19-storey social housing tower proposed to replace former hotel near Hastings Park
The City of Vancouver is taking a major new step to redevelop the former Ramada Hotel just east of Hastings Park.
The former hotel — a three-storey building constructed in 1980 with 57 suites, located mid-block at 3475 East Hastings St. — was acquired by the municipal government in 2013 to serve as temporary supportive housing.
Currently serving as transitional supportive housing uses primarily for Indigenous people, it is called “Skeena House” — operated by non-profit entities Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society and Community Builders.
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Working with TKAD Architecture & Design, the municipal government has submitted a new rezoning application to redevelop the property into a 202-ft.-tall, 19-storey, mixed-use social housing tower.
Site of 3475 East Hastings St., Vancouver. (Google Maps)
Site of 3475 East Hastings St., Vancouver. (Google Maps)
There will be 176 social housing units, with a unit size mix of 18 one-bedroom units, 72 one-bedroom units, 54 two-bedroom units, and 32 three-bedroom units.
About 6,500 sq. ft. of ground-level retail/restaurant space will activate the building’s Hastings Street frontage.
The total building floor area will reach roughly 141,000 sq. ft., establishing a floor area ratio density of 6.01 — a floor area size that is more than six times larger than the size of the 23,404 sq. ft. plot of land.
Highly preliminary concept of the new social housing tower at 3475 East Hastings St., Vancouver. (TKAD Architecture & Design/City of Vancouver)
Highly preliminary concept of the new social housing tower at 3475 East Hastings St., Vancouver. (TKAD Architecture & Design/City of Vancouver)
One-and-a-half underground levels will accommodate 20 vehicle parking stalls and about 340 secure bike parking spaces.
The site is within the provincial government’s designated Transit-Oriented Area for TransLink’s Kootenay bus loop, which is served by numerous bus routes, including the major services of the R5 Hastings Street RapidBus and the future R2 Marine-Willingdon RapidBus route extension.
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