Boffo Properties to build rental housing on its failed Commercial Drive project site

15-storey social housing tower proposed for Commercial Drive parking lot in Vancouver

Vancouver City Council approves 18-storey Indigenous social housing tower on Commercial Drive

Nearly 1,000 rental homes proposed for revised Safeway proposal at Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain

Three rental housing and office towers up to 35 storeys proposed at future Emily Carr SkyTrain station

Currently, the existing 1932-built, one-storey building is home to the Eastside Culture Crawl.

Existing condition:

Future condition:

The new building will provide 24 secured purpose-built market rental homes, entailing a unit size mix of 15 studios and nine two-bedroom units.

On the ground level, there will be 3,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses.

In total, there will be 22,300 sq ft of building floor area, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 2.64 times larger than the size of the 8,454 sq ft lot. One underground level will contain 18 vehicle parking stalls and 42 secured bike parking spaces.

The project’s design firms are RLA Architects and Maurice Pez Architect.

This is a stark contrast to Boffo Properties’ previous Kettle Boffo proposal, which spanned the entire block and the City-owned surface parking lot to the north. They had proposed building a 12-storey, mixed-use building with 200 condominium homes, 30 supportive housing units, 18,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses, and a new replacement and expanded drop-in facility for The Kettle Society.

However, the project was cancelled in 2018 following failed community amenity contribution (CACs) negotiations with the municipal government, which asked the developer and non-profit society to provide an additional cash CACs payment of up to $16 million in addition to the in-kind CACs of $39 million. This was deemed to be financially unfeasible by the proponents.

In December 2023, the City of Vancouver revealed it will redevelop the surface parking lot at 800 Commercial Drive on its own with affordable housing uses. It has submitted a rezoning application to build a 15-storey, mixed-use tower with 93 social housing units and 4,600 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses.

You might also like:
• 15-storey social housing tower proposed for Commercial Drive parking lot in Vancouver
• Vancouver City Council approves 18-storey Indigenous social housing tower on Commercial Drive
• Nearly 1,000 rental homes proposed for revised Safeway proposal at Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain
• Three rental housing and office towers up to 35 storeys proposed at future Emily Carr SkyTrain station