Vancouver board votes in favour of controversial Chinatown condo tower

Years after the application was submitted, months after the court case that struck down a previous decision, and weeks after a contentious board meeting began, the City of Vancouver has approved the proposed redevelopment of 105 Keefer St.

The city's Development Permit Board approved the application from developer Beedie Living with some design tweaks at its meeting Monday afternoon.

"We are pleased with the DPB decision," said Rob Fiorvento, managing partner at Beedie Living.

"We look forward to working with city staff and the community groups to move this project forward."

The plot of land in the heart of the city's Chinatown has been the subject of fierce debate for many years.

More than 100 speakers weighed in during hearings on the controversial plan earlier this month.

The problem many people have with the current proposal is that it calls for market-rate condos with no social housing.

The Vancouver Tenants Union has led many rallies against the project.

"I think today marks a singularly appalling moment in Vancouver's long history as a city that continues to prioritize elite development interests and continues to prioritize profit over people," housing activist Jade Ho said after the decision.

The group wanted the board to refuse the proposal and instead build social housing at welfare and pension rates on the site.

“It's not affordable to people who live in the neighborhood who clearly need social housing—welfare and pension rate housing that is adequate, that is safe, that is decent for everybody in the neighborhood,” said Tintin Yang, of the VTU.Yang says the introduction of new condos contributes to the rapid decline of small businesses that the community relies on.

“The small grocery stores that a lot of the seniors depend on are being lost at a very rapid rate. Because a lot of people who make higher incomes don't necessarily want to shop at those kinds of stores,” said Yang.

She argues this will make life even more difficult for those who struggle to make ends meet.

“These businesses that the seniors actually depend on and need, and they’re actually low income folks. They're losing those businesses at an incredibly fast rate due to the introduction of these condos,” Yang told CTV News earlier this month.

The land has been a surface parking lot for the last 50 years.

Beedie Living wants to build a nine-storey building with 111 market-rate condos, a seniors centre and retail on the ground floor.

“This has been an empty parking lot for over 50 years. So even before, you know, I was around, Chinatown has gone through evolutions over the last 100 years and this is just part of it,” said Jordan Eng, president of the Chinatown BIA.

Eng says he believes the development will contribute to an inclusive neighborhood with seniors and working people.

“These aren't luxury condominiums. No one goes to Chinatown to buy a luxury condominium,” said Eng.

The proposal was first brought to city hall in 2017 and was rejected, largely due to overwhelming opposition from the community.

One of the concerns was the proximity of the site to the Chinatown Memorial Plaza, where there’s a monument honouring the contributions of Chinese-Canadians to the city and country.

The developer then took the city to B.C. Supreme Court, arguing the reasons for rejecting that proposal were insufficient.

The court agreed and ordered the development permit board to take another look at it.

“I think what we have to remember is that this isn’t a rezoning.This is an outright (development permit) so what it means is likely it will get approved at the development permit board,” said Councillor Pete Fry.

Chinatown was one of the hardest hit neighbourhoods during the pandemic.

“We've had five really tough years in Chinatown. And we've seen the social decay in the neighborhood with the anti-Asian graffiti and vandalism on our social cultural institutions—the graffiti, the mischief, the social disorder,” said Eng.

He believes drawing more people into the area could change that.

“We really need bodies, body heat, people on the street, eyes on the street to help restore this neighborhood,” Eng said.

Fiorvento agrees and strongly believes the project put forward by Beadie Living can help with that effort.

"We do think this is the proper development for Chinatown which helps align with the City of Vancouver's plans to revitalize Chinatown." he said. "So, even though it took a little longer than expected, we're glad that we're on our way."