Vancouver’s Broadway ‘Safeway towers’ public hearing began Thursday; discussion to resume next month

Will it be a welcome addition to the rental stock in East Vancouver — or an unaffordable eyesore?

After years and years of designs and redesigns, the proposed towers at the Commercial Drive and Broadway Safeway site in Vancouver was finally discussed during a public hearing Thursday evening.

Over 100 people lined up to speak at Vancouver City Hall.

Only a couple dozen people got the chance to speak before the meeting wrapped up at 10 p.m., to be continued June 10.

The site has seen many versions over the years, with the highrises getting higher with every passing year.

In 2017, a proposal called for towers between 12 and 24 storeys high, with a new Safeway on the eastern end of the parking lot and a public plaza in the middle of the lot. An alternative location for the plaza was north of Broadway, over the Grandview Cut.

The plaza is a requirement of the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan, crafted back in 2016. It calls for a renewed Safeway site with new housing buildings of up to 24 storeys.

In 2019, three towers were slated for the site, the tallest being 30 storeys. At that time, the project featured 500 condos and about 160 rental suites.

Two years ago, the project was revamped to feature only rental units, with the tallest building going up to 40 storeys.

On Thursday, council discussed the latest iteration: three towers that are 37, 38, and 44 storeys respectively, with the public plaza now in a space between one of the towers and the Commercial Skytrain station. A garden courtyard joining the three highrises will be “a resident amenity.”

The three buildings will offer 1,044 rental units, with 10 per cent of the floor area dedicated to below the city-wide average price of rental units.

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