[Dnfd_announce] URGENT: Tell city hall to stop "Woodward's East" condos, Tuesday October 16

[Ivan Drury]

URGENT: Tell city hall to stop "Woodward's East" condos, Tuesday October 16

On Tuesday October 16 Vancouver City Council will be considering a
rezoning application for a major condo project at 955 E. Hastings,
right across the street from Raycam.

Come to a news conference with DTES community speakers
Tuesday October 16
7pm
Vancouver City Hall
(south side, on the steps facing 12th Ave)

Sign up to speak at the rezoning hearing starting about 7:30pm Tuesday Oct 16
Call: 604-829-4238
Email: publichearing at vancouver.ca

Come with the group leaving from the Downtown Eastside. Meet at
Carnegie at 6pm for food and be ready to leave together by bus and van
at 6:30pm.

This three-condo-tower development will be to the eastern part of the
Downtown Eastside what Woodward's has been to the west: more condos,
higher property values, more upscale stores, and higher rents in
nearby hotels. What we learned from Woodward's is that low income
people could be pushed out of nearby hotels and the street level
retail area could become another zone of exclusion for low-income
people.

But this project doesn't even offer the good parts of Woodward's.
Woodward's had about 150 units of welfare rate social housing. This
development has only 24 units at welfare rate and no community
amenities besides the housing. It will also have 282 condos, and about
70,000 sq/ft of market rate rate and industrial space with no
dedicated community or non-profit spaces.

Come to city council to speak out against this major, neighbourhood
changing condo project.

(For more information see below)

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DTES Not for Developers Coalition
http://dtesnotfordevelopers.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/955/
--- --- ---


STOP CONDOS AT 955 E HASTINGS
Originally published as an editorial in the DT EAST Newspaper, October 2012

A massive
 condo
 project at
 955 East
 Hastings
 (across the street from Raycam Community
 Centre) could soon be approved by the City
 of Vancouver. A public hearing to approve
 the necessary zoning changes could begin
 as early as October 16.


Groups such as the DTES Not for
 Developers coalition (DNFD), the
 DNC and CCAP will be organizing to
 oppose this gentrifying project at the
 public hearing. The project is based
 on a model similar to Woodward’s and
 will have similar negative ripple effect
 in transforming the character of this

neighbourhood.


A low income neighbourhood will
 be replaced by a so-called mixed
 neighbourhood. People with the lowest
 incomes, including those living in SROs
 in adjacent hotels, will suffer the worst
 effects of this transformation. Rising land
 values and rents, new unaffordable retail
 stores, and less-welcoming

new residents will put them
 at high risk of becoming
 homeless or being
 displaced altogether from
 the DTES.

Two 10 and one 12 storey towers will
 be jammed into the site. The project is
 the densest yet proposed in Vancouver
 and is indicative of what a densified East
 Vancouver could look like.


The project is on industrial lands and is
 not covered by the inclusionary zoning
 provisions which has until now protected
 the Oppenheimer district from major
 gentrification.


City staff negotiated an agreement to
 provide some social housing within the
 project which is being trumpeted as
 an important victory. Yet all levels of
 government are unwilling to invest public
 funds in low-income housing. As a result,
 the city’s so-called affordable housing
 strategy prioritizes making deals with
 private condo developers.


The condo project will have 352 units
 of housing, with 70 set aside for social
 housing. However only 24 of the social
 housing units will rent at welfare and
 pension rates. The city wants to make its

housing economically self-supporting, so
 the other social housing units will rent at
 near market rates, far out of reach to low-
income DTES residents.


Social mix projects don’t mean equal
 treatment for all. Market condo owners
 at Woodward’s receive special privileges,
 while social housing residents must use
 separate entrances. The proposed social

housing units at 955 E. Hastings will be
 in a separate building. The lowest income
 group will make up approximately 7% of
 the project and some low-income residents
 may feel isolated and uncomfortable in
 their new surroundings.


This project is part of large-scale grab of
 industrial land by condo developers. The
 area on East Hastings from Clark Drive to
 Commercial will become a new prime zone
 for large-scale condo development.


At 955 E. Hastings there will be lots of
 light industrial and commercial spaces on
 the ground level, but it will all be at market
 prices and the rents will not be cheap.
 Retail stores will undoubtedly cater to high
 end consumers.


The social housing portion of the project
 is considered the developer’s required
 contribution to the community, so no other
 community benefits will be offered.


The project has its supporters. Some
 Strathcona property owners support it.
 Some organizations and low-income
 residents may believe they will benefit
 from the changes this will bring to the
 neighbourhood. They hope to bring
 more ‘balance’ to the area and lessen the
 concentration of ‘high impact’ people and move services and programs,
such as harm
 reduction, away from the area.


Changes could come very fast. Much
 organizing and mobilizing has gone into
 blocking condos at the old Pantages site.
 Much more needs to be done to raise
 the alarm about other major gentrifying

projects.