Jericho Lands project passes hurdle, but when will UBC SkyTrain arrive?

Jericho Lands project passes major hurdle, but when will UBC SkyTrain arrive?

Highly conceptual artistic renderings only for illustrative purposes of Jericho Lands (MST Development Corporation/Canada Lands Company) and UBC Station of the UBC SkyTrain extension (UBC).

Last month, Vancouver City Council provided the Jericho Lands with an approval for the landmark project’s first major hurdle in the municipal government’s multi-stage review process.

The Indigenous-led and owned project by MST Development Corporation — in partnership with the federal government’s Canada Lands Company (CLC) — received the green light on its policy statement, which is the site-wide master plan that will guide the project’s future rezoning applications.

Over multiple phases, the 90-acre site in West Point Grey will be developed into a new high-density, transit-oriented development with up to 13.5 million sq ft of total building floor area in buildings up to 49 storeys high.

There will be about 13,000 homes for about 24,000 residents, at least 750,000 sq ft of a range of commercial uses (office, hotel, retail, restaurant, and service) and creative industrial spaces for about 3,000 on-site jobs, at least 20 acres of public parks and open spaces, and new school and childcare facilities.

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There will be zero freehold housing opportunities — no market strata ownership condominiums. Instead, about 70% of the homes will be leasehold strata, which are comparatively generally more affordable than freehold properties, as it removes land ownership from the equation, while another 20% will be social housing and the remaining 10% will be below-market rental housing.

About a decade ago, for $717 million, the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations and CLC made two fee simple acquisitions of the two former military parcels that make up the Jericho Lands, which is not a reserve. The leasehold strata option will be the only home ownership option, as it provides the First Nations with the ability to own the land in perpetuity. This strategy is also being used for their Heather Lands project just west of Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver.

“Given that the First Nations have been fighting for hundreds of years to try to get access to their lands back, I don’t blame them for wanting to ensure that the ownership stays within their nations,” Ravi Kahlon, the BC Minister of Housing, told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview.

December 2023 conceptual artistic rendering of the Jericho Lands. (City of Vancouver)

jericho lands vancouver policy statement november 2023 1

December 2023 conceptual artistic rendering of the Jericho Lands. (City of Vancouver)

Currently, some of the largest concentrations of leasehold homes are located in the West End of downtown Vancouver, False Creek South, Southeast Vancouver, University of British Columbia (UBC), and Tsawwassen.

Many leasehold terms span about 100 years, and they can still change ownership, with new homeowners acquiring the remaining duration of the term. The shorter the remainder of the term, the less that will be paid by the next homeowner.

Freehold homes account for the overwhelming majority of home ownership types, but Kahlon says the incoming volume of the unconventional typology of leasehold strata provides people with not only supply but also choice.

“As far as leasehold strata goes, people will make a decision when they get into these lease agreements and decide whether it makes sense for them,” said Kahlon. “What it does help us do is dramatically increase the housing supply that we need in our communities, and I suspect that with the beautiful design that they put forward, there’s going to be great interest with people wanting to live in a community that’s designed in that way. I think it’s a fantastic location for any young family or anyone looking to find a home.”

The affordable housing component — social housing and below-market housing — currently carries an estimated cost of $762 million, with $163 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments deemed to be necessary to fulfill this commitment.

The project is still in the early stages, so any formal funding request from the proponents is likely still a ways away, but Kahlon says the provincial government would be happy to engage in discussions, and noted that BC is currently the only province that funds Indigenous housing projects both on- and off-reserve.

But the overwhelming determinant of the Jericho Lands project’s scope is the question of the proposed extension of SkyTrain Millennium Line between Arbutus Station and the UBC campus.

The planned density and uses of the Jericho Lands as outlined in the City’s approved policy statement is based on the expectation that SkyTrain will be extended to UBC, and there will be an on-site Jericho Station near the centre of the development site, and an Alma Station at the intersection of West Broadway and Alma Street. Although Alma Station will not be situated on the development site, it will directly and more conveniently serve many future residents who live on the eastern half of the sprawling Jericho Lands neighbourhood.

General potential area of the subway station footprint of the Jericho Station on the Jericho Lands. (City of Vancouver)

December 2023 master plan of the Jericho Lands. (City of Vancouver)

jericho lands mst clc vancouver concept june 2023

June 2023 revised concept of the Jericho Lands. (MST Development Corporation/Canada Lands Company)

City of Vancouver staff have noted that if the on-site station or the UBC SkyTrain project as a whole is not built, the Jericho Lands policy statement will have to be revised, as the expected transportation demand and high density and uses are directly supported by the subway. In essence, without the subway, the development could be downsized.

