Safeway redevelopment at Commercial-Broadway Station approved by Vancouver City Council | Daily Hive

Safeway redevelopment at SkyTrain's Commercial-Broadway Station approved by Vancouver City Council

May 2024 concept: redevelopment of Safeway at 1780 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

Major changes are coming to a key site in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood, after 10 years of planning and design work, including various significant redesigns, and public consultation.

Vancouver City Council has approved a contentious redevelopment next to one of Western Canada’s busiest public transit hubs, giving the green light to a rezoning application that will transform the Safeway site at 1780 East Broadway — immediately adjacent to SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station.

This follows a public hearing held over two dates — beginning on May 15 and continuing today, June 10 — during which City Council heard from approximately 140 public speakers, the majority of whom voiced opposition.

Tonight, City Council approved the application in an 8-1 vote, with COPE city councillor Sean Orr voting against and Green city councillor Pete Fry abstaining.

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The project, designed by architectural firm Perkins&Will, will redevelop the 2.4-acre grocery store lot into a new mixed-use complex with three high-rise towers, reaching 479 ft. with 44 storeys, 417 ft. with 38 storeys, and 404 ft. with 37 storeys.

Within the base podium, the project provides over 74,000 sq. ft. of commercial space, including an approximate 50,000 sq. ft. replacement grocery store and various retail/restaurant units. There will also be a City-owned childcare facility for 37 kids, a 20,000 sq. ft. mid-block public plaza fronting the transit hub that doubles as a pedestrian route between East Broadway and East 10th Avenue, and a 12,000 sq. ft. publicly accessible upper-level courtyard space on the rooftop of the grocery store.

Above the podium, the towers will feature 1,044 secured purpose-built rental homes, including 940 market rental units and 104 below-market rental units. At least 35 per cent of the homes will be sized for families, defined as units with two or more bedrooms.

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May 2024 concept: redevelopment of Safeway at 1780 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

1780 east broadway vancouver safeway commercial broadway

May 2024 concept: redevelopment of Safeway at 1780 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

$100 million of public benefits

One of the key criticisms of the project by the public speakers is that it sets aside only 10 per cent of its residential rental floor area for below-market housing — half of the typical 20 per cent target for other projects in the city.

However, according to the project’s proponents — property owner Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust and local developer Westbank — a higher ratio is not financially feasible.

They contend that their project — which they describe as relatively modest compared to other transit-oriented developments built, planned, or proposed at public transit hubs across the region — already delivers a substantial public benefits package valued at a total of $100 million.

This includes $56 million in development fees paid to the City, $30 million toward the provision of below-market rental housing, nearly $5 million for a new public plaza, $8 million for a childcare facility, and significant public art. It was also noted that the envisioned public plaza is substantially larger than what was originally envisioned in the Grandview-Woodland Plan.

When asked, Josh White, the General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability and the Director of Planning or the City of Vancouver, told City Council that the public benefits package is based on City staff’s assessment of the land lift. It takes the pre-rezoning land value based on the existing land use, and then it evaluates the lift based on the proposal after rezoning. The degree of public benefit is determined by a land value capture mechanism of 75 per cent of that lift.

“Because the underlying zoning was higher relative to some other projects and then matched against its location per market conditions, the public benefit package was determined by virtue of that land lift valuation, which is the standard procedure we use for all projects across the city, but it’s particular to this site in determining those,” explained White.

“One of the principal drivers of the lower affordability compared to some other projects across the city is based on the particular site conditions that exist there and the ability for that land lift to carry that public benefit.”

But both Orr and Fry disagreed, suggesting that the project should include a higher portion of rental homes with greater level of affordability.

“I very much appreciate that our staff have negotiated the benefits and the land lift on this project, working with the real estate investment trust and reviewing their pro formas. But I still don’t have the confidence there,” said Fry, explaining his decision to abstain, which technically still counts as a vote in support.

“I recall a developer once telling me actually that there’s three types of pro formas. There’s one for the banks, there’s one for the builders, and then there’s one for the City, but they’re not the same… This rezoning is double the heights and density that are proposed under the applicable zoning, including under the Transit-Oriented Area legislation and the Grandview-Woodlands Plan. As it’s contemplated, the density bonus here seems to be to be a major benefit to the landowner and by extension, the real estate investment trust shareholders, but it’s not delivering much in return other than new market rental housing, which in and of itself is a benefit, of course.”

Orr echoed Fry’s concerns and said, “We need rental units, but I worry that we are giving the developer double the height and we’re not seeing the full public benefits that we could be seeing at the sites. We don’t want a heritage parking lot, but transit-oriented density can’t be a blank cheque to a real estate investment trust. I do appreciate City staff have tried to balance the below-market rentals and the public amenity, but we are doing this in other parts of the city.”

