1,000 rental homes proposed for Safeway site at Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain

Nearly 1,000 rental homes proposed for revised Safeway proposal at Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain

2024 revised concept artistic rendering of the Safeway redevelopment at 1780 East Broadway, next to Commercial-Broadway Station. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

The proposed redevelopment of the Safeway grocery store site next to SkyTrain Commercial-Broadway Station will now see 100% secured purpose-built rental housing for its residential uses. There will be zero market strata condominiums.

This is the latest drastic revision of the redevelopment plan, which has been in the works for nearly a decade, located next to one of Metro Vancouver’s busiest public transit hubs.

A new rezoning application now proposes a total of 981 secured purpose-built rental homes, including 99 below-market rental units and 882 market rental units. At least 35% of these units will be sized for families — defined as units with at least two bedrooms.

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This new critical mass of rental housing is achieved by fully converting the project’s previous market strata condominium uses into rental housing. Westbank and Crombie REIT have been chipping away at the condominium uses in favour of more rental housing with every revision made to the project over the years, with condominium uses originally being the primary residential use.

In contrast to a previous revision architectural firm Perkins&Will shared with Daily Hive Urbanized in September 2022, at the time, they were already looking to increase the number of homes from 653 units in the 2019 rezoning application to 894 units in an upcoming revised rezoning application, including 395 market rental homes, 205 below-market rental homes, and 294 condominium units.

This previously revised concept called for tower heights of 38 storeys, 29 storeys, and 31 storeys above the commercial base podium- up from the 2019 application’s heights of 30 storeys, 27 storeys, and 24 storeys.

But the latest, most ambitious revision to support 981 secured purpose-built rental homes is achieved by pursuing added density through greater height, with towers reaching 39 storeys, 36 storeys, and 35 storeys now proposed above the commercial base podium.

safeway commercial broadway station 2024 concept vancouver

2024 revised concept artistic rendering of the Safeway redevelopment at 1780 East Broadway, next to Commercial-Broadway Station. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

The proposed floor area ratio (FAR) density will reach a floor area that is 7.9 times larger than the size of the Safeway lot — up from the 2019 rezoning application’s 5.7 FAR and up from the 2022 revised concept’s 7.0 FAR.

This density calculation includes a new replacement and expanded Safeway grocery store — which was previously pegged at 50,000 sq ft — as well as 50,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant/office space (a decrease of 15,000 sq ft) and the addition of a 5,000 sq ft childcare facility.

The proponents’ rationale for added density and height is based on the precedent established by the City’s Broadway Plan. Although the Safeway site is within the City’s Grandview-Woodland Plan, the easternmost border of the Broadway Plan is just two blocks to the west on Clark Drive.

They argue that as the Broadway Plan prescribes tower heights between 30 storeys and 40 storeys and densities of 10 to 12 FAR at SkyTrain station areas that attract far less ridership than the regional transit hub of Commercial-Broadway Station, their project for the Safeway site at Commercial-Broadway Station deserves more transit-oriented development density. Commercial-Broadway Station is the nexus of the Expo Line and the Millennium Line, and the Expo Line interchange gateway to the future Millennium Line Broadway Extension connecting to the Canada Line and reaching Arbutus.

In contrast, the City’s 2016-enacted Grandview-Woodland Plan’s prescription for the Safeway site is four towers up to 24 storeys above the commercial base podium and a density of up to 5.7 FAR.

Additionally, the proponents state their latest revised concept takes into account the provincial government’s new transit-oriented development legislation, with an 800-metre radius area emanating from Commercial-Broadway Station being identified as a designated transit-oriented development area, where higher-density residential uses are permitted.

The project also appears to take into account the legislation’s abolition of minimum vehicle parking standards for residential uses within designated transit-oriented development areas. The revised concept calls for 202 vehicle parking stalls for all residential uses, representing a significant drop from the 2019 application’s 398 stalls for residential use.

In total, there will be 444 vehicle parking stalls, including 150 stalls for Safeway, 59 stalls for other commercial uses, and 33 visitor stalls.

2024 revised concept artistic rendering of the Safeway redevelopment at 1780 East Broadway, next to Commercial-Broadway Station. (Perkins&Will/Westbank/Crombie REIT)

According to the proponents, the latest revised concept also expands and improves the project’s public spaces through the retainment of the 20,000 sq ft public plaza between the Expo Line station structure and the redevelopment’s western edge and the addition of a 12,000 sq ft publicly accessible space on the second level terrace overlooking the plaza. Moreover, the main plaza will have infrastructure in place to support its activation as a “public theatre” and community cultural space.

Also, the latest revised concept retains the incorporation of a low-carbon district energy system operated by Creative Energy, which will feature two 15,000-litre water storage tanks that act like thermal batteries. Excess energy recovered from cooling commercial space during the day will be stored and used to heat the residential spaces during the peak morning and evening periods.

Besides scale, the architectural design concept of the three towers by Perkins&Will has also changed. The facades now feature a highly regular punctuating pattern and system of balconies, almost as if it were inspired by honeycombs, interspersed with some vertical plantings to maintain the project’s lush green design vision.

Existing condition of the Safeway grocery store site at 1780 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

1780 East Broadway Commercial Safeway Vancouver

Site of 1780 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Crombie REIT/Westbank/Perkins&Will)

The previous makeup of Vancouver City Council was supposed to enter into the public hearing for the rezoning application of the previous concept for the Safeway redevelopment before the end of July 2022. However, they ran out of time to carry out the public hearing before the 2022 civic election after spending many dates on the marathon public meetings for the Broadway Plan, Vancouver Plan, and other controversial housing projects.

For years, the proposed Safeway redevelopment has also been a major sticking point for some local residents in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood, who were already opposed to the previous concepts for comparatively shorter tower heights and less density.

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