Health, tech leaders voice support for Vancouver’s Broadway Plan

Groups opposing Vancouver’s Broadway development plan have been campaigning hard against the proposal in recent weeks. Now, those in support of redeveloping the major corridor are firing back.

Jill Tipping, chief executive of BC Tech, says her sector needs affordable homes for workers. She made that point alongside Mayor Kennedy Stewart at City Hall on Thursday.

“In Vancouver, as throughout the Lower Mainland, but particularly worse here — housing availability and affordability is the big challenge,” Tipping said. “Whether it’s for commercial real estate, for tech companies that need to be located close to their workers, or for affordable housing.”

That view was also expressed by Fernando Pica, the chief financial officer for Vancouver Coastal Health.

“The Broadway corridor contains some of our province’s most important health care facilities,” Pica said. “Our Vancouver General Hospital campus is home to thousands of health-care workers who look after some of our sickest patients. I cannot stress enough how important this is, that this corridor remain affordable to those workers.”

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The plan projects up to 50,000 more people living along the corridor in the next three decades.

Opponents have raised concerns about renter displacement. However, Stewart is proposing what would appear to be strong protections for tenants.

He wants to ensure any displaced renters have the right to return to new buildings at the rate they paid before, or receive generous compensation if they decide to move on permanently.

The proposed 30-year plan is said to focus on new housing, jobs, and amenities around the new Broadway subway in Mount Pleasant, Fairview, and Kitsilano. It is set to go before Vancouver City Council on Wednesday for consideration.

The Broadway Subway Project is a 5.7 km extension of the Millennium Line, from VCC-Clark Station to Broadway and Arbutus. The project is on schedule for the new line to open in 2025, according to the website. (broadwaysubway.ca)

A summary of the plan highlights the conversion of four kilometres of Broadway into a “‘Great Street’ with more space for pedestrians and enhanced features such as wider sidewalks, large street trees and street improvements for people walking, cycling and rolling.”

It also aims to include about 600 more social housing units, 330 social housing units, and 1,500 below-market rental units. At the same time, it would allow buildings up to 30 storeys in Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant for housing, offices, and amenities.