Noting that the majority of public speakers had voiced opposition to the project, Orr added, “There should be at least one vote that reflects those speakers” — before lightheartedly acknowledging he was doing so “at the risk of upsetting ‘accordion man,'” a reference to Peter Waldkirch, a lawyer and outspoken housing advocate who drew attention by performing on his accordion in support of the project during the first date of the public hearing last month.

However, ABC councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung countered that “not everything is achieved in every single development and every single proposal,” suggesting that the cumulative effect of numerous projects across the city — rather than expecting every site to deliver every desired outcome — is what ultimately builds a balanced and inclusive housing mix.

In response to comments from some public speakers calling for deeply affordable housing, Kirby-Yung noted that City-supported initiatives — including projects led by non-profit organizations — are making some progress in adding social housing.

She also cited the challenging economic climate and pushed back against the assertion that the owner and developer are benefiting from the land lift over the past decade, suggesting that such gains have been offset by a steep escalation in construction costs.

“I know people referenced the Grandview Woodland Plan that was approved in 2016, almost a decade ago. And since then, the world has changed a lot,” said Kirby-Yung.

“We have now increasing cost pressures to build. We have pivoted to delivering mostly rental housing instead of condo projects in the city.”

May 2024 concept: redevelopment of Safeway at 1780 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

During their closing remarks, both Orr and Kirby-Yung took the opportunity to clarify that none of the homes in the project are condominiums, emphasizing that they are secured purpose-built rental housing — countering claims by numerous public speakers who characterized them as condominiums.

ABC city councillor Lisa Dominato and Mayor Ken Sim highlighted that the 940 market rental homes would be affordable for many working individuals and professionals.

“It is rental that is attainable for a number of people. It’s not luxury as was explained, but we have a number of frontline workers and professionals who want to live and work in a place where they are. And we know that in this case, some of these studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms will actually be attainable for some of those individuals and families as well,” said Dominato.

“I also think we have to keep in mind is that there are savings that come from being able to live and work in the same place and not having to commute from outside the area of Vancouver.”

Mayor Ken Sim said, “We’ve been clear that there’s a housing crisis in our city and we’re going to build. We’re going to create an environment where we can build more housing of all types, be it social housing or middle income market housing… We’re supporting a whole bunch of different types of housing in the city, and I think sometimes we have to zoom out to look at actually what we’re trying to achieve here.”

To address some of the usability concerns relating to one of the project’s public space offerings, City Council passed an amendment directing City staff to work with the proponents during the upcoming development permit application stage to “maximize, daily accessible public access” to the 12,000 sq. ft. courtyard on the upper level of the base podium.

Currently, the courtyard is designed to be accessible to the public by a grand staircase and elevator from the ground-level public plaza, and a secondary staircase from East 10th Avenue.

May 2024 concept: redevelopment of Safeway at 1780 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

Optimal transit-oriented development site

There was a consensus that the site — located next to the busy public transit hub served by two SkyTrain lines and major bus routes — is well-suited and appropriate for high-density uses.

One of the main critics of the project from its opponents is that the building heights and density should be substantially lower, and at the same time it should offer more affordable housing and other public benefits. They argue the project is too big for the neighbourhood.

“I think we have to gain recognize that we’re a bit of an outlier in the city of Vancouver right now. While we’ve had density around some of our downtown stations, [but with] SkyTrain stations, many have not seen any density. And if you look at Burnaby, you look at Coquitlam, [and] you look at where Surrey is going, they have similar housing that they’re trying to deliver in similar heights. This is exactly where we want to see additional density is where there’s public transit and it’s accessible public transit,” continued Dominato.

ABC city councillor Peter Meiszner added, “This is at the busiest transit hub in Vancouver and arguably one of the busiest in the region, about to be busier when the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension opens. We are seeing similar scale developments at other transit hubs in Vancouver and also in the region.”

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Expo Line platforms at SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station. (Kenneth Chan)

Over the years, the project has undergone numerous changes to its design, density, height, and mixed-use composition in response to neighbourhood feedback, evolving market conditions, and shifting municipal and provincial policies.

Early versions of the proposal envisioned a smaller complex focused primarily on strata condominium ownership. However, subsequent revisions gradually reduced the condominium component in favour of rental units, eventually leading to a complete shift into 100 per cent secured purpose-built rental housing for the residential portion of the project.

“It’s been a bit like Groundhog Day. This project’s been bouncing around for so long, but each iteration that comes back, it comes back bigger, denser than before. So I think there is an imperative to get on with things. I mean, the next round might literally bring us a Brentwood-scale, 60-storey towers at this site,” said Fry.

“So it has been happening for a while. It’s time to move on in that sense. It’s been said that this is one of the busiest transit hubs in the region. It’s the third busiest SkyTrain station. And so density is to be expected, indeed.”

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