Vancouver's big plan to add tens of thousands of housing units and create a second downtown along the city's Broadway corridor has just gotten bigger.
The city council approved amendments that would add 41,500 housing units to Vancouver's Broadway Plan — up from the 30,000 approved in 2022 — and remove height limits for some transit-oriented projects across many of the 500 city blocks covered by the plan.
The council's update doubles down on its aggressive plan passed in June 2022 designed to provide a framework for the area's growth along the corridor over the next 30 years. The latest changes were required to comply with British Columbia's recent provincial legislation that mandates minimum densities near SkyTrain stations.
The Broadway Plan, including the latest amendments, is in line with a public and private push to add developments that integrate housing and transit across Canada and the United States. Dramatic population growth created a housing shortage in Greater Vancouver that has led to nearly 7% annual rent growth over the past three years, CoStar data shows.
With the update, the Broadway Plan's expanded 41,500 housing units can accommodate up to 64,000 residents and add 45,000 new jobs over the next 30 years. The changes could more than double the plan's number of new hotel rooms from 1,200 to 3,000 and add 25 acres of parks and other public spaces.
The council voted for the revised plan on Dec. 12 after adding measures aimed at protecting tenants vulnerable to displacement.
"Of the over 100 speakers that we listened to, the vast majority talked about the worry around tenants, particularly very vulnerable tenants — seniors, people with disabilities — who are living in housing that is decent and affordable right now," Councillor Adriane Carr said during the discussion of the update.
"We heard loud and clear that there is a lot of anxiety around tenant protections, and what that looks like in the Broadway Corridor," added Councillor Mike Klassen.
With the latest amendments, the plan's "enhanced tenant protections in the Broadway area will continue to support existing renters, help maintain affordability and enable the renewal of aging rental stock, while adding more rental housing," the city said in a statement.
Developers have proposed 139 residential, office and retail projects near transit stations planned along Broadway, according to city records.
The most recent proposals include Mondivan Group's application to build a 21-floor residential tower with ground-level retail near the future SkyTrain Arbutus Station in Vancouver’s Kitsilano district.
In total, all of the projects projected to date would add 15,372 market-rental housing units, 3,549 below-market rental and social housing units, 1,403 strata homeownership units and over 7.4 million square feet of office, retail and other space, according to city documents.