A group of Vancouver entrepreneurs wants to see the region’s old SkyTrain cars transformed into modular artist studios.
TransLink is expected to decommission about 150 of its original Mark I SkyTrain cars over the next two years. The iconic cars were first put into service ahead of Vancouver’s Expo 86, and formed the foundation of the region’s first rapid transit rail service.
Now, hospitality and arts space operator the Narrow Group and Apartment Sage Real Estate are making the case they should be repurposed and distributed across the province.
“This is a big part of Vancouver for any Vancouver resident — Expo 86 was a huge, iconic event, and I think it needs to be preserved,” said Apartment Sage’s Sage Brocklebank.
“It seems like a natural win-win. We could fit the SkyTrains in parking lots, we could fit them in community centres, we could fit them in airports, in parks, because they are not a permanent structure.”
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Under the proposal, the group would take the train cars to a farm Apartment Sage owns in Langley where they would be stripped of their components and remodelled inside with a “functional workspace and amenities” for artists.
Brocklebank said the goal would be to retain the heating and lighting systems, while upgrading the furniture.
He said the team believes it could turn the units around in three to six months.
The group says the project would both create badly needed creative space for artists around the province and preserve the legacy of Expo 86.
Narrow Group owner David Duprey said Vancouver has lost about 400,000 square-feet of artist space in the last decade alone.
He currently owns and operates eight buildings with about 110,000 square-feet of artist space, and said it is always fully occupied.
“There is such a massive demand for artist space. It is in need, in demand … this would fill that niche, as well as (create) something cool to see when you drive by on the side of the road,” he said.
Duprey believes the train cars could be converted to usable spaces for between $30,000 to $50,000. The group would then turn around and rent the units to artists or groups for between $1,000 and $1,500 per month.
“I love doing things that are wacky, that are weird, that are different, so this is right up my alley,” he said.
“Like putting together old SkyTrain cars and making them into artist spaces and sending them all over the province? I mean, come on.”
In November, TransLink put out a call for proposals on what to do with the retiring train cars, which will be replaced by new Mark V train cars through 2026.
TransLink said it received 11 proposals in response to the call and is currently reviewing them.
The regional transit and transportation agency says successful bidders will be responsible for funding the transport of the retired cars from their storage site and the costs of repurposing the cars.
