Vancouver Safeway ‘megatowers’ move forward, but critics question affordability

A controversial housing development at one of Vancouver’s busiest transit hubs is one step closer to breaking ground.

On Tuesday, Vancouver city council approved a referral report for a long-standing rezoning application to redevelop the Safeway location at Commercial Drive and Broadway.

Local developer Westbank plans to build three high-rise rental towers above the Safeway, adding over 1,000 new rental homes with heights reaching up to 44 storeys.

The proposal’s added height and density are being justified by nearby developments under the Broadway Plan, a major planning framework set up around the new Broadway Subway that extends to Clark Drive — within a short walk of the Safeway site.

But some affordability advocates believe the city is signing off on a future most residents can’t afford, with no below-market units and only 10 per cent priced at the “city-wide average” rental rate.

“These will be luxury suites, not affordable for the average Vancouverite, and certainly not for people who live in the East Van community,” said Paisley Woodward, spokesperson for a group called No Megatowers At Safeway.

“The fact there’s over 1,000 rental suites, and there is no affordability provision of any significance at all, is appalling,” Woodward added.

While some city policies typically require 20 per cent of purpose-built rentals to be below-market, the Safeway project is being considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan and shaped by provincial legislation that permits greater density — allowing it to bypass affordability requirements due to its provision of childcare spaces and contribution to the city’s market rental targets.

Critics like Woodward argue the possible redevelopment amounts to a giveaway to developers.

“They should be saying no. What are rules for? What are policies for? You have to be able to step back and think long term: What’s good for Vancouver? What’s good for affordability in the long run?”

The rezoning application for the building proposal will now move forward to a public hearing expected next month.

If approved, the development would be the largest yet within the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the rezoning application to redevelop the Safeway location is being considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan, not a pilot program for city-owned land, as originally stated.