Building up to bring home prices down
John Bermingham
Province
Mayor Sam Sullivan would like to build more apartment buildings.
If he gets his way, the faraway dream of owning an affordable home in Vancouver will inch a little closer, says the mayor presiding over the priciest real estate in the country.
Mayor Sam Sullivan wants Vancouver to build upward, with a flock of apartment buildings all over the city that he promises will once again make a home affordable.
The only catch is that the homes will be smaller, closer together and probably won’t come with a parking space.
Sullivan unveiled his EcoDensity Vancouver initiative Friday, an ambitious vision to increase housing density while protecting the environment.
“We need to start talking about higher densities,” said Sullivan. “And I’m very open [about] how those densities take place.”
The average home on the city’s west side is currently priced at more than $1 million. In East Vancouver it’s $500,000.
“If you can create more supply, the price will go down,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan wants multi-family complexes built in retail areas, or along arterial routes, or along the Canada Line and SkyTrain network.
“By allowing more density in certain areas, we will actually take the pressure off some of our single-family neighbourhoods,” he said.
Coun. Suzanne Anton predicted neighbourhoods won’t respond with negative nimbyism, but with genuine interest.
“I don’t think we’re going to have big apartment blocks in the middle of a single-family neighbourhood,” she said. “[But] I think citizens in many, many neighbourhoods in Vancouver are ready for this.”
Larry Beasley, the city planner credited with bringing high-rise living downtown, said the plan would mean young families will get another crack at a home in Vancouver.
“Most young people are having to go to the far suburbs to find a place to live that’s affordable,” he said.
“By doing this kind of initiative, you’re able to provide many more opportunities, and by virtue of a lot more housing, you’re able to bring prices into line.”
Under the plan, every neighbourhood would have a variety of price ranges and types of homes, giving middle-income families a chance to live where they want.
“If there’s lots of choices, a lot of people will be inclined to live closer to their work,” he said.
Despite its high density, Beasley said crime has declined downtown and people are fitter and happier living closer to amenities and closer to neighbours.
Sullivan and a panel of experts agreed Friday that the closer people live together, the smaller their “ecological footprint.”
Michael Geller, who’s building a campus community at Simon Fraser University, said a change of thinking could also influence Lower Mainland suburban communities to change.
“Maybe what it means is that in some of those single-family neighbourhoods, we might build some corner stores, like we used to do,” said Geller. “And maybe it means that people can actually have an apartment within the same subdivision, which at the moment is just single-family houses.”
Over the next year, the City of Vancouver will consult with the public with the aim of a workable plan in a year’s time.
© The Vancouver Province 2006