1618-1680 E Hastings St rezoning application

The City of Vancouver’s definition of “social housing” requires that: 

• 100% of the units in the building must be owned by a non-profit or government agency;
• At least 30% of the units are affordable to incomes at or below Housing Income Limits (HILS) as published by BC Housing or equivalent publication; and
• The site is secured with a housing agreement, registered against the title, to ensure the site remains social housing for 60 years.
  
  

This project will meet or exceed this social housing definition in terms of affordability. It is dependent on the funding the applicant receives for this project.

The intent of the City’s current social housing definition is to set a minimum threshold that is achievable for most new non-market housing development. Often the affordability is greater than the City’s minimum threshold prior to building opening, as senior government funding is generally committed later in the development process after the municipality has approved the project.

The 30% of units available at or below HILs incomes ensures that units are affordable for tenants who cannot afford market rates. The HILs are determined by BC Housing from time to time, and represent the income required to pay the average market rent for an appropriately sized unit in the private market. Average market rents are derived from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Annual Rent Market Survey.  HILs is the maximum gross household income for eligibility in many affordable housing programs. The HILs units in social housing are available for tenants who earn at or below this number. The project has not yet confirmed what the rental rates will be for the remaining 70% of units that are not required to be at or below HILs. For more information, see here for the City of Vancouver’s social housing definition and BC Housing’s current HILs.

The City’s practice is not to share property ownership information publicly. You are correct that some lands are owned by the City, however since some of the site is non-City ownership, please reach out to the applicant team (a.callison@hcma.ca) for information/confirmation on property ownership. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your concerns with the proposed height, in particular as it relates to the Citizens' Assembly Final Report.

The City’s Planning Department (review team) operates independently from the Non-Market Housing Development team (part of the applicant’s team), which brings forward non-market housing projects on City-owned land. Rezonings proposed by the Non-Market Housing Development team are subject to the same review process, policies and regulatory requirements as applications submitted by private landowners/developers. The applicant for this specific project is the project team’s architect, HCMA Architecture & Design.

Thank you for sharing your comments and concerns. 

In terms of the subject rezoning application (1618-1680 E Hastings St), the site is identified as a Special Site in the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan. On p. 57 of the Plan, the special sites section of the Hastings Plateau sub-area states the following: “Consider applications for additional height and density – consistent with all other policies outlined in this section – on the Urban Native Youth Association site to support renewal and expansion of the existing social facility, as well as the creation of additional social purpose uses, such as non-market housing and expanded cultural and recreation facilities.” This policy does allow for consideration of height and density on this site above the 12-storeys and 4 FSR density envisioned for the Hastings Plateau sub-area.

Please note that the City is required to process all rezoning applications submitted and staff positions on proposed rezonings will be summarized in the referral report later in the application’s process timeline. The timing of rezoning applications in a neighbourhood is at the discretion of each individual applicant/landowner and is dependent on their own project timeline, financing/funding, etc. The other rezoning application you are referencing was submitted in August 2025 and is independent from this one. Staff do recognize that there has been a number of new towers proposed in the immediate area and are taking this into consideration in the review of each proposal, including relationship of the proposed built form to each other, impact on the area, solar access, neighbourhood fit, etc.

Thank you for your comments and questions. There is a policy within the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan which allows for consideration of additional height and density at this site. Generally, rezonings within this section of the Hastings Plateau Land Use area of the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan can be considered for 11-12-storeys with densities up to 4 FSR. However, if you continue to the Special Sites section of the Hastings Plateau Land Use area in the Plan (one page down (on p.57)), there is the following policy which applies to this site: “Consider applications for additional height and density – consistent with all other policies outlined in this section – on the Urban Native Youth Association site to support renewal and expansion of the existing social facility, as well as the creation of additional social purpose uses, such as non-market housing and expanded cultural and recreation facilities.” Further policy analysis will be included in the report to Council.

Thank you for your question. Please note that the proposal is still under review by urban design staff. It is important to highlight newer city-wide guidance that also apply and which inform staff review, including the Residential Tower Floor Plates bulletin (2025). Under Section 3.3, it notes that tower floor plates for social housing developments can be considered up to 8,000 sq. ft. Staff would take this guidance into consideration, along with other form of development implications such as tower separation onto adjacent sites, solar access, compatibility with the existing and planned context, etc.

Please note that within the Intent and Application section of the bulletin highlighted above, it states: “Where existing guidelines and policy are inconsistent, the guidance in this bulletin provides clarification until such time when other policies are brought into alignment.” This application can be considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan, which is the language on the site sign and Shape Your City page.

Policy alignment: The site is located within the Hastings Plateau sub-area of the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan, which generally considers buildings at heights of 11-12 storeys and a density of up to 4.0 FSR for mixed-use development. The site itself is considered a Special Site within the Hastings Plateau sub-area (p.57 of the Plan) which permits consideration of additional height and density for the Urban Native Youth Association site, “to support renewal and expansion of the existing social facility, as well as the creation of additional social purpose uses, such as non-market housing and expanded cultural and recreation facilities.” The Housing section of the Plan (see p. 131) seeks to “recognize opportunities to achieve a diversity of housing forms and approaches to meet the range of needs for urban Aboriginal residents (e.g. Renewal of the Urban Native Youth Association Native Youth Centre at 1618 East Hastings with complementary housing, and the redevelopment of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society’s cultural centre at 1607 East Hastings with complementary housing).” The applicant is seeking additional height and density, as envisioned by the policies noted above.

Traffic and parking impacts: Transportation staff are reviewing this rezoning application in conjunction with other existing and planned developments to determine whether any transportation upgrades are required to support this area.

Utility infrastructure: Like transportation infrastructure, Engineering staff are still reviewing the application from a utility infrastructure perspective. Any conditions of rezoning will be included in the report to Council.

Thank you for your question. The application currently proposes two levels of underground, which includes vehicle and bike parking. The underground parking would be accessed from the lane. The ground floor is proposed to have a post-secondary school (NVIT) on the western part of the floor and the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) will occupy the remainder of the ground floor. The applicant has indicated that three will be a café/bookstore within the ground floor. In terms of length of construction, the applicant has advised that the construction period for the proposed building is anticipated to take 36-40 months.

The plans submitted at the rezoning stage have less detail than at later stages in the approvals process. Although the massing/renders do not show windows, they are shown on the site plans of each level. Please take a look at pages 6-8 of the Architectural drawings. The floor plans on these pages show the windows which are currently proposed at the podium level. The red arrow in the snippet below demonstrates what a window looks like on a floor plan. Please reach out to me directly at Allison.Smith@vancouver.ca if you need additional assistance.