Vancouver tower approved with potential space for new SkyTrain platform, footbridge | Daily Hive

Vancouver City Council approves rental housing tower that may need to be redesigned for additional SkyTrain station platform and pedestrian bridge

Concept of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver, with the Safeway redevelopment also depicted. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

Vancouver City Council has approved a major mixed-use rental housing tower immediately next to SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station, but the project may need to undergo substantial design changes to preserve the possibility of a future significant expansion of the busy SkyTrain hub.

During a public hearing on Monday, City Council approved the rezoning application for the site of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, which is situated at the southeast corner of the intersection of Commercial Drive and East Broadway.

This is a small lot, currently occupied by a low-storey commercial building that was the longtime location of a CIBC branch. Moreover, the site is immediately west of the station’s Expo Line platforms.

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The redevelopment is being pushed forward by local developer and property owner Siddoo Properties, and it designed by DA Architects + Planners.

As approved in principle, this would be a 301-ft-tall (92 metres), 31-storey tower, containing 207 secured purpose-built market rental homes within the upper levels of the building. The unit size mix would be 25 studios, 103 one-bedroom units, 53 two-bedroom units, and 26 three-bedroom units.

2516 Commercial DrIve 1704 East Broadway Vancouver rental housing tower

Site of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

Concept of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver, with the Safeway redevelopment also depicted. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

The first four levels — the tower’s base podium — would see non-residential uses, entailing 1,600 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space on the ground level, 2,000 sq. ft. of resident amenity spaces (fitness gym and yoga room) on the second level, 8,700 sq. ft. of community-serving social service space on the third level (as a public benefit, with a nominal $1.00 lease to the City of Vancouver for at least 60 years or the life of the building), and 10,200 sq. ft. of office space on the fourth level. Residents would also have outdoor amenity space on the rooftop of the base podium on the fifth level, and additional indoor and outdoor amenity space on the 31st level.

Tower may need to undergo a major redesign to preserve potential future SkyTrain station expansion

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized in September 2025, shortly after the application was made public to begin the City’s formal public consultation process, this tower’s concept as currently designed would completely eliminate any future capability to provide Commercial-Broadway Station’s Expo Line’s outbound direction with an additional side platform — enabling passengers to board and exit using the doors on both sides of the train — and an additional third pedestrian overpass above Broadway to reach the Millennium Line platforms to facilitate transfers.

Such an expansion immediately west of the Expo Line station structure would essentially be a mirror image of the station’s 2019-built additional inbound Expo Line platform and second pedestrian bridge. This is globally technically referred to as the “Spanish Solution” of providing two platforms on either side of a track to greatly increase station capacity.

The 2019-competed project also involved reducing the size of the Safeway grocery store building’s back-of-house storage areas.

The conceptual artistic renderings created for the tower project so far do not show the necessary design provisions for the station expansion.

skytrain commercial broadway station vancouver

The site of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver, next to SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station. (Kenneth Chan)

Existing condition of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Concept of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver, with the Safeway redevelopment also depicted. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

As a key interchange between the Expo Line and Millennium Line, Commercial-Broadway Station is one of Metro Vancouver’s busiest SkyTrain stations, and it will see further passenger volumes beginning in late 2027 when the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension reaching Arbutus reaches completion and opens. The new connectivity established by the extension’s opening coupled with the discontinuation of the 99 B-Line’s segment east of Arbutus Street will lead to a substantial increase in passengers moving within the station to transfer between the two SkyTrain lines.

Moreover, over the longer term, Commercial-Broadway Station could see even greater volumes from the eventual Millennium Line extension from Arbutus to the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus.

“This was something that came up late in the process,” Neal Peacocke, the City’s associate director of engineering services, told City Council, referring to concerns — flagged late in the rezoning review — that the project could prevent any future expansion of the station and required an additional rezoning conditions.

Peacocke said the purpose of the conditions is to determine whether the tower can be shaped in a way that would accommodate a platform expansion at some point in the future, even if the expanded station structure is not built at the same time as the tower.

Beneath the 2019-built second pedestrian bridge and additional platform for SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station. (Google Maps)

skytrain commercial broadway station mark v

Mark V train seen on the Expo Line’s 2019-built outer inbound platform at SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station. (Kenneth Chan)

2019-built additional second East Broadway overpass linking the Expo Line’s new additional outer inbound platform and the Millennium Line platforms at SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station. (Kenneth Chan)

Visual cross-section of the additional outer inbound platform for the Expo Line’s inbound direction at SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station. (TransLink)

Under the conditions, the expansion could require the project to leave open a volume within its base podium, along its eastern edge facing the station — particularly around the second and third floors. The space could eventually be used for the additional Expo Line outbound platform, the additional pedestrian bridge extending to the north side of East Broadway, structural supports, and emergency exits.

Until TransLink proceeds with an expansion, the reserved space in the lower floors of the tower could be used for another temporary purpose. The City would also secure a “volumetric statutory right-of-way” over the necessary portion of the property, ensuring the space remains available for the future SkyTrain station expansion.

The final requirements could limit building components along the entire eastern edge of the site and require additional space near East Broadway or the rear laneway for construction, station structural supports, and access. City staff note that the resulting changes could be significant enough to require another rezoning amendment and a further decision by City Council at a later date.

The current design is also highly problematic for how it places the vehicle driveway entrance into the underground parking levels on the eastern edge of the site. Moreover, there are also four underground levels — for both vehicle and secured bike parking — directly below the eastern edge of the site. This could present a major engineering challenge for the columns and foundations for the station expansion and pedestrian bridge.

