Forty-seven new homes are proposed at an East Vancouver site currently occupied by industrial buildings.

Most of these residential units will be strata-titled, and 10 are going to be social housing units.

The social housing units are made possible through a partnership between the developer CH (East Georgia) GP Inc., and the nonprofit Anhart Community Housing Society.

An application has been filed to rezone the project site at 1102-1138 East Georgia Street from industrial to comprehensive development.

The project involves a four-storey building, with commercial and light industrial uses on ground level.

The application is being made under the city’s Downtown Eastside Plan.

In a report to city council, Karen Hoese, assistant director of rezoning, noted that the DTES Plan “encourages new development with an emphasis on family housing in this area and supports rezoning of industrial zoned lands for residential development that includes 20 per cent social housing”.

According to Hoese, Anhart Community Housing will purchase the social housing units “at cost and when completed,” will manage them.

“Typically for inclusionary zoning, the City seeks ownership of the social housing units,” Hoese noted. “However, in smaller projects (i.e. 10 or less social housing units) that indicate a non-profit serving as an equity partner is needed to make the inclusion of social housing viable, the City will consider alternative approaches that meet the inclusionary social housing requirement of 20 per cent social housing units.”

According to Hoese, city planners endorse the “partnership with the non-profit in order to support the creation of new social housing”.