MEC Broadway redevelopment approved by Vancouver City Council

Former MEC Broadway store redevelopment into rental housing, childcare, and retail approved by Vancouver City Council

Previous 2022 application concept: Artistic rendering of the 2023 revised design of 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Vancouver City Council has approved its first major rezoning application to build high-rise tower-based rental housing under the prescriptions of the Broadway Plan.

And this project also happens to be amongst the largest rental housing proposals within the Broadway Plan to date.

In a public hearing on Thursday evening, City Council unanimously approved the mixed-use application by the development partnership between Reliance Properties and Quadreal Property Group to redevelop the former MEC West Broadway store.

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This large site at 130 West Broadway encompasses most of the block’s street frontage. It is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Columbia Street and West Broadway — about an eight-minute walk east from SkyTrain Broadway-City Hall Station, which will become a major regional interchange hub in 2027 when the Millennium Line extension opens and enables seamless transfers with the Canada Line.

130 West Broadway Vancouver Reliance Quadreal rental towers 2023

Site of the former MEC store at 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Site of the former MEC store at 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

There will be two towers — a 235-ft-tall, 21-storey east tower and a 307-ft-tall, 28-storey west tower. These figures represent the building heights following amendments to the application in October/November 2023, which cut the height from the previous design iteration.

When the application was originally submitted in late 2022, shortly after the approval of the Broadway Plan, it did not comply with the height restrictions imposed by View Cone 3.0 emanating from the peak of Queen Elizabeth Park, according to City staff. This was particularly the case for the east tower. The original application called for almost twin towers –taller heights for a 328-ft-tall, 30-storey east tower and a 325-ft-tall, 29-storey west tower. As well, there were issues with the previous concept’s floor plate sizes.

130-West-Broadway-Vancouver-Reliance-Quadreal-rental-towers-2023-view-cone f

Previous November 2022 application concept: Artistic rendering of the former MEC store redevelopment into rental housing towers at 130 West Broadway, Vancouver, near SkyTrain Broadway-City Hall Station, in relation to View Cone 3.0 from the top of Queen Elizabeth Park. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/Quadreal Property Group)

View Cone 3.0 from Queen Elizabeth Park, and its relation with the site at 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Despite the significant cuts to the height, the complex’s building floor area density, mixed uses, and amenities remain the same as the original application. The total building floor area will reach 444,000 sq ft, representing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 8.5 times larger than the size of the lot.

To achieve the same density with reduced height, larger floor plates were provided for the first four residential levels of the east tower, creating a bulkier base.

Detailed architectural renderings of the revised design were not made publicly available ahead of today’s public hearing, but some drawings were provided to support the revisions.

Previous November 2022 application concept:

mec rental housing 130 west broadway vancouver 2023

Previous November 2022 application concept: Taller towers for 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Revised October/November 2023 application concept:

mec rental housing 130 west broadway vancouver

Revised October/November 2023 application concept: Shorter towers for 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

When asked during the public hearing how much in additional design and planning costs was incurred for City staff’s required revisions, Reliance Properties’ director of development Joanna Kwan quipped, “Too much.” It also added about 10 months of delays, she says.

“We strongly believe we have a thoughtful and well-designed proposal that will fulfill the City’s vision for the Broadway Corridor to provide housing and job space to create a vibrant community,” continued Kwan.

A handful of public speakers in support of the project expressed frustration to City Council over the design changes resulting in reduced height due to the view cone policies.

“As far as I’m concerned, cities are for living in, not for looking at. It’s frustrating to me that there are people who will not have the opportunity to live in this building because we need to see a few more inches of mountain from Queen Elizabeth Park,” said Harmon Moon.

Devon Hussack added, “How long did redesigning this building take? How much did that cost the applicant team? I don’t really care if they make a huge profit or not, but I do want these homes to be viable.”

Denis Agar, the executive director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders, suggested that every home built at this development prevents urban sprawl in the region’s outermost suburban communities, where getting around depends on driving a car.

“From my perspective as a transit planner, this is probably one of the most transit accessible sites not in the city, but on the continent. And there’s no reason why we should be building anything but extremely dense housing here,” said Agar.

There have been a number of varying design concepts stretching long before the pandemic — before the rezoning application submission. NSDA Architects, Arcadis (formerly IBI Group), and Gauther & Associates Landscape Architects are the project’s design firms.

Under the Broadway Plan, for this site, the maximum allowable height is 30 storeys or up to the underside of View Cone 3.0.

Last year, Vancouver City Council directed City staff to perform a review of the view cone policies.

“I really appreciate the speakers tonight, especially those who touched on the view cone issue. It really illustrated how those view cones are impacting the delivery of housing,” said ABC councillor Peter Meiszner during the deliberations.

“We saw with this project it has been in the works since 2015… almost 10 years for this project to come to public hearing. Some of these projects have caused the projects to be redesigned, which adds to overall costs that are passed on to people who are renting these units.”

Previous November 2022 application concept:

Previous November 2022 application concept: Taller towers for 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Revised October/November 2023 application concept:

Revised October/November 2023 application concept: Shorter towers for 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Now approved, there will be 514 secured market rental homes — 10 fewer homes than the original application — including 330 one-bedroom units, 130 two-bedroom units, and 54 three-bedroom units.

About 43,500 sq ft of commercial space will be provided, with most of this space located at ground level, including dedicated space for a grocery store and a cafe.

Within the third level of the west tower, there will be a childcare facility for up to 37 kids, featuring 4,600 sq ft of indoor space and 5,600 sq ft of outdoor play space. YMCA is expected to be the operator of this facility.

Above the single-storey commercial podium in the middle of the development, there will be a large privately-owned public landscaped open space, which will be accessible from both a grand staircase from West Broadway and from the laneway.

“We believe this will inject activity and life into this block on Broadway, which has declined a bit since Mountain Equipment Co-op closed a few years back,” said Paul Faibish, senior vice president of development of Quadreal, during the meeting.

However, ABC councillor Mike Klassen suggested that even when MEC was still operating at the location, the block saw limited activity due to the store’s single mid-block location, whereas the redevelopment provides multiple commercial units with active storefronts and entrances.

Green councillor Pete Fry added, “I get that some people thought this is maybe too high, others think is too short. Sort of like a ‘Goldilocks’ scenario, I think it’s just right. I think it delivers really well, and I want to really commend the developer for some really thoughtful design.”

“I think this will deliver a lot of decent housing and I’m excited about the childcare, but that park in the middle has got me really jazzed.”

Previous November 2022 application concept: Artistic rendering of 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Four underground levels will accommodate 195 vehicle parking stalls and 1,165 bike parking spaces.

In exchange for the approved density and uses, the development team will provide the municipal government with $15.4 million in development cost levies and $880,000 worth of public art. The provision of an on-site turn-key childcare facility owned by the City will count towards an in-kind community amenity contribution (CACs) worth $6.5 million.

Initially, Reliance had planned on spearheading the project on its own. Prior to the submission of the rezoning application, they recruited Quadreal as a project partner.

MEC opened a new purpose-built replacement and expanded store near the Olympic Village in early 2020, at which point the longtime West Broadway store location closed.

Previous November 2022 application concept:

Previous November 2022 application concept: Artistic rendering of 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (NSDA Architects/IBI Group/Reliance Properties/QuadReal Property Group)

Previous 2017/2018 concept:

Previous 2017/2018 concept: Artistic rendering of the MEC store redevelopment at 130 West Broadway, Vancouver. (Neil M Denari Architects/IBI Group Architects/Reliance Properties)

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