Two towers proposed for site now occupied by apartment building in West End

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – An apartment building may be the next casualty of the condo-boom in Vancouver’s West End.

Two condo towers are being proposed for a property on Davie Street, a spot now occupied by a four-storey rental building built in 1979.

Randy Helten with the West End Neighbours has discovered the application for the property on 1345 Davie between Jervis and Broughton.

He notes because sections of the neighbourhood were rezoned under the West End Community Plan a couple of years ago, there is no need for any public hearings.

Helten points out the project includes 68 social housing units but doesn’t know what will happen to the tenants.

“In these older buildings, the rents are much lower. People are going to be put on the street, facing the current rental market. As far as I know the city is not keeping a tally of how many people are being affected.”

City bylaws stipulate a developer has to include the same number of rentals in the new building as there was in the old building.

“If rental has to be removed, it has to be replaced by rental. But it’s still a major upheaval for renters. The rental prices, when they return, will be much higher, because it’s a shiny new building,” says Helten, who sees many rentals in jeopardy in the neighbourhood.

The Davie project will go in front of the city’s development permit board in December. The plan calls for both an 18-storey and a 19-storey tower, containing 153 dwelling units altogether.

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