Proposed Vancouver rental project designed, delivered and for women
Posted June 19, 2021 12:05 am.
Last Updated June 19, 2021 12:42 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A developer and a non-profit have been working together to propose a 13-storey apartment building for Vancouver’s VGH neighbourhood which promises to be a first for Western Canada.
If approved, it will be the first west of Toronto developed, designed and delivered by women – with a further bonus, in that all 135 units at 546 West 13th Ave. will be available at below market rents.
“It will be targeted to different income levels,” says Carla Guerrera, the CEO of Purpose Driven Development. Women of all income levels will be welcome.
“It will be for senior women, workforce women, and women-led families,” she explains.
“There will be income qualifications, and there will be different levels of affordability,” she notes.
“Some will target those who need deep subsidies, whereas tenants at the higher level of rent will be workforce women, who will pay 15 to 20 per cent lower than market rents in the area.”
She points out the project’s partner is Soroptimist International Vancouver, and is being funded by all three levels of government.
She calls the concept “beautifully designed” with women in mind.
“The lobby of this project will be designed like a large living room where people can interact and catch up on each other’s days and that type of thing as they are coming and leaving the building.”
She says many facets of the construction will be women-led.
“This will be incredibly innovative by bringing in an all-women team in delivering this project. Our architects are all women, our engineers are all women, along with our landscape architects and geotechnical engineers. It was really put together to demonstrate the leadership and capacity of women.”
The developer has had to make major alterations to the concept already. Guerrera says they had originally envisioned a 20-storey building which included retail and office spaces, but they were sent back to the drawing table after city officials discovered the tower interfered with the city’s view cones. The revision meant 30 units of housing were lost.
This latest version is scheduled to have its rezoning hearing July 13.
