Vancouver unveils plans to build market rental housing on city-owned land

Vancouver's mayor has taken the first steps toward making the city a major landlord, pledging to fast-track development on city-owned land.

The City of Vancouver is taking the first steps toward becoming a major landlord.

Mayor Ken Sim is pledging to fast-track development on city-owned land, building market rental buildings that can generate revenue for the city.

“By leveraging our land, we’re not only delivering much-needed market rental housing, but we’re also piloting a new way to generate non-tax revenue for the city,” Sim said at a news conference Thursday morning.

The projects are being led by the Vancouver Housing Development Office (VHDO), a group that has been directed to create more housing and revenue for the city.

Five already-owned sites are being proposed for the pilot project across the city:

• Pacific and Hornby streets
• Granville and Pacific streets
• Main Street and Terminal Avenue
• 2400 Kingsway
• Marpole (8324-8496 Granville St., Granville Street and 67th Avenue)

“We would be developing these projects with partners,” said Brad Foster, director of the VDHO. “We would be running them as market rental buildings with the property management arm. They would run just like any ordinary market rental development.”

The Hornby and Pacific location would get redeveloped first if approved at a rezoning proposal meeting later this spring.

The site would include two towers, 40 and 54 storeys tall, with a total of 1,136 units.

According to city staff, the towers would include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

“Many of our young people, young professionals, families and essential workers are struggling,” Sim said. “This project is about more than just housing, it’s a game-changer for how we use city-owned land in Vancouver.”

The site is currently home to Hornby Shelter, which has been operating there since 2018.

The shelter’s director told CTV News the facility was not contacted by the city about Thursday’s announcement, but knew redevelopment was possible.

The facility currently houses 50 residents, many of whom have been staying there since it opened.

Sim says city-owned rental developments are part of city’s overall housing strategy to create 83,000 new homes over the next decade.

To qualify as a tenant, renters must have an annual household income between $90,000 and $194,000 – a much different threshold than low-income housing.

“In light of the mayor’s recent comments about no new net funding for supportive housing, I am concerned about this maybe being part of a large trend about running our city like a business,” Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry told reporters on Thursday.

Vancouver’s Abundant Housing organization is commending the city for the move, but says it’s a small step.

“The scale of the housing shortage is so severe that it means that this is really just drop in the bucket,” Peter Waldkirch, a director with Abundant Housing, told CTV News.

“The reality is, we will never address that housing shortage until housing becomes legal to build across the entire city, not just in the few sites that the city happens to own.”

The province’s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says as long as the land is staying in the ownership of the public, he supports the move.

“Anyone that wants to find ways to use government lands to create more housing opportunities, I’m supportive of,” Kahlon said.

Construction at the Pacific and Hornby location is not expected to begin for up to four years.