The City of Vancouver has received a rezoning application from the owner of a large piece of property in the 3700-block of Granville Street in Shaughnessy to build 27 townhouses in a neighbourhood dominated by single-family homes.

Intracorp Homes wants to rezone the site at Granville and Balfour streets to build a three-storey strata townhouse development and convert a protected 1911-era heritage house into a triplex.

The application doesn’t yet have a public hearing date, although the question-and-answer period for staff via the “shape your city” website runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 5.

The application will be considered by a new city council, which is expected to be inaugurated in early November following the results of the Oct. 17 municipal election. Housing policy is expected to be a topic of debate during the campaign.

‘Historically low-density area’

Intracorp’s application booklet outlines provincial and municipal government policy designed to open up neighbourhoods for small-scale, multi-family development. An aerial photograph included in the booklet shows how the property in Shaughnessy is surrounded by single-family homes.

“The proposal delivers a balanced public outcome by aligning multiple policy objectives into a single coherent framework,” the booklet said.

“It secures permanent heritage protection and investment in a significant historic asset, introduces a meaningful supply of family-oriented, ground-oriented housing in a historically low-density area, and reinforces growth along a transit-served arterial corridor.”

Intracorp said the project also enhances the public realm through improved streetscape conditions, maintains the area’s landscape character and demonstrates a model for accommodating gentle density within heritage sensitive neighbourhoods.

Capenhurst Residence

The heritage house referred to in the application is the 1911-era Capenhurst Residence. The development plan calls for relocating the building to the Granville Street frontage to “prominence and visibility.”

“Capenhurst is representative of the early development of First Shaughnessy and reflects the Edwardian-era preference for British Arts and Crafts architecture associated with high quality residential estates,” the booklet said.

“Its design, materials and detailing illustrate the architectural character of the district’s first wave of development and contribute to the broader heritage value and identity of the neighbourhood.”

What the public response to the project will be is an open question.

In July, city council rejected a major land-use plan that would have rezoned 17 neighbourhoods to allow ground-oriented multiplexes, townhouses, low-rise apartments and mixed-use buildings with space for shops and services on the ground floor.

The 10-1 vote came after what ABC Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung described as a “tsunami” of opposition to the “villages” plan. More than 200 people spoke to council, and more than 2,800 people wrote letters and emails.

“The idea of the villages plan was good,” Kirby-Yung said at the time.

“I think that the consultation and the execution was unfortunate at best, and did not reflect the standards of the city that I believe that the residents should see. It was a tsunami or a landslide—pick your analogy—of opposition to this plan.”

17 villages

The push for the plan dates back to October 2023, when Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver colleagues said they wanted to accelerate the construction of all forms of housing by pre-zoning certain areas of the city.

The villages plan was to guide growth and change in 17 of 25 “villages” identified in Vancouver’s recently approved Official Development Plan. The draft plan promised more vibrant, complete neighbourhoods where people can live, shop and connect within a short five-minute walk, roll or bike ride from home.

The 17 villages are distributed across the city and include neighbourhoods on the east, west and south sides of Vancouver. Three were located in the Granville Street corridor, south of West 41st Avenue.

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