A Vancouver council decision to approve new development timelines for Grosvenor to complete the massive Mayfair West housing development was driven by change in ownership and market realities, according to one of the company's senior executives.

The new timelines for the social and market housing components were approved in late October for redevelopment of the former Oakridge Transit Centre (OTC) site on the west side of the city. 

Marc Josephson, senior vice president, development with Grosvenor, told RENX the approval doesn't represent a delay; the staff report and subsequent approval by council acknowledges the project needs a more realistic development schedule.

Grosvenor purchased the project from its previous owner in 2022. 

"We simply needed to update the timelines to reflect where we're at," he said in an interview. "So, while the staff report highlighted the delivery of amenities such as the social housing, really, it was simply acknowledging that the overall project timeline has shifted.” 

Council's decision extends the project's timelines by five years. That means the required delivery dates are 2031 for the first social housing building and 2033 for a second social housing building, child-care facility and public park, according to the report.

Josephson said the updated timeline ensures Grosvenor can deliver the amenities in the same sequence as was originally planned. 

The social housing and market housing components will proceed together and the components of the four-phase development will not change, he said.

"We're very obviously pleased that we're able to move forward," Josephson said. "Council's decision was critical in order to keep our project on schedule."

Grosvenor expects to start construction of the first phase in 2025.

Site formerly served as transit bus depot 

Grosvenor acquired the OTC property in summer 2022. The site, located on West 41st Ave., near Oak Street, was a former bus depot. It operated from 1948 until 2006 when most bus depot activities were transferred to the Vancouver Transit Centre, near the Arthur Laing Bridge. 

Grosvenor said MOMC (Modern Green Canada) will remain as an equity partner in the development, but Grosvenor will lead all aspects of the project. MOMC acquired the site in 2016 and was involved in shepherding the redevelopment through the city’s approvals process. Transca is also a partner. 

The OTC remains one of the largest undeveloped sites in Vancouver. The proposal would result in construction of 1.5 million square feet of space. The approved four-phase development includes 17 buildings, ranging in height from one to 26 storeys and with a maximum building height of 83.8 metres (275 feet).

The overall approved plan includes space for:

• approximately 1,120 condos;
• 180 rentals including 45 for moderate-income renters;
• 175 social housing units to be supplied by the developer in two buildings;
• 155 social housing units are the responsibility of the city, to be provided on land offered up by the developer;
• 24,000 square feet of commercial/retail space;
• a 69-space child-care facility;
• and a two-acre public park. 

The James Cheng-designed community also includes improvements to local pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

More than 40 per cent of the site is set aside as publicly accessible spaces, including the parkland, trails and shops which parallel Oak Street. The development plan was approved by Vancouver city council in 2020.

No desire for a new public hearing

Vancouver Coun. Rebecca Bligh said the project represents a critical combination of housing, child care and park space the neighbourhood requires. 

"Given that the applicant purchased a site after the public hearing (by the previous developer), the delays that have sort of created the conditions where this extension is required is really on the shoulders of the previous land owner, the previous developer," Bligh told RENX. 

"So, if we went back to the table and renegotiated with this developer, who's now the new owner, it could trigger a whole new public hearing process, and it would just cause further . . . delays,” Bligh said. 

"We fully intend to get started as soon as possible," Josephson said. "There should be no notion of a delay. This is just reflecting where we are today. And because those requirements were included . . . we want to make sure that the delivery dates were feasible and staff acknowledged right away . . . after we got involved in 2022 that those dates were no longer feasible."

"The sequencing of delivery of the market and the non-market uses is all the same," he said. "We have market rental and below-market rental in our first phase, followed by social housing in the second phase and other amenities, including the park and child-care (facility), following thereafter. We are not proposing to change any of that sequence."

Market conditions improving 

Josephson says they're starting to see an increase in market demand in the region.

"October sales look relatively strong," he said. "I think we're seeing a market that's increasingly waking up with the latent demand beginning to come off the sidelines as things improve through the end of the year and into 2025.”

Grosvenor is also feeling confident with Brentwood Block in Burnaby, a master-planned community the company is building in a joint venture.

The first phase of Brentwood Block will be made up of 1,730 units, of which 1,279 will be rental housing and 204 below market rate. A multi-storey community centre and 200,000 square feet of commercial space are also planned for the $1.5-billion development stage.

"We've had tremendous success at Brentwood block, reaching approximately 100 sales in a month, outpacing the market,” Josephson said.