Temporary modular housing in the Downtown Eastside to be replaced with 154 permanent social housing units and a community economic development hub

Mar 14 2023, 12:35 am

The City of Vancouver is taking the next steps to move forward with its plans to redevelop the temporary modular housing building known as Aneki Housing for Women.

The temporary structure is currently located at 525 Powell Street — the northeast corner of the intersection of Powell Street and Jackson Avenue, just kitty corner from Oppenheimer Park within the Downtown Eastside.

The municipal government is currently in the process of looking for a new architect to act as the prime consultant for a permanent redevelopment of the City-owned site into a mixed-use building with 154 units of social housing and a large “Community Economic Development” (CED) hub space.

The selected firm will be asked to create a detailed design for the project, starting by reviewing the proposed preliminary design previously made by Iredale Architecture in 2021 for feasibility purposes.

According to the City’s project summary as of March 6, 2023, this will be a nine-storey building, with a unit size mix of 80 studios, 18 one-bedroom units, 40 two-bedroom units, and 16 three-bedroom units.

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Site of the existing temporary modular housing building at 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Site of the existing temporary modular housing building at 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

At least 33% of the units will have rents at shelter rate, while another 33% of the units will have rents at BC Housing’s average housing income limits rates. The remaining 33% of the units will be available with low-end of market rate rents.

Residents will have access to a large outdoor amenity spaces on the second level facing the north, and on the entire building rooftop.

Within the ground level, fronting Powell Street, there will be a “Community Economic Development” hub space with a floor area of about 19,400 sq ft. The exact uses for this hub space have yet to be determined, but examples of existing CED projects supported by the municipal government include Binners’ Project, Downtown Eastside Market, and the Downtown Eastside Women’s Market.

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Artistic rendering of the 2021 preliminary feasibility design of 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. Not the final design. (Iredale Architecture)

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Artistic rendering of the 2021 preliminary feasibility design of 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. Not the final design. (Iredale Architecture)

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Artistic rendering of the 2021 preliminary feasibility design of 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. Not the final design. (Iredale Architecture)

It is anticipated the building will have a total floor area of about 122,000 sq ft, along with a single underground level for over 50 vehicle parking stalls, plus about a dozen vehicle parking stalls on the surface parking lot on the building’s north side. A mezzanine level will also provide 272 secured bike parking spaces and a storage area for the CED hub.

As this a City-owned site, the building is required to reach a Passive House green building design standard.

The City assumes a rezoning will not be necessary, and the project will be able to go straight to the development permit application process, which is expected to run between late 2023 and late 2024.

Construction would begin in early 2025 for a completion by late 2026.

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Artistic rendering of the 2021 preliminary feasibility design of 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. Not the final design. (Iredale Architecture)

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Artistic rendering of the 2021 preliminary feasibility design of 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. Not the final design. (Iredale Architecture)

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Artistic rendering of the 2021 preliminary feasibility design of 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. Not the final design. (Iredale Architecture)

525 Powell Street Vancouver housing downtown eastside

Artistic rendering of the 2021 preliminary feasibility design of 525 Powell Street, Vancouver. Not the final design. (Iredale Architecture)

In 2021, prior to rampant market inflationary pressures, the project carried an estimated total cost of about $58 million.

It is noted that the short-term lease for the site’s existing three-storey temporary modular housing building — operated by Atira Women’s Resource Society — will expire in March 2024. The temporary modular housing building with 39 studio units was first completed at the location in March 2018.

Ahead of the start of construction for the permanent building, the existing modular structures will be relocated to a different location for reuse.

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