Modular housing to be dismantled for new Vancouver Art Gallery construction

Temporary modular housing to be dismantled ahead of new Vancouver Art Gallery construction start

The temporary modular housing structures (left) and artistic rendering of the revised design of the new Vancouver Art Gallery (right) at the Larwill Place city block. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive | Vancouver Art Gallery)

After a decade of half of going through various stages of visioning, planning, and fundraising activities, it appears there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for getting shovels into the ground for the project to build the new home for the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG).

In an email to Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry, the VAG says construction work for the new landmark purpose-built art gallery building in downtown Vancouver is expected to occur in Fall 2023, adding that they are working closely with the City of Vancouver on the building permit.

The development permit application outlining the detailed revised design was submitted to the municipal government in July 2021, and it was approved by the development permit board in May 2022.

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Over the last two years, VAG has made huge inroads in its fundraising efforts. It received a historic donation of $100 million from local developer and art philanthropist Michael Audain in November 2021, $30 million for its Passive House green building design from the Government of Canada in June 2022, and an additional $50 million from the Government of British Columbia in October 2022 — bringing the provincial government’s total commitment to $100 million.

Based on the latest publicly announced tally, the VAG has raised a total of over $340 million from public and private sources, which leaves a gap of about $80 million for the revised project budget of $400 million. The art gallery is still actively working on pursuing more funding to fill the gap.

It will be built on the south side of the Larwill Place city block, which is framed by West Georgia, Cambie, Dunsmuir, and Beatty streets — east of Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Revised 2021 design of the new building for the Vancouver Art Gallery at Larwill Park. The City of Vancouver’s plans to build two office towers on the north side of the block, where the temporary modular housing is currently located, is also depicted. (Vancouver Art Gallery)

2021 design of the new Vancouver Art Gallery. (Herzog & de Meuron/Perkins + Will)

For decades, this City-owned block has functioned as a surface parking lot, and since 2019 the north (Dunsmuir Street) side of the block has been home to a pair of three-storey temporary modular housing structures with 98 single supportive housing units for individuals at risk of homelessness.

The dismantling of both temporary modular housing structures, operated by non-profit operator MPA Society, is expected in Summer 2023.

BC Housing told Daily Hive Urbanized all residents at the temporary complex have been provided with advance notice of the closure, initially in 2021 and then again just last month. They have been working with residents for several months on individual relocation plans.

“We are also committed to making sure that all current residents have a place to go or at least the option to move to a new place when these units are closed. We recognize moving is a stressful experience for anyone, and even more so for people with experiences of trauma, and are working to ease the process as much as possible,” states BC Housing.

larwill place temporary modular housing 610-620 Cambie Street Vancouver

Temporary modular housing on the north side of the Larwill Place city block. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

It is emphasized that the complex was time-limited and “always meant to be temporary,” and “because of the site plans for redevelopment, the lease is set to expire on July 31, 2023.”

The new art gallery building footprint does not cover the area of the existing temporary modular structures, but the timing suggests the site could be used as a temporary staging and storage area given the typical requirements of such a major construction project.

Planning and public consultation documents in 2018, prior to the construction of the interim supportive housing, also state the temporary modular structures would remain at the location for about three to five years.

Last year, TransLink also discontinued its interim use of the parking lot at Larwill Place as a layover storage area for buses.

All of Vancouver’s temporary modular structures are purposely designed for relocation and reuse. However, at this time, the provincial government does not have a plan for the future of the Larwill Place modular structures.

“Work is currently underway to determine best use of the modular units associated with Larwill Place after they are moved from their current location,” continues the statement.

“BC Housing, MPA Society and Vancouver Coastal Health have always been prepared to vacate the Larwill Place project site by the end of the lease agreement, and further information on future plans will be made public once they have been finalized.”

Larwill Park’s remaining parking lot area physically divided for TransLink’s bus storage area, February 2022. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The future site of the Vancouver Art Gallery (foreground) and the existing temporary modular housing (background) at the Larwill Place city block. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Temporary modular housing on the north side of the Larwill Place city block. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The provincial government has been making major investments in establishing permanent supportive housing buildings to transition people from both temporary modular housing and shelters. More temporary modular housing buildings are also on the way, including 90 units in single-storey structures next to SkyTrain’s Main Street-Science World and Olympic Village stations later this spring for Downtown Eastside residents.

The provincial government has a stated goal of re-establishing 330 new or renovated units in the Downtown Eastside by this June to provide campers in the Hastings Street and Crab Park encampments with 24/7 support and access to healthcare.

Prior to the installation of the temporary modular structures, Larwill Place was frequently used as a parking hub for film production trailers, and hosted major public events.

This city block has a storied history. It hosted the City of Vancouver’s Indigenous-themed Canada 150 festival in Summer 2017, the month-long FIFA Women’s World Cup fan festival in Summer 2015, and the Live City Downtown festival during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The city block was previously a public park, called Larwill Park, up until the Second World War, when it was converted into the bus depot for long-haul private bus services such as Greyhound. This bus depot relocated to Pacific Central Station in the early 1990s, and the city block was subsequently used as parking.

Based on previous City planning documents, the municipal government has long-term plans to redevelop the north side of the block, the current footprint of the temporary modular structures, into revenue-generating office towers. This new revenue would help offset the revenue opportunity cost of providing the VAG with most of the city block for its new home through a 99-year nominal lease, which represents the municipal government’s contribution to the new art gallery.

Larwill Place will be subdivided into two lots: coloured in red for the new Vancouver Art Gallery, and coloured in blue for office towers (currently temporary modular housing). (City of Vancouver)

Outdated artistic rendering of the previous Vancouver Art Gallery building design (right) and the City of Vancouver’s office towers (left) where the temporary modular housing is currently located. (Vancouver Art Gallery)

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