Activists held a mock ceremony in East Vancouver on Saturday, 10 years after the province announced plans to redevelop a social housing complex.
The Little Mountain site once held 224 low-income residences, but those living in the units were told they had to move out in 2007.
The closure was meant to be temporary. The federal government had transferred ownership of the area to the province, and the province selected Holborn Properties Ltd. to revamp the aging facilities.
The conditions of the sale included that the company would include at least 234 new social housing units, located alongside condos and townhouses that would be sold at market value.
But ten years after its residents left, the land at 155 East 37th Avenue is still mostly empty.
So far, only one building has been constructed on the 15-acre property, holding 54 social housing units.
"We live in a world-class province and a world-class city. Who knew back in 2007 the Liberal government would create the world-class vacant lot we see before us today?" said David Chudnovsky of the Community Advocates for Little Mountain.
The land was purchased for $300 million, but the sale was not completed until 2013.
Three years later, a rezoning application filed in July 2016 showed Holborn plans to build 14 residential buildings and three "mixed use" buildings, containing about 1,570 housing units. Of those, 282 would be allocated as social housing units.
Some of the land would be used for commercial space, some for a public plaza and park, and some for a daycare with spaces for 69 children. The application was approved, but it's not clear when construction will begin, or how long it will take.
