100 rental homes and retail proposed for parking lot near Granville Island

Artistic rendering of 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (BHA Architecture)

A unique site at the northeast corner of the intersection of West 2nd Avenue and Fir Street, just west of Granville Island, is set to become a mid-rise, mixed-use building with rental housing.

This irregular-shaped corner property has been used as a surface vehicle parking lot, and it was owned by the City of Vancouver up until November 2021, when it was sold to a developer for its redevelopment potential.

Just prior to the sale, Vancouver City Council pre-zoned the property to establish the assessed value — made worth about $18 million — and the resulting higher returns to the municipal government.

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This site is part of the City’s 2016 acquisition of the nine-km-long Arbutus railway corridor from Canadian Pacific (CP), with nearly all of the route subsequently turned into the Arbutus Greenway’s walking and cycling path. Shortly after in 2018, the City deemed the segment of the former railway corridor between West 5th Avenue and West 1st Avenue to be excess lands — unnecessary for the greenway or the potential future streetcar. If the municipal government were to sell or redevelop a portion of the former railway corridor, CP is on the receiving end of a share of the proceeds.

Site of 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Site of 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (BHA Architecture)

Excess lands of the Arbutus Greenway near False Creek, with 1595 West 2nd Avenue shown on the left. (City of Vancouver)

Site of 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

The railway previously divided this corner parking lot site, and up until the early 2000s it formed the beginnings of the tail end of the route for CP’s freight train operations servicing the Molson brewery.

A newly submitted development permit application for 1595 West 2nd Avenue, the address of the parking lot site, calls for a new six-storey, L-shaped building.

Designed by BHA Architecture, the building would contain 100 secured purpose-built rental homes within the upper five levels, with 20% of this residential floor area dedicated to below-market rents under the City’s Moderate Income Rental Housing Program. The remaining units will be market rental homes.

The unit size mix has been established at five studios, 57 one-bedroom units, and 38 two-bedroom units.

On the ground level, there would be about 9,200 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses.

Artistic rendering of 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (BHA Architecture)

BHA describes their design as “ship-like” in its form, complete with two flatiron corners and oculus openings that act as portholes.

The planned total floor area is 81,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 2.3 times larger than the size of the 0.8 acre lot.

Three underground levels will accommodate 102 vehicle parking stalls and 190 secured bike parking spaces.

Artistic rendering of 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (BHA Architecture)

The lot’s corner curvature around the intersection is designed by the City in a way that preserves turning radius of the potential future in-road streetcar route in the area — on Fir Street north towards the Senakw neighbourhood, and on West 2nd Avenue east towards Granville Island and the South False Creek railway right-of-way.

The Squamish First Nation are advocating for a streetcar line or another form of rapid transit to directly serve the high-density rental residential uses of their Senakw complex.

Later this decade, the Squamish Nation will conduct a detailed feasibility study on the potential streetcar.

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the rental housing building at 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver)

Layout of the mixed-use building, public realm, and streetcar route in and around 1595 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver)

Downtown Vancouver-False Creek streetcar potential route configuration, 2018 concept. (Mott Macdonald/City of Vancouver)

Downtown Vancouver-False Creek streetcar network map, 2018 concept. (Mott Macdonald/City of Vancouver)

Updated 2022 artistic rendering of Senakw, showing the potential station for the future streetcar line. (Revery Architecture/Squamish Nation/Westbank)

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