Broadway Corridor Updates

[GenWhy?]

Almost all are pre-enquiries and you wont see signs except for I think 2 projects so far that went straight to rezoning and are on the City website.

[mcj]

Hopefully they can clear the backlog at city hall this year and we'll start to see some more interesting projects.

O’Donnell also notes that following last summer’s approval of the Broadway Plan, there was an “extraordinary” volume of “Letters of Inquiry” — an action taken by project proponents looking to submit a rezoning application

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanc...backlog-delays

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by CB-Thompson

Is the Broadway Plan fully approved? I saw development application boards up at the north-west corner of Arbutus and 15th for the 2 properties there. The applications are for duplexes but according to that map the area should be zoned for mid or high-rise.

Welcome to the forum. The Plan has been adopted, and indicates what developers are allowed to submit applications for, but it doesn't mean that's what will be developed. There's a misunderstanding that the Broadway Plan will mean everything will develop as high a density as possible, but that often requires site consolidation and a rezoning, so you need a developer with deep pockets and patience.

Some developments will be submitted that follow the existing zoning, like the duplex applications on West 15th (there was one of those, with a laneway infill, at 2466 W15th approved in 2022 for example).

A five storey building has just been submitted at 245 E 11th for example, a couple of blocks from the station, on a site where a high-rise is allowed.


[Shape Your City]

[logan5]

If you bought the property before the Broadway Plan, then you might go with lesser density, but even then, most will opt to go with the more profitable higher density, especially when you paid a lesser price. The higher density is a huge bonus.

Outside of that…

If a property sits in an area zoned for say FSR 6.5 tower form, then that property is going to be priced for that density. You wouldn’t buy that piece of property at that price, then build a smaller, lesser density building after paying a premium price.

I would say that more than most properties zoned high density will end up high density.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by mcj

Hopefully they can clear the backlog at city hall this year and we'll start to see some more interesting projects.



https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanc...backlog-delays

Unfortunately most of these will be rental and there is a rate-of-change policy in place, so you likely won't see too much expect for lots that don't have existing rental on them already.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by logan5

If a property sits in an area zoned for say FSR 6.5 tower form, then that property is going to be priced for that density. You wouldn’t buy that piece of property at that price, then build a smaller, lesser density building after paying a premium price. I would say that more than most properties zoned high density will end up high density.

The Broadway Plan allows a developer to rezone to higher density, but until a site is rezoned it can only be developed to the zoned density. While there will probably be speculative valuations that anticipate rezoning, it's not a given. And of course, plenty of projects have been built to existing zoning recently, which makes them unlikely to redevelop to higher densities, even if the plan allows it. For example, MingLian's 'Duet' is just starting construction at 3.3 FSR on the corner of Spruce.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

Unfortunately most of these will be rental and there is a rate-of-change policy in place, so you likely won't see too much expect for lots that don't have existing rental on them already.

Could you explain the rate-of-change policy? I'm unaware.

[logan5]

Oh I forgot about the tower limit per block rule. Maybe Mr. Swagger will change that.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by mcj

Could you explain the rate-of-change policy? I'm unaware.

1st there is a # of towers per block rule, as Logan mentioned (typically 2 and some areas are now 3 per block after an amendment (block includes area on both sides of a lane))

2nd is the rate-of-change policy akin to Grandview-Woodland Plan area. I've yet to get confirmation from Staff for our applications whether it's a cap / # of active rezonings at a time to avoid mass evictions, or whether it's area-based (no 2 active rezonings at a time within "X" kilometers of one another etc)

[Feathered Friend]

Broadway Pace of Change Policy Session

On March 2nd from 3:00pm-4:00pm the City of Vancouver will be hosting a virtual session on the draft Pace of Change Policy under development as part of Broadway Plan implementation. This work takes direction from the following motion passed by City Council in June 2022 when the Broadway Plan was approved:

THAT Council direct staff to report back at a future date on a pace of change approach for the Broadway Plan, including further study on an appropriate number of applications and criteria for prioritizing applications based on their merits.

This session will include a staff presentation followed by a discussion and question period with UDI/LandlordBC members. Please note that this session will not be able to address questions or provide advice on specific rezoning enquiries or applications under the Broadway Plan. Please direct project-specific questions to broadwayplan@vancouver.ca

If you are interested in attending the session, please email Heather Park at hpark@udi.org.

https://udi.bc.ca/municipal-news-van...licy%20Session

I assume this is open to anyone, but having just found it, I won't be able to attend it on such short notice.

[GenWhy?]

Going to council at the end of the month

[Feathered Friend]

Already ~100 projects have been submitted under the Broadway Plan with around 50 located in the apartment areas. That’s why on March 29th city council will review a Pace of Change Policy that will limit proposals in these blocks to either 5, 10, or 15 a year.

While this hasn’t been advertised anywhere on the city’s website yet, fortunately there is nothing that can’t be found with the help of a touch of insomnia, and a late night Google search.

https://udi.bc.ca/municipal-news-van...20Policy%C2%A0

https://twitter.com/City_Duo/status/...341777920?s=20

[Migrant_Coconut]

I get the feeling that it's less about displacing renters and more about calming paranoid homeowners - the relocation clause all but guarantees that developers pick apart the commercial zoning first (which does have tenants, but only a few per property).

[s211]

"pace of change" = constrained supply = higher prices

But of course governments will vilify evil developers for the reason prices are high.

[seamusmcduff]

Yeah I really don't get this. We're in a housing crisis. Shouldn't the fact that there's been a huge buy in from the development industry show that the Broadway plan is a huge success? And instead they're trying to slow it down?

[madog222]

Originally Posted by seamusmcduff

Yeah I really don't get this. We're in a housing crisis. Shouldn't the fact that there's been a huge buy in from the development industry show that the Broadway plan is a huge success? And instead they're trying to slow it down?

They’re trying to not have a large amount of rental housing lost all at once during construction.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Again though, one'd think the tenant relocation clause would have developers start on the commercial buildings first and leave the rentals for 4-6 years later.

[logan5]

I'd be alright with 15. Towers of that size will take around 2 tears to build so there would (theoretically) be around 30 towers going up at any given time in the apartment zones, plus all the activity around the stations. There are going to be a lot of units being built per year.

I would be interested to know how many out of that 100 are in the RS areas. It's surprising that half of them are in the apartment zone, compared to the station and shoulder areas where there is much higher density allotted.

Overall, the pace of change is going to be drastic.

[madog222]

From the transit tread:

Translink and PCI partnership on developing the east side of Arbutus between Broadway and 10th. Translink owns the dry cleaners site at 2096 W Broadway and PCI owns 2560 Arbutus.

-30 storey tower
-200 residential units w/ 40 being below market
-Retail on street level
-Community space for Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel

https://buzzer.translink.ca/2023/03/...pment-project/

[madog222]

Habitat - 2520 Guelph

I really like the angled wood panels surrounding the exterior doorways





550 East Broadway


Photos by me.