If the project is downsized, particularly the revenue-generating market housing component (leasehold strata), that would likely challenge the ability of the Jericho Lands project to largely self-fund the $1.3 billion in total public benefits on its own, including about $600 million for its contribution to the on-site affordable housing.

For this reason, there is a symbiotic relationship between the Jericho Lands development and the UBC SkyTrain extension. The overall size of the Jericho Lands development and the outlined public benefits depends on UBC SkyTrain, while UBC SkyTrain’s business case will be further enhanced by the expected major ridership demand generated by the Jericho Lands as outlined in the policy statement.

The UBC SkyTrain extension is identified as a priority project in TransLink’s Mayors’ Council’s 10-year plan, and the provincial government is currently leading the project’s planning. At this rate, if all goes as planned and the multi-billion dollar project is fully funded without major delays, the extension could be built by the early- or mid-2030s at the very earliest — the tail end of the 10-year plan.

In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry, the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure states the project’s planning is still in the early stages, and they are currently in the process of developing a concept plan, which will be used as an input for the future business case.

“Planning, including development of a business case, for the UBC Extension is in the early stages,” states the Ministry.

“This project has many partners, and the finalization of the business case will depend on all partners to reaching agreement on all the project elements For this project to be successful, it will take the combined efforts of the federal and provincial governments, City of Vancouver, TransLink, UBC, Metro Vancouver, Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation.”

Forthcoming geotechnical studies on the potential UBC SkyTrain route and station locations will be done to support the business case planning, with the Ministry noting this will include borehole drilling to obtain soil samples for analysis. This was also extensively done for the Millennium Line’s Evergreen Extension and Broadway Extension to support the business cases of these projects.

The Ministry adds that the current estimated cost for completing the business case is about $40 million, with the federal government covering $14 million.

translink ubc skytrain route options april 2022

TransLink’s route and station location options for UBC SkyTrain, April 2022. (TransLink)

Terminus station location for the UBC SkyTrain extension of the Millennium Line, April 2022. (TransLink)

UBC SkyTrain route options for a second station reaching south campus, near Wesbrook Village. (TransLink)

Before TransLink handed the project over to the provincial government to conduct further planning, in 2022, the public transit authority established four potential station locations at Macdonald Street, Alma Street, Jericho Lands, and the core of UBC’s academic campus (near the AMS Nest). These station locations essentially mirror the existing 99 B-Line bus stops.

According to TransLink, the extension from Arbutus Street to Blanca Street could continue as a tunnel, and from Blanca Street westward to Wesbrook Mall it could take advantage of University Boulevard’s median for an elevated guideway. From Wesbrook Mall, the elevated guideway could transition back to a subway for the final approach to the terminus station at UBC and required storage tracks to store at least five trains (equivalent to 20 to 25 cars).

Alternatively, instead of running along University Boulevard’s median west of Blanca Street, the extension could run through University Golf Course through a partnership with the Musqueam First Nation. This First Nation owns the 145-acre golf course, but a 2008 land ownership transfer agreement with the provincial government stipulates it must remain as a golf course until 2083 — currently the earliest date the golf course can be developed.

UBC previously indicated it would be willing to provide the required land for the extension, and potentially a financial contribution. As a best-case scenario, UBC is hoping to see two on-campus stations — a station at the core of the academic campus, and a second station serving south campus near Wesbrook Village.

UBC recently approved a new master plan that guides how it will add 24,000 more residents and increase academic space by 20% over the next 25 years through densification.

And given the precedent set by recent SkyTrain extension projects, with rapid transit investments paired with new area plans, the Kitsilano and West Point Grey neighbourhoods could see added density through future potential area planning processes — akin to a westward expansion of the Broadway Plan, which was triggered by the Millennium Line’s Broadway Extension. The Expo Line’s upcoming Surrey-Langley Extension has similarly triggered new area plans in Fleetwood and Clayton, while the Canada Line led to the Cambie Plan.

In the meantime, the current construction project of the Millennium Line’s Broadway Extension reaching Arbutus will finish and open in 2026. From the bus exchange at Arbutus Station, the remaining journey to UBC will be completed by a truncated 99 B-Line route, until the Millennium Line makes its westward extension.

Future additional housing space at the University of British Columbia (UBC Campus Vision 2050). (UBC)

ubc campus vision 2050 plan academic space

Future additional academic space at the University of British Columbia (UBC Campus Vision 2050). (UBC)

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