21-storey rental tower proposed near Main Street and 13th Avenue corner

21-storey rental housing tower proposed near Main Street and 13th Avenue corner in Vancouver

Artistic rendering of 215-229 East 13th Avenue, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Catalyzed by the prescriptions of the City’s new Broadway Plan, this is the first major high-rise tower proposal for Vancouver’s Main Street corridor south of East 12th Avenue.

On behalf of property owners Five Mile Holdings and Prospero International Realty, a new rezoning application has been submitted by JTA Development Consultants to redevelop 215-229 East 13th Avenue, which is located near the northeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and East 13th Avenue.

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For further area references, the Mount Pleasant location is also just east of Dairy Queen and 49th Parallel Cafe & Lucky’s Doughnuts. It is also a transit-oriented development site, with the location just footsteps from bus stops served by the frequent bus routes of Main Street and Kingsway, and about an eight-minute walk from SkyTrain’s future Mount Pleasant Station (intersection of East Broadway and Main Street).

Currently, the land assembly is occupied by a 1975-built “Vancouver Special” single-family house and a 1965-built, three-storey building with 25 apartment units.

215-229 East 13th Avenue Vancouver rental tower 19

Site of 215-229 East 13th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Existing condition:

215-229 East 13th Avenue Vancouver rental tower

The existing site. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of 215-229 East 13th Avenue, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

The proposal, designed by Studio One Architecture, calls for a 228-ft-tall, 21-storey, mixed-use tower with 100% secured purpose-built rental housing for the building’s residential component.

There will be 193 rental homes, including 154 market units and 39 below-market units.

The unit size mix is 74 studios, 49 one-bedroom units, 50 two-bedroom units, and 20 three-bedroom units. Shared amenity areas for residents will be situated on the fifth level, where there will be both indoor and outdoor spaces on the base podium’s rooftop, and on the tower rooftop, which will be completely dedicated as an outdoor amenity space.

Artistic rendering of the property. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Artistic rendering of 215-229 East 13th Avenue, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

About 6,100 sq ft of retail/restaurant space will fully activate the building’s frontages with Watson Street to the west and East 13th Avenue to the south.

The ground-level commercial uses enhance the project’s extensive public realm, as a generous building setback will be established to create a corner plaza that wraps around the building’s street frontages.

Artistic rendering of 215-229 East 13th Avenue, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Three underground levels will provide 85 vehicle parking stalls and 347 secure bike parking spaces.

The total building floor area will reach 138,400 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 6.8 times larger than the size of the 20,400 sq ft development site.

Records show the land assembly was formed over the last few years, with the apartment building sold for $8.22 million in April 2021, and the house sold for $3.25 million in May 2022.

While high-rise residential towers are permitted off Main Street, the Broadway Plan does not allow such tall building forms directly along the street in this particular area of Mount Pleasant.

With the exception of CentrePoint Mall’s designation as a unique development site permitting a larger redevelopment, the Broadway Plan stipulates mixed-use buildings up to six storeys are permitted along Main Street between East 7th Avenue and East 16th Avenue, with the requirement that the ground level be dedicated to retail/restaurant uses to ensure continuous storefronts on the retail strip. The low-rise building form policy is a measure to retain the village character of the retail strip.

Artistic rendering of 215-229 East 13th Avenue, Vancouver. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Artistic rendering of the property. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Artistic rendering of the property. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Artistic rendering of the property. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

Artistic rendering of the property. (Studio One Architecture/JTA Development Consultants/Five Mile Holdings/Prospero International Realty)

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