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Vancouver’s old Mountain Equipment Co-op store will be replaced by two towers comprising 514 rental units and a city-owned 37-space child care centre.
The development on the southeast corner of West Broadway and Columbia Street cleared its final hurdle on Thursday, when council approved a change in zoning under the Broadway plan that will also allow two floors of commercial space at ground level.
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The change in zoning from C-3A to CD-1 means the maximum height allowed on that site goes from about 10 metres to just over 90 metres. In this case, the development height will be less than what is required to preserve a view corridor. There will also be a private podium connecting the two buildings.
According to a report written by city planner Nick Danford, the site is within the catchment of Simon Fraser Elementary School and Eric Hamber Secondary. By 2031, Simon Fraser is forecast to be way too small for its estimated enrolment, while Eric Hamber will still be under capacity.
Danford said the site was within the 2022 Broadway Plan area that permits residential buildings up to 30 storeys, subject to rezoning.
He said the development also fell within the provincial government’s new Bill 47 dictate that establishes minimum heights and densities for developments in transit zones. The legislation prohibits council from refusing an application on the basis of the prescribed heights and densities set out in the regulations.
The two towers approved will be 21 and 28 storeys high with a total square footage of 444,000. Around 35 per cent of the rental suites will be two- and three-bedroom units. There will be 195 parking spaces.
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MEC moved into the Broadway location in 1995 and moved to its new location near Olympic Village in 2020.
The outdoor equipment and clothing retailer was formed in Vancouver in 1971.
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the struggling business was sold to a Los Angeles-based private equity firm and renamed Mountain Equipment Company.
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