Vancouver permit board conditionally approves controversial Chinatown condo project - Action News
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British Columbia

Vancouver permit board conditionally approves controversial Chinatown condo project

The Vancouver Development Permit Board has voted to conditionally approve a condo project at 105 Keefer Street in the city's Chinatown district.

Beedie Group's proposal for building at 105 Keefer Street was previously rejected in 2017

A person holds up a hoarding reading 'Seniors Say No! Hands off 105 Keefer Stop Gentrification in Chinatown' with a picture of people holding up red placards next to the Chinatown Memorial Plaza. They are next to other people holding up placards.
Protesters argue that the 105 Keefer St. proposal does not fit with Chinatown's character, and the lack of social housing will exacerbate affordability struggles in the neighbourhood for seniors. (Liam Britten/CBC)

The Vancouver Development Permit Board has voted to conditionally approve a condo project at 105 Keefer Street in the city's Chinatown district.

The Beedie Group's project a nine-story, 111-unit tower was first proposed in a different form in 2014. After numerous iterations, the development permit board rejected the proposalin 2017.

However, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in Decemberthat the board should take another look at its decision.After numerous hearingswithin the last month, the board decided to approve the project with certain conditions.

The conditions include screening to conceal machinery, the provision of outdoor seating, and a requirement developers involvethe Chinatown arts community. The conditions also state that the final building should complement the cultural significance of its neighbours, including the Chinatown Memorial Square.

A tall monument is pictured from a bird's eye view, next to a parking lot and a Chinese-style building.
Chinatown Memorial Plaza is pictured near 105 Keefer St. on Monday. The city's development permit board has voted to approve a condo project to replace the nearby parking lot. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Beedie's proposal for the site, currently a parking lot adjacent to the Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden, was controversial, with community groups arguing it would not fit within the character of the neighbourhood and would increase the pace of gentrification in the historic district.

However, while the project did not see much support from Chinatown residents in 2017, this year, seven Chinatown groups issued a joint letter urging its approval.

They includedthe Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden Society, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver,the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association (Chinatown BIA) and the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation.

In a statement, the Beedie Group's Rob Fiorventosaid the approval was an "important and positive step forward" as the city tries to revitalize Chinatown.

"We support the DP Board's recommendation to review architectural enhancements to further represent the character and culturally historic neighbourhood," he said in a statement.

No affordable housing included

Beedie's original proposal for the site opposite the Chinese Cultural Museum included 25 social housing units in a 12-storey building, but it was rejected by council in June 2017.

The updated proposal, which passed with conditions on Monday, includes no social housing and is instead exclusively market-rate mixed-use housing.

That was the proposal that was rejected by the permit board in November 2017, with the board concluding then that the project did not satisfy contextual needs for the area, even though it met zoning requirements.

Protesters hold up signs reading 'Stop cultural erasure,' 'No to Beedie Luxury Condos at 105 Keefer,' and no to condos.
Tenants groups and residents opposed to a condo development application for 105 Keefer St. are pictured on May 29. The proposal that passed at the board includes no provisions for social housing. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

However, the B.C. Supreme Court found that the board did not do enough to explain its "apparently unprecedented" decision to reject the tower, which led to the proposal's reconsideration.

In the interim,Vancouver hada change of counciland a new-look permit board. The board does not adjudicate policies like rezoning but looks at significant developments and makes recommendations on how projects should change to fit planning goals.

Andrea Law, a member of the board, said Monday that the calls for the board to include affordable housing as a requirement for any project approvalsfell outside its purview.

"I don't support the rationale that just because it was refused, it should be therefore refused again," she said.

"I feel strongly that approving this development permit, while addressing the many concerns through conditionsandaddressing the cultural fit in the neighbourhood, is the right decision," she added.

'Singularly appalling moment'

The board's meetings on 105 Keefer saw hundreds of speakers, and despite the support of influential Chinatown groups, there was also fervent opposition, including from seniors residing in Chinatown and groups like the Vancouver Tenants Union.

Jade Ho, an organizer with the Vancouver Tenants Union that opposed the "widely despised" condo project, said Monday's decision marks a "singularly appalling moment" in a city which continues to prioritize "profit over people."

"The decision that they made today is going to exacerbate displacement and it's going to accelerate gentrification in a neighbourhood that is already increasingly unlivable for low-income seniors and residents,"she said.

A tall monument with statues at its base sits next to a Canadian flag.
The Chinatown Memorial Plaza features a tribute to Chinese-Canadian soldiers and railway workers and is part of the district's historic significance. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

The VTU says the community will continue to fight against the condo proposal and alleged that the BeedieGroup "purchased" the Supreme Court's decision to have the board reconsider the project.

Protesters at Vancouver city hall hold up placards in an indoor environment.
Jade Ho, second from left, and Vince Tao, right, are pictured at Vancouver City Hall as the development permit board voted to approve the condo project at 105 Keefer Street. (Liam Britten/CBC)

Vince Tao, another organizer with the union, said that Chinatown hasbeen "kicked around by a racist government" for over a century.

"This is just another chapter in that dark history," he told CBC News. "It's no surprise that it's Chinatown,it's the Chinese residents, many of whom are working-class people on fixed incomes, that are not being listened to.

"Ten years of resistance, 10 years of vocal opposition to this project is being overpowered by one stroke."

With files from Liam Britten, Justin McElroy and The Canadian Press