Developer given 5 more years to build social housing in Vancouver

Vancouver city council has approved a five-year extension for a developer to deliver 175 units of social housing promised for the Oakridge neighbourhood.

Grosvenor, the developer of the 5.5-hectare former Oakridge Transit Centre site on West 41st Avenue, requested the extension for the social housing and other community amenities, including a two-acre public park and 69-space daycare. 

In 2020, council approved the original deadline of 2028. The revised decision moves the delivery date to 2033.

The social housing is part of a package of community amenities for the 1,600-home housing project planned for the site.

Coun. Rebecca Bligh said an extension was the logical choice because the alternative of renegotiating the public amenity components would trigger a new public hearing. 

"The project has not broken ground, so the reality of being able to deliver those amenities on the originally agreed upon timeline from 2020 naturally needs to be extended," she said.

Developer Modern Green bought the Oakridge Transit Centre land for $440 million in 2016. Grosvenor acquired the site in 2022 and announced it would build it out following the approved 2020 master plan.

However, Grosvenor now says "those timelines were never feasible" and that entire project is facing delays "compared with what was assumed before our involvement." 

A spokesperson for the company said the entire project is behind schedule, including the amenities.

Bligh denied that the extension granted to Grosvenor is similar to the situation with developer Holborn Properties Ltd., which has yet to deliver on social housing commitments agreed to 15 years ago when it bought the Little Mountain lands.

"This is a very different decision made at council," said Bligh. "It's quite clear we need to move this project forward."

Holborn purchased the Little Mountain lands for $337 million in 2008 with the help of a $211 million interest-free loan from the province, and promised to build 1,500 housing units on the property, including 282 units of social housing.

So far, Holborn has only delivered 53 units of social housing and the large parcel of land that sits between 37th and 33rd avenues and Main and Ontario streets remains mostly empty.