Construction begins on 649 rental homes next to SkyTrain Marine Drive Station

Construction begins on three towers with 649 rental homes next to SkyTrain Marine Drive Station in Vancouver

September 2022 artistic rendering of the Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative at 8495 Cambie Street and 8460 Ash Street, Vancouver. (Perkins & Will/Intracorp Homes/Oxford Properties)

Nearly two years after receiving rezoning approval from Vancouver City Council, construction has officially commenced on the major rental housing redevelopment of Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative in South Vancouver.

This redevelopment of the 1.5-acre site at 8495 Cambie Street and 8460 Ash Street is immediately west of SkyTrain Marine Drive Station and the Marine Gateway complex.

There will be three towers, including 27-storey and 32-storey market rental housing towers, and a 16-storey co-op tower.

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A total of 649 homes will be contained within these three towers, including 524 market rental homes and 125 co-op units classified as social housing with their below-market rates. This represents a net gain of 71 co-op units over the previous 54 co-op units on the site. Existing residents will be temporarily relocated to another location during construction, before moving back into the new 16-storey tower, which will remain under the ownership and operation of the co-op.

Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative 8460 Ash Street 8495 Cambie Street Vancouver 2022

Groundbreaking ceremony on September 29, 2022 of the Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative at 8495 Cambie Street and 8460 Ash Street, Vancouver. (Intracorp Homes/Oxford Properties)

September 2022 artistic rendering of the Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative at 8495 Cambie Street and 8460 Ash Street, Vancouver. (Perkins & Will/Intracorp Homes/Oxford Properties)

Seven years ago, the co-op selected local developer Intracorp Homes to pursue a redevelopment that renews their co-op homes, replacing the original 1983-built, low-storey structures in poor condition. The inclusion of a major market rental housing component on the site not only provides much-needed new additional rental supply for Vancouver but also covers the cost of the subsidized co-op development. In early 2021, a revised proposal increased the heights of the three towers to add over 100 more homes to the project.

Toronto-based Oxford Properties is Intracorp’s joint venture partner in completing the project. Perkins & Will is the architectural firm behind the design.

“An important aspect of this venture has been the collaborative visioning with Oxford, Ashley Mar, and our Intracorp team,” said Evan Allegretto, president of the BC division at Intracorp, in a statement.

“The advocacy that the co-op has lent to this undertaking, combined with Oxford’s commitment to delivering high-quality, professionally managed rental homes to Vancouver, is the key that has allowed us to put together such a unique project.”

September 2022 artistic rendering of the Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative at 8495 Cambie Street and 8460 Ash Street, Vancouver. (Perkins & Will/Intracorp Homes/Oxford Properties)

Tyler Seaman, senior vice president of the Canada division at Oxford Properties, added: “The Ashley Mar Co-Op renewal and development project is a perfect example of what can be achieved when public and private sectors collaborate to deliver unique and creative solutions to address the housing challenges we are seeing in Canada’s largest cities.”

Oxford Properties, owned by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is known more for its investments in commercial and industrial real estate. But in recent years, institutional investors have shown a growing interest in making major investments in market rental housing in Metro Vancouver. Overall, Oxford has also been diversifying its global portfolio to include more residential properties, with over 10,000 apartments across North America now under its ownership and management and a development pipeline of about 15,000 new units worldwide.

“As we continue to scale our business in the region, we will continue to look at a wide array of opportunities, including partnerships with co-investors that share both our conviction in the asset class and a desire to deliver a broad range of housing solutions to suit a diverse and growing Vancouver market,” said Randy Hoffman, senior vice president of the Canada division at Oxford Properties, noting that this particular project represents the firm’s entrance into the Vancouver multi-family housing market.

Construction on the entire Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative complex will reach completion in Summer 2025.

September 2022 artistic rendering of the Ashley Mar Housing Co-operative at 8495 Cambie Street and 8460 Ash Street, Vancouver. (Perkins & Will/Intracorp Homes/Oxford Properties)

The municipal government’s consideration of Intracorp’s application also triggered changes to a policy regulating the allowable density and height for the surrounding sites, given that the area is well-served by SkyTrain, the bus exchange, and Marine Gateway’s retail offerings.

Under these policy changes, City Council approved in early 2022 a proposal by Chard Development to redevelop the Denny’s restaurant site at 622 Southwest Marine Drive — just west of Ashley Mar — into two towers, 28 storeys and 32 storeys, with 573 rental homes, including 456 market units and 117 non-market units.

Just east of Marine Gateway, there is a proposal by Mercury Properties and Hungerford Properties to redevelop the Kia car dealership at 396 Southwest Marine Drive into 19-storey and 10-storey towers containing 396,000 sq ft of office space and about 200,000 sq ft of light industrial, retail, and restaurant uses.

Immediately to the south of Marine Gateway, PCI Developments is proposing to turn Don Docksteader Motors’ Volvo and Subaru car dealerships into a second major phase of Marine Gateway — consisting of four residential towers and one office tower over a base podium with light industrial uses. There would be over 1,000 homes — including 680 market rental units, 170 moderate income rental units, and 203 below-market rental units — plus 40,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses, 280,000 sq ft of office space, and 300,000 sq ft of light industrial space.

The growing number of towering developments around this SkyTrain station form an impressive visual gateway into Vancouver for those arriving on the Canada Line.

Artistic rendering of 622 Southwest Marine Drive, Vancouver. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Chard Development)

Artistic rendering of 396 Southwest Marine Drive, Vancouver. (Mercury Properties/Hungerford Properties/HDR Architecture)

marine gateway 2 pci developments 8530 cambie street

Artistic rendering of Marine Gateway 2 at 8530 Cambie Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

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