Boffo Properties to build rental housing on its failed Commercial Drive site

Boffo Properties to build rental housing on its failed Commercial Drive project site

2024 artistic rendering of 1739 Venables Street, Vancouver. (RLA Architects/Maurice Pez Architect/Boffo Properties)

Nearly six years after Boffo Properties formally cancelled its controversial Kettle Boffo redevelopment, it now has plans to redevelop a small portion of the project’s former land assembly at the northwest corner of the intersection of Commercial Drive and Venables Street.

A new development permit application has been submitted to redevelop 1739 Venables Street at the prominent intersection’s corner into a four-storey, mixed-use building.

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Currently, the existing 1932-built, one-storey building is home to the Eastside Culture Crawl.

1739 Venables Street Vancouver Boffo Properties 2024

Site of 1739 Venables Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Existing condition:

Site of 1739 Venables Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Future condition:

2024 artistic rendering of 1739 Venables Street, Vancouver. (RLA Architects/Maurice Pez Architect/Boffo Properties)

The new building will provide 24 secured purpose-built market rental homes, entailing a unit size mix of 15 studios and nine two-bedroom units.

On the ground level, there will be 3,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses.

In total, there will be 22,300 sq ft of building floor area, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 2.64 times larger than the size of the 8,454 sq ft lot. One underground level will contain 18 vehicle parking stalls and 42 secured bike parking spaces.

The project’s design firms are RLA Architects and Maurice Pez Architect.

2024 artistic rendering of 1739 Venables Street, Vancouver. (RLA Architects/Maurice Pez Architect/Boffo Properties)

This is a stark contrast to Boffo Properties’ previous Kettle Boffo proposal, which spanned the entire block and the City-owned surface parking lot to the north. They had proposed building a 12-storey, mixed-use building with 200 condominium homes, 30 supportive housing units, 18,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses, and a new replacement and expanded drop-in facility for The Kettle Society.

However, the project was cancelled in 2018 following failed community amenity contribution (CACs) negotiations with the municipal government, which asked the developer and non-profit society to provide an additional cash CACs payment of up to $16 million in addition to the in-kind CACs of $39 million. This was deemed to be financially unfeasible by the proponents.

In December 2023, the City of Vancouver revealed it will redevelop the surface parking lot at 800 Commercial Drive on its own with affordable housing uses. It has submitted a rezoning application to build a 15-storey, mixed-use tower with 93 social housing units and 4,600 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses.

Cancelled in 2018: Artistic rendering of the Kettle Boffo housing project on Commercial Drive. (Kettle Boffo)

800 Commercial Drive Vancouver social housing

December 2023 artistic rendering of the social housing tower at 800 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. (Human Studio Architecture & Urban Design/City of Vancouver)

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