By Patrick Johnston, on November 6th, 2017
A controversial condo tower proposed for the corner of Keefer and Columbia streets in Vancouver’s Chinatown has been rejected by the city’s development permit board.
This was the fifth application in four years by Beedie Living to build at 105 Keefer.
“We’re super happy,” said Nat Lowe, of the Chinatown Action Group.
“I think what we’ve seen is that people who are organized win. We had over 3,000 petition signers. We went to every single meeting, residents spoke at the open houses, despite the language barrier. That’s what won the day.”
Lowe said he’s now hoping that government and Beedie Living will come together and work to build low-income and social housing and a community centre on the site.
“We’ve heard that social isolation is a huge issue for seniors and immigrants in the community,” he said. “We want something that’s free and public.”
“We’re in the middle of a housing crisis and a homelessness crisis … It’s really a reasonable request, we need more social housing.”
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