‘Gone Yesterday’: Balancing Preservation and Development in Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown – BC | Globalnews.ca

It has been nearly five years since the city rejected a controversial mixed-use project in Vancouver’s Chinatown in a landmark decision.

Since then, development in the area has stalled, with many stakeholders insisting that the new buildings do more to meet the needs of the heritage neighborhood.

“Various groups want to take back yesterday, but yesterday is gone,” Bob Rennie told Global News.

The real estate salesman and founder of Rennie said it’s a shame the main lot at 105 Keefer Street is empty.

“The people who rejected that are not here saving Chinatown,” Rennie said.

In November 2017, the Vancouver Development Permits Board rejected Beedie Living’s fifth application to build on the corner of Keefer and Columbia streets, marking the first time the Board had rejected an application since 2006.

105 Keefer would have been built meters from the Chinatown Memorial in recognition of Chinese-Canadian World War II veterans and the thousands of Chinese-Canadians who lived and died building the Trans-Canada rail system.

The proposed building had been reduced from 13 stories to nine and met the area’s existing zoning requirements, but opponents said it was never a good fit.

“There are many forms of criteria found in zoning statutes that go beyond the size and shape of the building,” UBC history professor Henry Yu told Global News.

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Still, the rejection, Rennie said, sent a message to developers considering Chinatown.

“Probably not worth your effort.”

When condominiums began to be built on Main Street, there was concern that large market-driven development would lead to the loss of Chinatown character in the area south of the protected heritage properties and National Historic Site on Pender Street.

In 2018, city staff recommended to the council to reverse Chinatown South’s 2011 rezoning policy that allows buildings up to 150 feet tall to be considered on sites along Main Street between Keefer and Union Streets, and proposals for development up to 120 feet in height in the remainder of the zoning district bounded by Columbia Street to the west, Gore Avenue to the east, Union Street to the south, and Keefer Street to the north.

In July of that year, the controversial rezoning policy was lifted, and buildings in the area are no longer allowed to exceed 90 feet, or eight stories, in height.

“It caused a gap that was then accelerated by COVID,” Rennie said.

“Right now, unfortunately, nothing is happening,” added Carol Lee.

Lee, the founder and president of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, said sensitive and thoughtful development is essential to Chinatown’s survival.

“Preservation without development is just as bad as development without preservation, so trying to walk this fine line is difficult,” Lee told Global News in an interview.

Yu said developers should respect the inclusive neighborhood, contribute to the cultural heritage economy, and not try to displace and replace.

“Development just as the kind of creative destruction of assembling a bunch of batches and then knocking them out and putting something big at scale because that’s where the money is, I think that’s a real mistake,” Yu said.

Historic Chinese clan associations are the largest class of property owners in Chinatown according to Yu, and the challenge, he said, will be to rebuild these spaces while preserving the character of the neighborhood as a living community.

“It’s a sign of please come and do business, those of you who want to do business in this environment,” Yu said.

“This idea that it’s not open for development, I hope we can change that,” Lee told Global News.

Rendition Development’s eight-story Sparrow project with ground-floor retail, office space and 25 homes on the top five floors has been greenlit and is under construction in the 200 block of Keefer Street.

Had Beedie’s 105 Keefer development been approved, Rennie believes the area would have mirrored Main and Georgia streets, where she said local condominiums, cafes, restaurants and businesses have helped create a walkable and livable community.

“How can we respect yesterday but move on to tomorrow?” Rennie said.

“I think we are at the threshold of that.”