Office tower near future Mount Pleasant SkyTrain pivots to rental housing

New office tower near SkyTrain's future Mount Pleasant Station pivots to rental housing

2023 revised design artistic rendering for secured rental housing at 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Chard Development)

Nearly three years after the previous makeup of Vancouver City Council approved a rezoning application for a new office tower, the project has now effectively been cancelled, in favour of the revamped uses of primarily secured purpose-built rental housing.

The site for the redevelopment at 8 East Broadway (also previously known as 24 East Broadway) is at the southeast corner of the intersection of East Broadway and Ontario Street — almost two city blocks west of where SkyTrain’s future Mount Pleasant Station entrance building will be located at the southwest corner of the intersection of East Broadway and Main Street.

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Chard Development has just indicated it has submitted a new rezoning application calling for the construction of a 14-storey, mixed-use building with 152 units of secured purpose-built rental housing, and with over 6,000 sq ft of shared common indoor and outdoor amenities for residents including a rooftop outdoor terrace.

There will also be 4,200 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses on the ground level to activate the building’s street frontages, and two underground levels with 71 vehicle parking stalls.

Site of 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Formosis Architecture/Value Property Group)

Site of 8 East Broadway (previously known as 8 East Broadway), Vancouver. (Formosis Architecture/Value Property Group)

Site of 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Formosis Architecture/Value Property Group)

The future Mobi public bike share station — situated on the west sidewalk fronting Ontario Street — from the previous office concept has been retained in the new rental housing project.

Although the new rental housing design retains the previous office building concept’s general L-shape form, the facade design has now immensely changed — punctuated by a grid of balconies for the residential uses.

Compared to the previous office concept, two additional floors have also been squeezed into roughly the same building volume shape, which is achieved by reducing the floor-to-ceiling heights, given that modern office standards generally have higher floor-to-ceiling heights than residential uses.

Cancelled office design approved in 2020:

Cancelled office project: Artistic rendering of 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Formosis Architecture/Value Property Group)

New 2023 revised design with secured purpose-built rental housing:

24 east broadway vancouver rental housing 2023 1

2023 revised design artistic rendering for secured rental housing at 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Chard Development)

“This proposed rezoning follows a previous application and extensive collaborative work with the community and City to design a built form that respects and complements the existing neighbourhood context,” Byron Chard, the president and CEO of Chard Development, told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“Our current application respects that process — as the height and density are unchanged — while proposing a change of use that is a direct response to current market conditions. The site is shovel ready, and we look forward to working with the City to help meet housing targets and deliver 100% purpose-built rental housing in an expedited manner.”

There is a height restriction of 148 ft for this particular site due to protected mountain View Cone 3 emanating from the top of Queen Elizabeth Park. The previous office concept maximized the allowable height up to the underside of the view cone.

This limitation contradicts the City’s 2022-enacted Broadway Plan’s prescriptions for this particular site, which calls for up to 30 storeys for secured rental housing or hotel uses, up to 24 storeys for office uses, or up to 20 storeys for condominium uses, with the view cone overriding the Broadway Plan’s strategic transit-oriented density considerations for more housing and jobs.

The original rezoning application by Value Property Group, approved by City Council in October 2020, had about 104,000 sq ft of office space, and significantly more retail/restaurant uses reaching nearly 20,000 sq ft. The office concept also incorporated seven underground levels for 230 vehicle parking stalls and 68 bike parking spaces.

“Our team is committed to providing the right product in the right place at the right time,” states Chard Development’s rationale for the pivot from office uses to rental housing uses.

“Currently zoned for commercial and retail uses, this application recognizes the significant need for housing along the Broadway corridor and answers the call for specific housing targets as put forth by the City of Vancouver’s in its Broadway Plan. We believe this change to rental housing — with community-serving retail at grade — serves a greater purpose than the previously proposed office usage, particularly given the impending completion of the SkyTrain Millennium Line extension project along Broadway.”

View cone height restrictions over 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Formosis Architecture/Value Property Group)

Cancelled office project: Layout of 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Formosis Architecture/Value Property Group)

Cancelled office project: Artistic rendering of 8 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Formosis Architecture/Value Property Group)

The pivot coincides with the continued downward trend in office space demand due to semi-remote work and challenging economic conditions.

CBRE’s latest market update shows leased office space vacancy rates as of the end of the second quarter of 2023 have further increased to 11.5% in downtown Vancouver, 6.4% in suburban areas, and 9% for Metro Vancouver as a whole. Although office vacancies are now elevated, reaching levels that have not been seen locally in about two decades, downtown Vancouver and Metro Vancouver’s office vacancy rates remain the lowest amongst major urban centres across Canada and the United States.

Mount Pleasant Station is expected to open in early 2026 as part of the Millennium Line’s Broadway Extension reaching Arbutus.

Chard Development has a number of mixed-use developments with secured purpose-built rental housing in its pipeline, including its recent construction start on the redevelopment of the Denny’s restaurant next to SkyTrain Marine Drive Station into two towers — reaching 28 storeys and 32 storeys — with 575 rental homes, a childcare facility, and 17,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses. The Cascades, the name of this South Vancouver project, is expected to reach completion in late 2026.

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