APPROVED: NEW RENTAL HOUSING AT 1150 BARCLAY
PRIORITIZES AFFORDABLE HOMES AND WEST END SENIORS
“This project is about delivering much-needed affordable rental housing and providing genuine, tangible
support to the West End community, especially its seniors,” says Steve Forrest, COO of PC Urban.
The City of Vancouver has officially approved a new development at 1150 Barclay Street. The project, led by Vancouver-based real estate company PC Urban, is set to replace an aging, 1940s condo building with a modern, safe, and urgently needed rental community—with a strong focus on supporting the West End’s senior population.
The 20-storey rental building offers 152 new homes and addresses Vancouver’s housing crisis by dedicating 20% of the new homes (30 units) as below-market rental (BMR) units. Of these BMR homes, 30% will be deeply discounted, specifically for seniors.
“This project is about delivering much-needed affordable rental housing and providing genuine, tangible support to the West End community, especially its seniors,” says Steve Forrest, COO of PC Urban. “We are replacing a nearly 80-year-old building that lacks basic safety and accessibility features with a new community that offers secure, modern homes and a critical ground-floor space dedicated entirely to seniors’ food security and well-being.”
Key Community Benefits and Support for Seniors
The project is designed with the West End community, particularly its seniors, in mind and offers:
- A dedicated community room: The building will include a ground-floor indoor/outdoor amenity room totaling over 1,550 square feet (900+ square feet indoors, 650+ square feet outdoors). This space will be given to the West End Seniors Network (WESN) at no cost for their use.
- Food security focus: The community room will feature a full commercial kitchen to support WESN’s vital food security programs. The kitchen will be secured in perpetuity through a covenant ensuring long-term community benefit.
- Direct financial support: PC Urban will also provide $175,000 in direct financial support to WESN for food operations and programming.
“The need for suitable, affordable housing and food security for seniors in the West End has increased dramatically,” says Claudine Matlo, Executive Director, WESN. “A fully equipped ground-floor community space, as well as a financial contribution, will significantly boost our ability to provide food and supportive programs, directly benefiting the most vulnerable members of our community.”
A Better Future for Residents and the Neighbourhood
The existing building is an aging 1940s structure with a limited lifespan. It does not meet today’s fire and seismic standards and lacks essential features such as elevators and cooling.
Current tenants, who are all aware that the site is slated for development, will receive compensation and support that goes above and beyond the standard Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) requirements, applying the more stringent requirements from the Broadway Plan TRPP. Furthermore, the proposed rental rates for the 30 below-market homes will be below the rates the existing tenants are paying today.