154 Permanent Units Alongside a Community Economic Development Hub
Vancouver is taking a big step to proceed with the city’s plans to redevelop the temporary modular housing building known as Aneki Housing for Women. The government for the city is in the process of finding a new architect to become the prime consultant for a permanent redevelopment of the site into a mixed-use building with 154 units of social housing, as well as a large ‘Community Economic Development’ (CED) hub space. The chosen firm will be required to come up with a detailed design for the project, beginning with the proposed preliminary design made by Iredale Architecture in 2021 for feasibility. The site is located at 525 Powell Street at the intersection of Powell Street and Jackson Ave.
According to the City of Vancouver’s summary for the project updated on March 6th, 2023, the building will be 9 stories with a unit size mixture of about 80 studio apartments, 18 one-bedroom units, 40 two-bedroom units, and 16 three-bedroom units. A minimum of 33% of units will have rents at the shelter rate, while an additional 33% will have rent at BC Housing’s average housing income limit rates. The remaining 33% will be available with low-end of market-rate rents.
Residents of the proposed building will have access to a large outdoor amenity space located on the second floor, in addition to another space on the building's rooftop. On the ground level, there will be a CED hub space with a floor area of approximately 19’400 sq ft. The desired purposes for the space are yet to be determined, but prior examples of existing CED projects include Binners Project, Downtown Eastside Market, and the Downtown Eastside Women’s Market.
The building is anticipated to amass a total floor area of about 122 '000 sq ft, and will also feature a single underground level designated for over 50 vehicle parking stalls, as well as about a dozen parking stalls on the surface parking lot. A mezzanine level will also be built to provide 272 secured bike parking spaces and a storage area for the CED hub.
Project Should Be Able To Go Straight To The Development Permit Application Process
For more information about the project plan and how to get involved, go to DailyHive.com:
“As this a City-owned site, the building is required to reach a Passive House green building design standard. The City assumes a rezoning will not be necessary, and the project will be able to go straight to the development permit application process, which is expected to run between late 2023 and late 2024. Construction would begin in early 2025 for a completion by late 2026. In 2021, prior to rampant market inflationary pressures, the project carried an estimated total cost of about $58 million.
It is noted that the short-term lease for the site’s existing three-storey temporary modular housing building — operated by Atira Women’s Resource Society — will expire in March 2024. The temporary modular housing building with 39 studio units was first completed at the location in March 2018. Ahead of the start of construction for the permanent building, the existing modular structures will be relocated to a different location for reuse.”
From Temporary Modular Housing In The Downtown Eastside To Be Replaced With 154 Permanent Social Housing Units And A Community Economic Development Hub - DailyHive.com
Photo Source: www.wix.com
What do you think of Vancouver’s summary for the project and the proposed cost of living once the building is complete?
Written by S2A Modular & Associates Inc.
March 13, 2023