Over 500 rental homes, childcare, and grocery store in two towers proposed near SkyTrain Broadway-City Hall Station
After eight years of planning, since its acquisition of the property, Reliance Properties has submitted its formal rezoning application for a major mixed-use redevelopment of the former MEC store building on West Broadway.
The mid-block site of 130 West Broadway is about a five-minute walk east of SkyTrain Broadway-City Hall Station, which will become a major regional transit hub in 2025 when the Millennium Line extension meets the Canada Line.
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The proposal’s form and uses are essentially the same as the proposed concept revealed in 2018 during the pre-application stage of planning, but about seven more residential floors have been squeezed in to provide more rental homes, and the original bold architectural design has noticeably been stripped and streamlined for a design that is more conventional — now likely less costly to build given the challenging economic market.
The project’s design team consists of Neil M. Denari Architects, IBI Group, and Gauthier & Associates Landscape Architects.
Original 2018 design:
Revised 2023 design:
Reliance Properties is now pursuing this redevelopment in partnership with QuadReal Property Group, which is also behind the redevelopments of The Post and Oakridge Centre.
This project was only able to progress to the rezoning application after the end of the years-long temporary moratorium on most rezonings in the area, following the recent approval of the City’s Broadway Plan, which guides future redevelopments along the Central Broadway corridor.
Under the Broadway Plan, towers of up to 30 storeys are permitted for the site — reaching the bottom of View Cone 3.0 emanating from the top of Queen Elizabeth Park. The east tower is proposed to slightly enter into the view cone; additional height is permitted for buildings with rental housing.
There will be a 328-foot-tall, 30-storey east tower and a 325-foot-tall, 29-storey west tower, including a shared single-storey commercial podium between the towers.
A total of 524 secured market rental homes would be built, including 33 studio units, 287 one-bedroom units, 150 two-bedroom units, and 54 three-bedroom units.
The top floor of each tower is completely dedicated to indoor and outdoor common amenity spaces for residents.
Each tower’s residential floor areas will be served by three elevators, instead of only meeting the required minimum of two elevators. The extra elevator will also have a larger cab to support renters moving in and out, and those with strollers, large equipment, and pets.
About 43,500 sq ft of commercial space will be provided, with most of this space located at ground level, including dedicated space for a grocery store and a cafe.
The rooftop of the podium between the towers will be dedicated as a privately owned public space, accessible from both the laneway and a grand staircase from West Broadway. It will be a landscaped space, with a plaza-like area and seating.
“The City has strongly encouraged new developments to provide copious amounts of outdoor space that is accessible to building residents and the public. 130 W Broadway incorporates outdoor space, not as an afterthought, but as an integral and defining feature of the development,” reads the application.
Non-residential uses are also set for the second level of each tower, with the east tower’s second level dedicated to a restaurant with 6,600 sq ft of indoor space, plus an outdoor patio on a portion of the podium rooftop. The west tower’s second level will be largely dedicated to a 4,000 sq ft membership-based fitness gym. Both the restaurant and fitness gym will provide the rooftop public space with added activity.
On the third level of the west tower, the entire floor will be dedicated to a childcare facility with 7,000 sq ft of indoor area and over 3,000 sq ft of outdoor play space facing the laneway. It is noted by the developer that YMCA has expressed interest in operating this childcare facility with a capacity for up to 37 kids.
The rooftop public space and childcare components are intended to be provided as in-kind community amenity contributions (CACs).
Two underground levels will accommodate 372 vehicle parking stalls and over 1,100 secured bike parking spaces.
The total floor area would reach 444,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 8.46 times larger than the size of the 52,000 sq ft lot, which is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Columbia Street and West Broadway.
MEC relocated to a new purpose-built store building near the Olympic Village in early 2020. Ever since, the former MEC store has not seen a long-term tenant, but it has been used as a temporary Spirit Halloween costume and prop store for consecutive Halloween seasons.
Last September, Reliance Properties also revealed a proposed concept to build a 20-storey rental housing tower on the site of a surface parking lot near SkyTrain’s future South Granville Station. That project was also triggered by the Broadway Plan.
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