Rental tower proposed near future South Granville SkyTrain Station

20-storey rental tower proposed near SkyTrain's future South Granville Station

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of 1540 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)

Just over two months after Vancouver City Council approved the Broadway Plan with major policy and regulation amendments, the first development proposals allowed by the new area plan are now starting to surface.

The Broadway Plan, which officially went into effect on Thursday, outlines how the area within proximity to the future stations of SkyTrain’s Millennium Line Broadway Extension will be densified with more homes and employment spaces, with a particular focus on catalyzing more affordable housing such as rentals.

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Amongst the first proposals now being eyed under the new area plan is the redevelopment of 1540 West 10th Avenue — located just west of Granville Street, south of the Vancouver School Board’s headquarters and Indigo bookstore, and about a four-minute walk from the future South Granville Station.

1540 West 10th Avenue Vancouver Rental Housing

Site of 1540 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Reliance Properties is currently in the very early stages of its application process with the municipal government.

They are looking to build a 229-ft-tall, 20-storey, 100% rental residential tower on the site, containing a total of 98 units — 41 one-bedroom units, 38 two-bedroom units, and 19 three-bedroom units.

Nearly six-in-10 (58%) of these homes will be sized for families — defined as units with two or more bedrooms. This is above the typical 35% benchmark of family-sized units.

While there were very public concerns that redevelopment triggered by the Broadway Plan would impact existing renters, there will be zero displacement of any existing residents from this particular project as the development site is currently a surface car parking lot managed by Impark.

The tower will have four underground levels to accommodate 94 vehicle parking stalls, including 35 commercial spaces to replace the existing parking lot. A covenant exists with the neighbouring BMO office building at 2609 Granville Street to provide secure commercial parking. In addition to the vehicle parking, there will be 214 secured bike parking spaces.

Preliminary conceptual of 1540 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of 1540 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)

The concept, designed by the Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers (OMB), notably lacks a low-storey podium for its base that directly meets with the sidewalk. It is noted that this is a “tower-in-the-park” form, which can best be simply described as a tower structure surrounded by green space on the property.

The footprint of the tower uses about 50% of the 15,600 sq ft land area, which enables space for not only landscaping and a children’s play area, but also setbacks for “compatibility with future developments nearby.”

The consideration for the “tower-in-the-park” architectural form is one of the amendments to the Broadway Plan proposed and approved by City Council, which is inspired by the common style found in older buildings in the West End.

“The design responds to its immediate neighbours and captures the character of the Fairview neighbourhood. The result is a tower-in-the-park form which aligns with the streetwall of the neighbouring residential buildings, continuing the leafy streetscape to its natural end at Granville Street,” reads OMB’s design rationale.

“The building’s design carefully considers the privacy of its neighbours and potential shadow impacts on the privately-owned public open space at the corner of West 10th Avenue and Fir Street.”

Ground-level plan of the proposed tower at 1540 West 10th Avenue, with the “tower-in-the-park” concept shown. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of 1540 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)

The total floor area is about 102,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 6.5 times larger than the size of the land. The design will target zero emissions.

This represents the start of immense densification of the Broadway Plan area, defined as the area framed by West 16th Avenue to the south, Vine Street to the west, 4th Avenue/6th Avenue/2nd Avenue to the north, and Clark Drive to the east.

Existing condition of the immediate area, with the project site highlighted:

Existing form of the site at 1540 West 10th Avenue, with the existing building forms and floor area ratio (FAR) densities also noted. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)

Potential future condition of the immediate area, with the project site highlighted:

Proposed form of the project at 1540 West 10th Avenue, with the potential redevelopment forms and floor area ratio (FAR) densities also noted. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)

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