Animal hospital and rental housing to be built on former Arbutus railway site

A small lot near Granville Island that was previously a segment of the active Arbutus railway will be developed into a mixed-use building.

A new development permit application will turn 1587 West 4th Avenue into a seven-storey building.

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The site is located near the northeast corner of the intersection of West 4th Avenue and Fir Street, with its rear abutting the West 4th Avenue off-ramp of the Granville Street Bridge.

Currently, the lot is used as a surface vehicle parking lot.

Site of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Site plan of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture)

Existing condition:

Site of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture)

Site of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture)

Artistic rendering of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture)

According to the application by Arno Matis Architecture, the animal hospital would be located within the first two levels and the basement of the building, providing the veterinarian’s clinic with a total floor area of just over 2,300 sq ft.

The basement level would contain X-ray and MRI rooms, the first level would contain the reception area, exam table, and dental rooms, and the second level would contain ultrasound, surgery, therapy, crate, and staff rooms.

The property owner and project proponent is Dr. Bhatia, who is renowned for his current longtime facility of the Cypress Street Animal Hospital at 1889 Cornwall Avenue in Kitsilano. The development site is immediately adjacent to the VCA Cats Only Hospital.

The City acquired the Arbutus railway corridor from Canadian Pacific in 2016 and subsequently transformed most of the corridor up to West 5th Avenue into the Arbutus Greenway’s pedestrian and cyclist pathways.

The remaining parcels of the former railway north of West 5th Avenue were deemed “excess lands” by the municipal government in 2018, with potential for revenue-generating development uses.

The 5,645 sq ft paved lot of 1587 West 4th Avenue changed hands in February 2022 in a deal worth $2.9 million.

Artistic rendering of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture)

Artistic rendering of 1587 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture)

Within the upper five floors of the building above the animal hospital, there will be 22 secured purpose-built rental homes, with a unit mix of two studios, 12 one-bedroom units, two two-bedroom units, and six three-bedroom units.

Given the tight lot size, no underground vehicle parking is provided, but there will be three surface vehicle parking stalls fronting the laneway. The total building floor area will reach 19,800 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 3.5 times larger than the size of the lot.

About two blocks to the north — closer to Senakw and the former Molson Coors brewery — another former railway corridor segment at 1595 West 2nd Avenue will be developed into a six-storey building with 100 rental homes and ground-level retail/restaurant uses.

The development of these former railway corridor sites does not preclude the City’s plans for a potential future streetcar line along the Arbutus Greenway from Southwest Marine Drive to at least Granville Island, as the municipal government’s streetcar concept calls for an on-street streetcar configuration on Fir Street north of West 5th Avenue.

You might also like:
• 100 rental homes and retail proposed for parking lot near Granville Island
• 12-km-long streetcar network in downtown Vancouver and False Creek to cost $1 billion: city report
• New renderings of TransLink's proposed 30-storey rental housing tower at SkyTrain's future Arbutus Station
• Vancouver Park Board seeks public input on new city block-sized park near Granville Bridge's south end
• New French cultural centre in condo tower proposed near future South Granville SkyTrain in Vancouver