120 rental homes to be built next to Tupper Secondary School in Vancouver

Artistic rendering of 550-606 East King Edward Avenue, Vancouver. (GBL Architects)

Seven single-family houses immediately south of Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School will be redeveloped into 125 secured purpose-built market rental homes.

Ventana Construction Corporation and GBL Architects have submitted a development permit application to the City of Vancouver to redevelop 550-606 King Edward Avenue, which is just across the street from the high school’s south field — a mid-block development site between Fraser Street and St. Georges Street.

You might also like:

There will be a five-storey apartment building fronting King Edward Avenue, and a three-storey townhouse building fronting the laneway.

The unit size mix is 50 studios, 25 one-bedroom units, and 34 two-bedroom units, plus one two-bedroom townhouse unit and 15 three-bedroom townhouse units. Residents will have access to indoor and outdoor amenity spaces on the sixth level.

550-606 East King Edward Avenue Vancouver rental housing

Site of 550-606 East King Edward Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Site of 550-606 East King Edward Avenue, Vancouver. (GBL Architects)

Site of 550-606 East King Edward Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Artistic rendering of 550-606 East King Edward Avenue, Vancouver. (GBL Architects)

A single underground level will contain 79 vehicle parking stalls and 238 secured bike parking spaces.

Both buildings combined will generate a total building floor area of 88,600 sq ft, representing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 2.2 times larger than the size of the 40,300 sq ft land assembly.

The City’s Secured Rental Policy enables secured purpose-built rental housing of up to six storeys on such sites fronting arterial roads.

This particular location is served by frequent bus routes on King Edward Avenue and Fraser Street, and Main Street is just a short walk away.

Artistic rendering of 550-606 East King Edward Avenue, Vancouver. (GBL Architects)

Earlier this week, Vancouver City Council approved a member motion directing City staff to explore adding more family-sized housing density near public schools with underutilized capacity or at risk of permanent closure.

According to the Vancouver School Board, Tupper school’s enrolment falls within the range of 60% to 80% of facility capacity utilization.

After experiencing a decade of stagnant enrolment growth, the BC Ministry of Education’s data shows the student population at Tupper has been steadily rising over the past few years from 1,009 students in the 2017/2018 school year to 1,144 students in 2022/2023.

You might also like: