One of the most prominent names in Vancouver’s real estate community says Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to see more market housing in the Downtown Eastside will be easier said than done.
Sim unveiled his plan to reshape the neighbourhood last week, which included a citywide pause on new supportive housing along with an update to the Downtown Eastside Area Plan to encourage a greater mix of housing, businesses and services.
Bob Rennie, founder of the Rennie Group of Companies, has been a vocal critic of the Downtown Eastside Area Plan, which since 2014 has barred condo development in the heart of the neighbourhood, and which requires rental projects to contain 60 per cent social housing and 40 per cent secured market rental.
Developers have argued the mix is not economically viable, and as of 2023 just one project had been completed.
But Rennie said even with the 60/40 mix eliminated, getting rental developers to build in the area will be a challenge given the situation on the streets.
“Developers will have a hard time buying land, building rental, and getting a rental rate that covers the construction costs and today’s interest rates,” Rennie said.
“To get a developer here you are going to have to give him a lot of free density so he can build market rental that has a return at the rent you can get in this neighbourhood.”
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Rennie said he gives Sim credit for starting a conversation about the need for change in the area.
But he said there will be no quick solution, and that any plan will need the participation of senior levels of government and non-market housing operators.
“It needs a lot more meat on the bone because I didn’t hear substance to it,” he added.
“I didn’t hear how many homes are going to be replaced, that he is working with other cities in the region.”
Sim said that his aim in unveiling the plan was to break the cycle of hyper-concentrated services in the DTES, including supportive housing, shelter services, and social services.
Vancouver currently houses 77 per cent of the region’s supportive housing, despite comprising only 25 per cent of the region’s population, according to the city.
The plan has stirred significant controversy, primarily around the proposal to freeze all the development of new supportive housing anywhere in the city.
Sim said that would allow the city to renew and revitalize its current and aging housing stock.
“We know there are many (single-room occupancy buildings) that are in a state of decay that do need considerable updates, and we know how important it is to do that and we are happy to see that may happen,” said Nicole Mucci, spokesperson for the Union Gospel Mission.
But Mucci said her charity’s men’s homeless shelter is full nightly, as are most others in the area.
She said freezing new supportive housing at a time when both the cost of living and homelessness are rising was not a “future-facing” decision.
“Are we considering and thinking about the needs of those who are the most vulnerable in our community?” she said.
“Right now there is concern that folks will fall through the cracks as a result of this choice.”
Donnie Rosa, CEO of the Atira Women’s Resource Society, agreed that other municipalities in the region need to come to the table to help provide more services.
But she said she fears blocking new supportive housing in Vancouver will end up hurting those who are the most vulnerable. Her organization already turns away thousands every year, she said.
“We already see women, children, and gender-diverse folks being in the margins and forgotten, and these are the folks who are going to suffer the most,” she said.
“If we don’t have housing options and supportive housing options for these folks, they will have to go back to violent situations or onto the street.”
Rennie, meanwhile, said moving supportive housing out of the Downtown Eastside will be challenging because many of the other services used by residents are already clustered in the neighbourhood.
