A few weekends ago the developer Holburn (which has been eerily inactive since the demise of their twisting tower proposal aka Ritz Carlton) presented plans for the Vancouver’s Little Mountain neighbourhood.
Many who came to the first of two scheduled open houses at Riley Park wondered how many thousands would move in to their neighbourhood if the developer’s plans to rezone the Little Mountain property are approved by the city. If the developer, Holborn Properties, gets its way, buildings as high as 19 storeys could be built. I think it’ll end up being more like 12 floors at the tallest.
Holborn’s current plans also includes 234 units of social housing to replace the social housing that was once on that site. Almost all the current tenants on the site have been relocated. However, the lengthy delay in progress is not sitting well with activists and rightfully so.
Holborn’s ambitious plan also includes a new neighbourhood house, bike- and pedestrian-friendly streets, a village square with shops, a childcare centre, and of course new public art.
The redevelopment is all part of Holborn’s grand plan for a new neighbourhood bordering Queen Elizabeth Park and bounded by 37th and 33rd avenues and Main Street. With 15.3 acres of land there is a lot of potential for this site.
The project has been stalled for years due to a squabble between the city, developers and residents over density. What else could it be?
In a city where land is sparse to none, it ceases to amaze me that residents of any neighbourhoods fight density so hard. Change is inevitable and is necessary and it’s time the people outside of downtown Vancouver come to terms with that. We need more housing as people continue to move in the city. The latest estimates projected that 14,000 people moved to the city of Vancouver last year pushing it’s population close to 640,000. Where the hell does everyone think they are all going to live. Higher density, that is the future.
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