Proposed development threatens two Chinatown landmarks

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Another corner of Vancouver’s Chinatown is being threatened by condominiums. A 15-storey mixed-use retail and condo development is proposed for Main and Union Streets, replacing The Brickhouse Late Nite Bistro and Bar and the Creekside student residence, home to the famed Jimi Hendrix Shrine.

“My first reaction, to be completely honest, was yikes,” admits civic historian and heritage advocate John Atkin. “It’s a huge development and it just signals a way forward that isn’t good for Chinatown,” he explains. “We have to be very careful here.”

Local historian Michael Kluckner says it would be a big loss for culture in the city. “[It would mean] the loss of a really quirky, interesting little corner in Vancouver. The Jimi Hendrix Shrine, elsewhere in the city, would be celebrated as a piece of public art.”

The shrine used to be part of Vie’s, where the late rock legend’s grandmother Nora Hendrix worked as a cook for many years.

Atkin adds the proposal speaks to a greater issue in the neighbourhood. “We’re seeing this large, and I think over-scaled, development intrude on what is a generally small-scale, pedestrian-orientated neighbourhood with smaller store fronts.”

Last week, protesters with the Chinatown Concern Group gathered outside the Chinese Cultural Centre Auditorium where an open house was being held into a controversial 12-storey development proposed for 105 Keefer Street.

A public open house on the Brickhouse condo proposal is planned for January 24th at Science World from 5:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

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