Affordable rental development underway in Vancouver’s Little Mountain neighbourhood

The site has sat empty for more than a decade after 234 former social housing units were destroyed on the 15-acre property.

An affordable rental housing development in the making for more than 15 years is finally underway in Vancouver.

Vancouver city council and Mayor Ken Sim held the official groundbreaking event for the 48-unit rental building in the Little Mountain neighbourhood next to Queen Elizabeth Park on Thursday morning.

It is being built by Holborn Properties as part of a community amenity contribution.

“It is an important step in creating an inclusive neighbourhood with various types of housing for families of all income levels,” Sim said.

The six-story building will provide a mix of housing options, as well as a neighbourhood house, a childcare facility and a community plaza.

The site has largely sat empty for more than a decade after 234 former social housing units were destroyed on the 15-acre property.

“This project here has a long and checkered past, let’s just call it what it is,” Sim said. “We have the opportunity to do two things … we can litigate the past and come up with reasons why we can’t do it and get really positional, or we can say, ‘Look, there are a lot of people who need housing here and let’s make some hard decisions and let’s just drive forward.’”

“The net outcome of that will be in the not-so-distant future more people will be able to afford to live in the neighbourhoods that they want to in the City of Vancouver.”