New proposal, but Chinatown tower still has plenty of critics
Foes of Chinatown development say community needs still not being met
Vancouver developer Beedie Living is hoping the fifth time’s the charm for its controversial 105 Keefer project, which went before the city’s development permit board on Monday.
But opponents of the mixed-use residential tower in the heart of Chinatown say the latest iteration still fails to meet the needs of the community.
“The needs of the community are social housing and affordable housing,” said Sophie Fung, a community organizer with the Chinatown Action Group. “To have 111 units of market housing is not what the community needs, especially in this current housing crisis.”
Critics also say the proposed condo tower on Keefer and Columbia provides inadequate community benefits and disrespects the adjacent memorial for Chinese-Canadian war veterans and railway workers.
The revised plan — Beedie’s fifth application for the site in the last four years — calls for a nine-storey building with 111 residential units, retail shops, a cultural amenity space on the first floor and three levels of underground parking. The amenity space for seniors would be secured at 50 per cent of the market rate for at least 10 years.
According to the application, the development will not block views from the Sun Yat-sen Garden’s Scholar’s Courtyard or cast shadows on the memorial square.
The new plan includes no social housing units, unlike the previous proposal, which had 25 social housing units as well as 106 market condos in a 12-storey building.
That plan was rejected by council in June after 26 hours of public hearings and council debate, with the mayor and councillors citing the building’s height, lack of adequate social housing and deep community opposition as reasons they voted against the project.
This amended plan requires only the approval of the city’s four-person development permit board, which is comprised of senior staff. The board’s authority is limited to reviewing applications based on current zoning and guidelines.
Houtan Rafii, a VP with Beedie, told the board the proposal conforms to local policy and guidelines, including the Chinatown revitalization plan, and urged it to evaluate the project in the context of current zoning and design guidelines.
“While there is thought of forthcoming changes, the proposal before you should be examined under existing policy because there is no certainty as to when, or if, any future changes may come forward, especially given the length of time, 10 years, the current policy took to adopt,” said Rafii.
Ameet Johal, who lives in Chinatown and works in the real estate industry, said the proposal is in line with the area’s revitalization plan. “If this project is checking off all these boxes, I feel the need to support it,” she said, adding Chinatown needs more people and vibrancy.
But opponents of the 105 Keefer project said the board should look at the broader context and the socio-economic impacts of the project.
The development would dwarf the memorial plaza, the Sun Yatsen Garden and the nearby buildings of Chinese-Canadian benevolent organizations, said Lily Tang, a member of the Chinatown Concern Group through a translator before the meeting.
“You can’t buy culture, memory or history with money,” she said.
The development permit board had not made a decision by print deadline.