Rentals, grocery store, childcare for 160 kids to replace Vancouver gas station | Daily Hive

Vancouver Esso gas station redevelopment brings rental housing, grocery store, and childcare facility for 160 kids

Concept of 6525-6575 Oak St., Vancouver. (McKinley Studios/Elevate)

Local developer Elevate is proposing to redevelop the Esso gas station at the southwest corner of the intersection of Oak Street and West 49th Avenue in Vancouver.

The newly submitted rezoning application for 6525-6575 Oak St. calls for a 195-ft-tall, 18-storey, mixed-use tower, which is beyond the municipal government’s Cambie Corridor Plan’s prescription of a height of up to 12 storeys for this particular site.

However, the application states that the increased density — achieved through both added height and larger tower floor plates of 8,000 sq. ft. — will enable not only more rental homes, but also larger residential units to improve livability, the public benefit of a significant childcare facility, the commercial vibrancy of a grocery store of meaningful size, and improved financial and economic viability for the overall project.

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For example, some one-bedroom units in this project could be roughly a quarter bigger — about 550 sq. ft., instead of 450 sq. ft. — as a result of the larger floor plates.

“Our costing analysts advised that 8,000 sq. ft. provides the most efficient economies of scale, which helps our pro forma and feasibility of the project,” reads the application. This is an increase from the typical floor plate size of 6,500 sq. t.

“This strategy maintains building efficiency, supports financial feasibility, and ensures a varied unit mix, which provides housing choices for a range of income groups and family types.”

The resulting overall unit size mix is 60 studio units, 60 one-bedroom units, 53 two-bedroom units, and 16 three-bedroom units.

6525-6575 Oak Street Vancouver elevate rental housing

Concept of 6525-6575 Oak St., Vancouver. (McKinley Studios/Elevate)

Existing condition:

Concept of 6525-6575 Oak St., Vancouver. (McKinley Studios/Elevate)

Future condition:

Concept of 6525-6575 Oak St., Vancouver. (McKinley Studios/Elevate)

Altogether, there will be 189 secured purpose-built rental homes within the upper levels of the building, including 148 market rental units and 41 below-market rental units. This represents a below-market rental housing proportion of 22 per cent — slightly above the City of Vancouver’s minimum requirement of 20 per cent. Residents will have shared indoor and outdoor amenity spaces on the seventh level, and an outdoor amenity space on the tower rooftop.

The entire second level in the base podium will be dedicated to a childcare facility, consisting of 12,400 sq. ft. of indoor space and over 6,500 sq. ft. of outdoor play space on the lower rooftop. A dedicated childcare lobby will be located within the P1 underground parkade level, where there will be pick-up and drop-off spaces. There will also be childcare entrance at ground level from the laneway. Dedicated elevators and stairs will be provided for the facility.

This childcare facility will have enough space for up to about 160 kids, making it one of Metro Vancouver’s largest childcare facilities. Willowbrae Academy has been identified as the potential childcare operator.

The entire ground level will be used as a single commercial retail unit — a 12,100 sq. ft. grocery store.

Concept of 6525-6575 Oak St., Vancouver. (McKinley Studios/Elevate)

The total building floor area will reach 175,000 sq. ft., establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is eight times larger than the size of the 23,550 sq. ft. land assembly, which entails both the gas station and an adjacent one-storey commercial building.

Four underground levels will accommodate 166 vehicle parking stalls, including 102 stalls for residents, eight stalls for residential visitors, 21 stalls for childcare uses, and 35 stalls for the grocery store.

Designed by architectural firm McKinley Studios, the tower’s facade features a pattern of horizontal bands for all floor plates to keep the design “consistent and elegantly simple.” As well, the balcony edges are rounded to soften the appearance.

Concept of 6525-6575 Oak St., Vancouver. (McKinley Studios/Elevate)

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