Metro Vancouver unveils Heather Place redevelopment plan

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      Shortly after deciding to keep developers out, Metro Vancouver is unveiling its plan for Heather Place.

      The 86-unit townhouse complex near Vancouver General Hospital—one of more than 50 rental-housing sites owned by the regional district—is leaky, aging, and needing replacement.

      Until quite recently, the board of the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation had not decided how to approach the redevelopment.

      The uncertainty had given rise to fears that developers might gobble up the almost one-hectare site and turn it into expensive condos. Heather Place is located near the Canada Line and the Broadway corridor; Heather Street, which bounds the property on the east, is a bike route. For a time, the housing body entertained the option of selling a portion of the property.

      This all changed on May 17 this year when the MVHC board adopted housing manager Don Littleford’s recommendation for the regional district to retain full ownership of the property and keep it all rental.

      An open house will be held Tuesday (July 30) on an application filed by NSDA Architects on behalf of MVHC to rezone Heather Place. The plan involves the construction of 230 rental units. Three mid-rise buildings will replace the existing 13 two-storey wood buildings.

      Already, Littleford is looking beyond Heather Place. “We think Heather Place is going to be the first of what I think will be a pipeline over the years to come of redevelopments where we have the existing land in transit-oriented locations,” Littleford told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

      Tuesday’s open house starts 5 p.m. at the Tapestry Community Room No. 1 at 2821 Heather Street.

      Comments

      1 Comments

      Len Peters

      Aug 2, 2013 at 12:24pm

      So, Mr Littleford has given up the social housing mandate and taken up the real estate developer mandate.

      No surprise, really.