Harrison Street Asset Mgmt. has become the majority partner, with PC Urban, in a plan to develop Vancouver’s first apartment towers designed specifically for hospital and healthcare workers in the city’s Broadway Plan area.

The twin 22-storey towers will be constructed at 13th Avenue and Willow Street, directly across from Vancouver General Hospital, in a district where there is a housing shortage for the thousands of people employed at the hospital and the many area facilities and organizations which support it. 

Harrison Street is now the majority partner in the development, after PC Urban had initially bought the property and started the approvals process for a multifamily project on the site. The two companies have been working together on the proposal for several months, a PC Urban spokesperson told RENX.

“This is a pioneering opportunity to build much-needed, affordable rental housing for our healthcare workers. One of the biggest challenges we face in Vancouver is finding homes for people we rely on to look after us in the event of illness,” Brent Sawchyn, CEO of PC Urban, said in the announcement today. “It is also validation for the Vancouver real estate industry where there are many project approvals, but few moving forward. 

“This shows there’s enthusiasm for investing in alternative real estate strategies in our city.” 

The 13th and Willow development

As per an approved rezoning, the project includes: 507 fully furnished apartments from studios to two bedrooms; an 11,000-square-foot extended hours childcare facility to serve shift workers at the hospital; as well as wellness and rooftop amenities. 

All homes will be aligned with the city’s Westside Area Development Cost Levy (DCL) affordable rates. 

PC Urban previously rezoned the site last year as a two-tower rental development with 354 homes. However, subsequent to final adoption of the zoning bylaw, the opportunity arose to recast the site to provide housing prioritizing healthcare workers. The revised rezoning was approved in February. 

Construction is to get under way this fall, making it one of the largest projects to start construction in the city this year.

Financial details of the partnership were not released, but the project represents a $265-million investment by the firms, the spokesperson told RENX. PC Urban will act as the development manager, while Harrison Street will be overseeing the property management arrangements upon completion.

“Harrison Street became a preferred partner given their experience with alternative themes in real estate like student and seniors housing,” the spokesperson told RENX. “In this vein, Harrison Street became interested to explore opportunities to create housing for healthcare workers.”

The two companies know each other well, with PC Urban most recently selling its Evolution Block biomedical development to Harrison Street after it was completed in 2023.

Hospital to undergo more growth

An upcoming expansion of the Vancouver General Hospital is expected to place even more pressure on housing in the area for the facility’s existing 12,000-plus employees. PC Urban states in the announcement 35 per cent of the hospital's workers travel two-or-more hours per day to commute.

“What makes this project particularly meaningful is that there wasn’t an existing policy framework for this kind of housing,” Sawchyn added. “City planning staff worked tirelessly to bring this project to reality, and council (was) open-minded and collaborative in helping create a path forward; something that could serve as a precedent for future workforce housing in Vancouver.”

The two residential rental buildings have been redesigned to include a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments with utilities, Wi-Fi and other amenities included in the rent.

Amenities will include rooftop indoor and outdoor spaces with gathering areas, dining areas, workout spaces, guest suites for visitors and children's play areas. There will also be a fitness facility, flexible indoor space, and an activated laneway with a small outdoor amenity terrace and a dog-run area.

“Our role as a city is to create the conditions for new, innovative housing approaches to come forward,” Dan Garrison, director of housing policy for the City of Vancouver, said in the announcement. “Enabling affordable housing near Vancouver General Hospital is a practical step that supports the hospital, healthcare workers, and the broader community.”

This project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. It will offer EV charging stations and spaces for car share, off-street bicycle lockers/rooms and bike repair/wash facilities.

The site is served by transit, less than a kilometre from the Broadway City Hall subway station and 600 metres from a future rapid transit station on Broadway and Laurel Street.

Completion is estimated for mid-2029. 

About PC Urban and Harrison Street

Founded in 2009, PC Urban Properties is a Vancouver-based real estate development and investment company which has developed and launched real estate projects across all asset classes – retail, office, industrial and multifamily.

It has developed over $3.5 billion of projects and has 5.2 million square feet of space under development including 1.4 million square feet of office space and 1,200 rental apartment homes.

Harrison Street is a Chicago-based real estate developer, investor and operator which has had operations in Canada for about six years, with an office in Toronto. It has focused on alternative sectors in the country, including student housing and self storage, and through its Canada Alternative Real Estate Fund had transacted on approximately $1.7 billion of assets as of late 2025.

Internationally, the company has over $100 billion in assets under management across its global infrastructure, real estate and credit strategies businesses.