With City Council’s blessing, a 39-storey mixed-use rental and office tower at the northeast corner of Broadway and Granville will become the tallest building on Broadway.

The benediction of PCI Developments’ 407-ft. project at 1477 W. Broadway (see photo above, courtesy of PCI Developments) came via a 9-2 vote, with Cllrs. Colleen Hardwick and Jean Swanson in opposition. Unlike most existing subway stations in Metro Vancouver, this tower will be fully integrated into the coming Broadway Subway Station. Construction is currently moving at full throttle on the developer’s previously approved five-storey building for the site. (PCI Developments is responsible for the Marine Gateway development at Cambie Street and SW Marine Dr.)

The decision this morning followed three nights of public hearings that heard from both supporters and opponents, including more than 1,000 letters to Council.

Councillors gave the go-ahead despite the timing of the Broadway Plan, which has not yet been approved (Council’s decision will come in May). Cllr. Sarah Kirby-Yung, who voted for the development, said she was disappointed in the timing of the plan, its impact on public confidence, and in the lack of transparency. “We need to do much better,” she said, adding that when she had asked staff in a July 21, 2019 meeting if the height of the tower might go much higher, she received no answer. However, staff are said to have known about the planned 39 storeys according to blueprints discovered in a nearby dumpster.

Staff recommended pushing through approval of the tower under “exceptional circumstances,” so construction could be completed in time for the Broadway Subway opening. Failure to do so, they told Council, would create a public safety issue, among other concerns. Kirby-Yung said she “didn’t buy into the safety excuse.” Cllr. Colleen Hardwick echoed similar sentiments around the timing of the approval and added that the process was anti-democratic. “The public process has been obliterated,” she said. Cllr. Hardwick accused staff of engaging in a “bait and switch” scheme (PCI Developments originally applied for a five-storey building which was approved, and then came back with a request for a 39-storey building).

Cllr. Adriane Carr took offence to Cllr. Hardwick’s accusations, saying that “the proof is in the pudding”; i.e., the number of people who took part in the process alone proved it was democratic. “That’s democracy at work,” she told Council.

Cllr. Hardwick put forth an amendment to postpone a decision until the fall, giving Council more time to consider the application. Cllr. Melissa De Genova seconded the amendment, but it died when put to a vote.

During the public hearings, Council heard about the environmental impacts, effect on children’s mental health, as well as the tower’s built form. Cllr. Christine Boyle said people who live in insecure rentals also suffer from effects on mental health.

Regarding fears about the resulting land lift which will increase rents in nearby affordable existing housing, Cllr. Jean Swanson took a personal tone. “I left Fairview when it was being gentrified,” she shared with Council, noting that gentrification of the area has only accelerated since then. She said the tower would provide housing to people making between $50,000 and $80,000 annually, but offers nothing for those making minimum wage, seniors on fixed incomes, or people receiving disability.

She pointed out that only people making over $80,000 could afford the market rental dwellings, which make up 80% of units. “The lower income folks will be pushed out like I was,” she said. Then turning to Council: “I guess if I vote against this, I’d be a bad councillor,” Cllr. Swanson said, referring to the public support Housing Minister David Eby has voiced for the tower and his threats to cut funding to municipalities that don’t build housing immediately. She said she would be willing to support future housing projects along Broadway once the Province steps in and helps provide real housing affordability.