Proposal for 21-storey Kitsilano rental tower near future Arbutus SkyTrain

Proposal for 21-storey Kitsilano rental housing tower near future Arbutus SkyTrain station

Artistic rendering of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

Local developer Gracorp Properties has submitted a new rezoning application to build a 21-storey secured purpose-built rental housing tower within a six-minute walking distance from the future SkyTrain Arbutus Station and 99 B-Line terminus bus exchange.

The high-density, transit-oriented development is proposed for 1960 West 7th Avenue — a mid-block Kitsilano neighbourhood site near the southeast corner of the intersection of Maple Street and West 7th Avenue, currently occupied by a 1965-built, three-storey building with 35 apartment units.

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Designed by Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership, this project is envisioned as a 212-ft-tall, 21-storey tower with 100% residential rental uses, containing 183 secured purpose-built rental homes, including 38 studio units, 82 one-bedroom units, 45 two-bedroom units, and 18 three-bedroom units.

Site of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, in relation to its walking distance to the future SkyTrain Arbutus Station and 99 B-Line bus exchange. (Google Maps)

Site of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, in relation to its walking distance to the future SkyTrain Arbutus Station and 99 B-Line bus exchange. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

Existing condition:

Site of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

In accordance to the City’s Broadway Plan, 20% of the residential space or 35 units will be set aside for below-market rental housing — one-for-one replacement units, providing existing tenants with the option to return — and the remaining 148 units will be market rental housing.

Residents will have access to shared indoor and outdoor amenity spaces on both the ground level and entire tower rooftop level.

Perhaps more interestingly, this application reveals that there are a total of five tower proposals for this particular city block framed by West 7th Avenue to the north, Maple Street to the west, West 8th Avenue to the south, and Cypress Street to the east. Currently, zero towers exist on this block, but this project by Gracorp Properties has secured its place as one of the permitted towers on the block, as it is the first and most advanced application.

Under the Broadway Plan, for this particular block within the KKNA sub-area, up to two towers are permitted, which means there are currently as many as three non-compliant tower proposals. Three of the proposed towers front West 7th Avenue, while the remaining two towers front West 8th Avenue. Essentially, almost the entire block would be redeveloped if all five towers are approved, with each tower reaching at least 20 storeys.

At this time, the other four tower proposals for this particular city block are not publicly known.

Five towers are proposed for the city block, including 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

Artistic rendering of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, including the depiction of potential other towers on the same city block. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

The south side of Gracorp Properties’ development site is setback to enable the creation of a future T-shaped laneway cutting through the centre of the block. Adjacent future developments are expected to follow suit with similar rear setbacks to fully realize the laneway.

The total building floor area will reach 117,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 6.5 times larger than the size of the 18,000 sq ft lot. Three underground levels will contain 63 vehicle parking stalls and 301 secure bike parking spaces.

As the rear laneway currently does not exist, the underground parking levels will be accessible by a driveway on the east side of the building.

This is Gracorp Properties’ second publicly known tower proposal under the Broadway Plan’s prescriptions, with its other rezoning application located just two blocks to the west at 2175 West 7th Avenue — a similar proposal for a 20-storey tower with 182 rental homes.

Artistic rendering of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

Building uses of 1960 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Gracorp Properties)

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