Rental units in Mount Pleasant and DTES get the go ahead from the city
Posted March 3, 2015 7:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A six story, 61-unit rental building on Gore Avenue has been given a green light as well as another housing project planned for 11th and Kingsway
City Councillor Geoff Meggs calls the building in Mount Pleasant is a big gain for a neighbourhood where no rental units have been built since 1991
“No one is being dislocated, it’s the site of a closed tire business, but the 202 units of rental housing are secured for the life of the building. It will be 112 studios, 43 one bedroom units and 47 two bedroom units,” he explains.
“This has been in development for some time…..it’s 11 stories high and there is some good amenities so rents in this building to open would be about $1200 for a one bedroom.”
He adds this kind of housing is desperately needed in both neighbourhoods but that action will be needed from federal and provincial government to help out with housing to really make a long term difference.
In the Downtown Eastside the vacancy rate is just over one per cent, and Mount Pleasant’s isn’t even one percent, the second lowest in the city.
Community group opposed to new developments in Chinatown
A DTES community group believes new development will be the death of Chinatown. King-Mong Chan with the Carnegie Community Action Project Chinatown Concern Group says he doesn’t want Chinatown to become a “new Yaletown or Gastown.”
He feels further market development will destroy culture and heritage in the area, and that’s why he wants to put a stop to it.
“If this continues and there are no policies in place, Chinatown is just going to be a thing of the past. What is the future of Chinatown? It’s going to be forgotten,” he explains.
He thinks high property values and rent will drive hundreds of people and decades old retail shops out of the neighbourhood.
“There’s a lot of low-cost retail, the low-income housing, there’s a sense of belonging in the community, but as things change and a lot of residents have seen this change, it’s worrying them.”
He thinks an increase in property values and rent will force businesses to close and people to lose their homes. But it’s not just a housing issue; he adds the changes will also have a negative impact on tourism.
