An update to the Jericho Lands Planning Program will be unveiled this Friday, June 16. 

You can share your thoughts on Phase 4 of the Plan in a new public survey that opens the same day. The following day, public engagement on the project begins with a series of three open houses (see below). This new phase of planning focuses on revised site concept plans and details on land use and housing, density and building heights, parks and open space, transportation, and public amenities.

The Jericho Lands were purchased in 2014 by the MST Development Corporation, a partnership between the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation; and the crown corporation, the Canada Lands Corp. MST, now one of the biggest Indigenous developers in the country, is headed by CEO David Negrin, former president of Aquilini Development, and former vice-president of Concord Pacific. 

The owners plan to build 10,000 housing units for an estimated 20,000 people on the Jericho Lands, far in excess of the total existing Point Grey neighbourhood population of 14,000. The current plan calls for 60 towers including three 38-storey towers, and many mid-rise buildings. The majority of units will be luxury housing.

 Open House #1

Saturday, June 17, 2023 (11:00 am – 3:00 pm)

Jericho Hill Gymnasium & Pool | 4180 West 4th Avenue

Open House #2

Thursday, June 22, 2023 (4:00 pm – 7:00 pm) Jericho Hill Gymnasium & Pool | 4180 West 4th Avenue

Open House #3

Saturday, June 24, 2023 (11:00 am – 3:00 pm)

Main Floor Promenade, Central Library | 350 West Georgia Street

The Jericho Coalition, an outspoken community group that has been critical of MST’s plans, said it will respond to the latest vision for the Jericho Lands after it has had time to examine the changes.

The Coalition believes erecting a wall of hi-rise towers in an environmentally sensitive setting near Jericho Beach is a mistake, and a lost opportunity to create something beneficial to all Vancouverites. On their website, they write that the Jericho Lands “could be developed as a ground-oriented, community-minded, climate-conscious, livable neighbourhood with homes where kids can grow up and people can age in place.”

When the first MST designs were unveiled in October 2021, Coalition members were taken by surprise. “This is something that will dominate the entire Vancouver landscape and cityscape in a way which we’ve never seen before,” said Bill Tieleman, CEO of West Star Communications, who spoke on behalf of the Jericho Coalition, and refers to the plans as “Metrotown by the Sea.” Group members say they are not against developing the area, “but we do want to see something that’s reasonable and that makes housing that we require,” Coalition member Murray Hendren told Global News last April.

The Senakw development in Kitsilano is not open for public input because it is on reserve land owned by the Squamish Nation; The Jericho Lands, on the other hand, does fall under city policies and planning.

For more on the Jericho Coalition and the Jericho Lands, see this news story by Professor Condon that appeared April 6, 2022 in The Tyee.

You can view the MST website here.