Ground level floor plan; concept of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver, with the Safeway redevelopment also depicted. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

Concept of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver, with the Safeway redevelopment also depicted. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

Concept of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

Developer, City, and TransLink to work together on potential station expansion concept

As a condition of the rezoning, the developer, City staff, and TransLink must spend the next 12 months studying the technical feasibility, construction cost, physical footprint, and timing of preserving the space for a potential future additional platform and pedestrian bridge.

However, construction costs would presumably be significantly higher if the station expansion were built within the confines of an existing tower, compared with building the tower and station expansion at the same time or leaving the property in its existing condition. The latter would preserve much more space and flexibility for the station expansion’s eventual design and safe and efficient construction process.

Installation of the new prefabricated pedestrian overpass at SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station during the 2018 construction process. (TransLink)

It remains unclear when — or whether — the station expansion would ultimately move forward. City staff said it is currently a relatively low priority for TransLink compared with other regional projects and commitments. But demand for additional platform and pedestrian overpass capacity is expected to become more pressing after the Millennium Line’s future UBC SkyTrain extension is completed.

A previous ridership growth forecast — fully accounting for the Millennium Line’s extension to Arbutus and ultimately to UBC — suggests Commercial-Broadway Station could see over 31,000 boardings per weekday by 2045. In 2025, this station saw averages of about 20,000 boardings per weekday, 15,000 per Saturday, and 11,700 per Sunday/holiday.

As well, an additional platform and pedestrian bridge would not only provide the station with more capacity, but also greatly improve redundancy and resiliency as it takes on an ever-growing critical role in Metro Vancouver’s regional transportation network. For example, between late September 2024 and late February 2025, the station’s original pedestrian overpass reaching the Expo Line’s centre platforms underwent a prolonged scheduled closure to accommodate escalator replacement work. For five months, passengers were officially directed to exit the station and use the street-level crossing to reach the other side of East Broadway when transferring between the Expo and Millennium lines and the 99 B-Line, although many simply walked through an inbound train to access the outer inbound platform and reach the eastern pedestrian bridge.

commercial broadway skytrain station digital advertising lamar f

The 2019-built east pedestrian overpass above East Broadway for SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station, linking the Millennium Line platforms on the north side of the street and the Expo Line’s outer inbound platform on the south side of the street. (Lamar Advertising)

skytrain commercial broadway station escalator replacement october 3 2024

2024/2025 accessibility changes at SkyTrain Commercial-Broadway Station due to the closure of the Expo Line’s north escalators for replacement work. (Kenneth Chan)

With an additional outer platform and pedestrian bridge serving the Expo Line’s outbound direction, such a temporary closure would have had far less impact on passenger circulation and transfers at one of Western Canada’s busiest public transit hubs.

Fundamentally, City staff warned that allowing this tower to proceed without studying the opportunity could effectively eliminate the station expansion option.

During the deliberations, OneCity city councillor Lucy Maloney questioned whether City Council should delay the rezoning application’s consideration until the station expansion design work was completed. City staff responded that the conditions create a path for the tower development to proceed even if the expansion is ultimately found to be unfeasible or a low priority, while ensuring the opportunity is properly explored before construction advances.

“I think what we’re doing here is providing a pathway forward in a scenario where this isn’t feasible and deemed a lower priority, but what we’ve committed to over the next 12 months is to do that technical work. TransLink has committed to that as well. And at that point, we’d have a better understanding of the actual physical footprint, the impact on the building, the costs, and probably a better assessment of timing, which I think is of high interest,” said City staff during the public hearing.

In response to an inquiry by Daily Hive Urbanized, TransLink said it is “aware of the application condition and will engage with the City and the applicant.”

In 2018, as previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, TransLink acquired the low-rise, red-brick commercial and office buildings, known as The Hub, at the northeast corner of the intersection — home to businesses such as Tim Hortons, A&W, and Shoppers Drug Mart. This was a highly strategic property purchase with a purpose to generate leasing revenue and retain future opportunities and flexible new configurations for the station’s growth over the long term, such as the footprint needed for the northern end of a third pedestrian overpass that directly links to an additional Expo Line outbound platform.

The north side of SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station. (Kenneth Chan)

Passengers waiting for a SkyTrain Expo Line train towards downtown Vancouver during peak hours at Commercial-Broadway Station in May 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

COPE city councillor Sean Orr also asked whether a new station entrance could be directly integrated into the tower. City staff said that would likely be difficult because of the property’s small size, along with the added fare gates, ongoing operating costs, and complicated legal agreements between TransLink and the developer that direct integration would require.

It should also be noted that the lot for this tower proposal accounts for roughly half of the length of the additional 80-metre-long platform, which spans from the southern edge of East Broadway to the northern edge of East 10th Avenue. Similar spatial, design, and engineering considerations would also have to be given to the lot immediately to the south at 2570 Commercial Dr., which forms roughly the southern half of the length of the full platform. The southern lot is currently occupied by a single-storey commercial building with businesses such as McDonald’s and Quiznos.

The forthcoming 12-month study for the northern parcel of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway could also determine the potential future redevelopment conditions of the southern parcel of 2570 Commercial Dr.

Generally, City staff supported the tower’s additional height and density because it is directly beside the busy public transit hub, and precedent has also been set by the 2025-approved high-density, mixed-use redevelopment of the Safeway property on the other side of the station.

Because of the tower’s proximity to the elevated tracks and station, all of its homes will be positioned above the SkyTrain guideway. The project will also require a detailed acoustic study and noise-reduction strategy during the development permit process.

Concept of 2516 Commercial Dr. and 1704 East Broadway, Vancouver, with the Safeway redevelopment also depicted. (DA Architects + Planners/Siddoo Properties)

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