Our City- Diverse, Informed, Together
Public Hearing – April 27th, 2023 With the grey dreary skies, and chill in the air, it hasn’t really felt like spring this year, which thankfully the weather forecast suggests should change this Thursday. However, this evening won’t offer Item #1 any reprieve, as this mix of market, and below-market rental homes remain limited by... Continue Reading →
Public Hearing – April 25th, 2023 While Item #1 should have been the biggest news story of this night, as it’s the first four floor rental building on a side-street to reach city council, Item #2 may steal its spotlight. To be fair, the former does have its detractors, like a neighbour who prefers continuing... Continue Reading →
Updated - May 19th, 2024 Since 2009, various policies have been crafted in Vancouver with the intent of incentivizing the construction of new rental homes as as very few have been built after the 1980s. While Hannah and I have written about some of these largely failed measures, this article is meant to track the... Continue Reading →
1025 Dunsmuir St (DP-2021-00824)There’s been a lot going on at the Bentall Centre since its new owners took over in 2019, including the addition of murals, lighting features, and the conversion of its large water feature into usable public space. The biggest change has been the loss of its above-ground parking garages with new office... Continue Reading →
1075 Nelson St (DP-2021-00589)To say this proposal has drawn plenty of interest would be an understatement, as it played a significant role in Vancouver landing the International Passive House Conference in 2023. Even city staff acknowledged a project of this scale would further enrich local knowledge, and help build a supply chain for future projects... Continue Reading →
1477 W BroadwayFrom the moment its development plans were found in a dumpster, the future South Granville SkyTrain station has polarized opinions. In fact, Councillors Bligh, Hardwick and Kirby-Yung, even voted against (pg 8) the Issues Report that let the average person speak their mind on this mix of market and moderate income rental homes,... Continue Reading →
456-496 Prior StAs our regular readers know, Hannah and I do our best to research the projects we write about, and on this occasion we may have gone overboard. Granted, it was a fluke that, as we sorted through my family’s home videos, we found John Daly’s 1989 report on the St. James Social Services... Continue Reading →
2086-2098 W 7th Ave and 2091 W 8th AveAs yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of our first City Duo post, I think Hannah and I have proven we’re among the most dedicated individuals when it comes to following Vancouver’s urban growth. Yet neither of us would ever force our children to attend an Urban Design... Continue Reading →
1406-1410 East King Edward AveIt was fitting this Urban Design Panel meeting was being broadcast live, with every chair in the room filled, as city staff announced it would mark the end of an era. Over the decades, they admitted city policy had grown complacent, focused only on providing a smooth transition between condos and... Continue Reading →
4408-4488 Fraser St and 707-709 E 29th AveAs Hannah and I enter our fifth year of recapping our region’s urban growth review process, Vancouver city council’s vote to streamline the secured rental policy seemed like an early Christmas present. We’re hopeful this means the Urban Design Panel multi-hour reviews of these standard six floor rental... Continue Reading →
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