com/sqwabb).
Post on X by @sqwabb : https://x.com/sqwabb/status/1875328667758555427?mx=2
Housing agreement:https://bylaws.vancouver.ca/consolidated/12365.pdf
Details via VanMap:
Assessment Year: 2025
Big Improvement Year: 1907
Current Improvement Value: $10,000
Current Land Value: $2,400,000
Previous Improvement Value: 0
Previous Land Value: $3,150,000
Tax Levy:
Zoning: RM-3
Full Address: 1371 11TH AVE W
PID: 005321085
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