Six buildings up to 25 storeys revealed for Heather Lands in Vancouver

On November 15, 2024By Littum

A little more than two years after the City of Vancouver approved the rezoning of Heather Lands, developers have submitted development applications for two parts of the site, which would deliver a total of six buildings and over 1,250 new homes.

The Heather Lands project is set for a 21.1 hectare site at 4949-5255 Heather Street and 657 W 37th Avenue in the Cambie Corridor of Vancouver, located between W 33rd Avenue and W 38th Avenue approximately midway between VanDusen Botanical Garden and Queen Elizabeth Park .

Formerly known as the RCMP Fairmont Lands / RCMP E Division headquarters, the City of Vancouver launched a comprehensive planning program in 2016 to develop a policy statement to guide the redevelopment of the property. This policy statement was ultimately approved in 2018 and the following application for redistribution was then approved by the Council on 24 May 2022.

The project is handled by Canada Lands Companyxʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations Joint Property Corporation MST Development Corporationand MST’s frequent development partner Aquilini development.

The Heather Lands redevelopment is expected to unfold across five major phases, but the phasing appears to have been revised since the rezoning application was approved. According to a City of Vancouver referral reportPhase One was to consist of Parcels A and F, with Phase Two then focusing on Parcels B and C plus a park plot.

According to the municipality, the development applications published last week were both submitted by MSTA Fairmont Phase 1 LP and are for Parcel B and F. However, it seems to make sense to group Parcel B and F together as the two parcels make up almost the entire The Heather Lands site located on the east side of Heather Street that BC Assessment assesses for $229,723,000.

An overview of the Heather Lands site, parcels and land uses looking to the SW. / DIALOG Design

This eastern side of the Heather Lands site currently has an east-west internal road cutting through it, but the road is expected to be reconstructed as a curved extension of W 35th Avenue that will continue through the western part of the Heather Lands towards Willow Street.

Package B, known as 620 W 35th Avenuelocated on the south side of New Road, where the developers plan a 24-story tower (B1) with 207 strata units and 67 moderate-income rental units, a 20-story tower (B2) with 203 strata units and two market rent units, and a 12-story tower (B3) with 101 market rent units and 32 moderate income rental units, totaling 612 units.

Although the original Heather Lands realignment was designed by DIALOG Designis the architect of Parcel B GBL Architectswhich has deviated slightly from the subdivision application in terms of design. According to the development application, each building now consists of a traditional tower on top of a podium instead of using several steps down the building podium. As a result, the construction platforms of two towers will now be only seven floors instead of seven-eight floors.

Package F, also known as 689 W 35th Avenueis then located on the north side of the widened W 35th Avenue, where developers plan an 18-story tower (F1) with 232 strata units, a 25-story tower (F2) with 298 strata units, and a six-story tower . multi-storey building (F3) with 78 strata units, 30 market rental units and 12 moderate income rental units. This package would provide a total of 650 units.

In particular, Parcel F was designed by yet another architect, RH Architectswhich tells that the three buildings all have main entrances that lead out to a common central courtyard that unites the entire site.

“The two taller buildings consist of a high-rise part as well as terraced podiums,” the architects said of the building form. “The two high-rise buildings face each other and provide a dramatic entrance to the site. They act as sentinels, watching over the area. They indicate and frame the location of the meeting place in the heart of the ‘village’. The podium forms are curved to reinforce the curvature of the street front and reinforce the non-linear nature of Indigenous communities.”

Heather Lands

The Heather Lands property was acquired by Canada Lands Company and MST Development Corporation in October 2014 in a $307 million trade which also included the lands of Jericho and Marine Drive Countries. Some controversy arose in 2016, however, after members of the Squamish Nation said they were first notified of the purchase after CLC had completed it. In a 2018 accountingThe Musqueam Indian Band also said the three First Nations bought a 50% interest in all three sites from CLC “soon after the (CLC) purchase.”

Although Marine Drive Lands has not reached the redevelopment stage yet, according to the District of West Vancouver, work is now well underway on Jericho Lands after the City of Vancouver approved the policy statement for the site earlier this year. Having reached the development application stage, Heather Lands is the project that has progressed the furthest.

When fully completed, the Heather Lands project is expected to include 2,600 residential units across buildings ranging from three to 28 stories, commercial space, a neighborhood park, a childcare center, a new school and an MST Cultural Center. Full development is expected to take approximately 15 years. ONE development application was also submitted and approved last year for Heather Land’s presentation center, which will be located at 4949 Heather Street.

Although the project’s housing mix leans more toward strata, those strata homes will be made available through the Attainable Housing Initiative, announced by the province in September, where pre-sale buyers will pay only 60% of the purchase price, while the province will finance the remaining 40% over 25 years, after which they 40% due. The initiative was the first of its kind announced by the province and committed to by the NDP to expand the program in the previous election period.