Trio of towers next to Commercial-Broadway station approved
Vancouver city council has approved a rezoning application for a contentious housing development next to one of the region's busiest transit hubs.
The approval comes after nearly a decade of proposals, pushback and debate for the site adjacent to the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station.
The approved plan will see a Safeway supermarket and large parking lot redeveloped into 1,044 rental homes in three towers with heights of 44, 38 and 37 storeys.
View image in full screen
A rendering of the trio of proposed towers for Commercial and Broadway in Vancouver. City of Vancouver
The approval comes about a month after a public hearing that saw about 100 people turn out to speak, with passionate feelings on both sides.
Story continues below advertisement
On Tuesday, the proposal passed, with Mayor Ken Sim and most councillors in support. COPE Coun. Sean Orr voted against the rezoning, while Green Coun. Pete Fry abstained.
'I worry that we are giving the developer double the height and we're not seeing the public benefits that we could be seeing at the site,' Orr said during the debate.
2:14
Drastic changes made to Broadway-Commercial Safety redevelopment plan
Under the rezoning approved Tuesday, 10 per cent of the rental units will be held at the citywide average of market rates, while the remainder will be leased at going market rates.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
During the public hearing, the affordability of the rentals planned for the development was a key point of contention for project opponents.
Critics called for the development to mirror rules under the Broadway Plan, which require 20 per cent of units to be held at 20 per cent below market rates.
Story continues below advertisement
ABC Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said the city simply needs more rental housing of all types.
'These are not condos that are going to stay empty,' she told council.
'These are rental homes that people are going to live in. They're not affordable for everybody, but they are more affordable than other options.'
Some supporters argued that the project actually doesn't go far enough, noting that it is adjacent to the hub of two SkyTrain lines and the busy 99 B-Line bus route.
2:05
Public hearings on controversial East Vancouver development postponed again
It's an argument that appears to have held sway with the mayor and councillors.
'It's by the third busiest transit hub in the region, so it just makes sense that we build there,' Sim said.
Story continues below advertisement
Councillors also approved an amendment aimed at maximizing public access to a 12,000-square-foot courtyard space in the project.
The decision comes after years of back and forth and controversy about a development at the site.
Previous drafts that faced local pushback were focused on condos rather than rentals, and included a version with two towers, the tallest of them 24 storeys, and a 2022 version that envisioned a pair of towers with one reaching 30 storeys.
That version nearly made it to a public hearing in 2022, but was sidelined by the 2022 municipal election.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
10 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Is Palantir Technologies a Once-in-a-Generation AI Stock?
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been one of the hottest AI stocks over the past year and a half. Since the start of 2024, it's up over 700% and has risen over 80% in 2025 alone. Those are incredible returns in a short time frame, but many investors are convinced that Palantir can go higher from here. If it does, Palantir could be marked as a once-in-a-generation AI stock. So, does Palantir fit the criteria to become a once-in-a-generation stock, or is something else happening here? Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Palantir's business has rapidly expanded over the past year Palantir's business is split into two primary units: Government and commercial. Palantir originally started as a software intended for government use and saw tremendous success in this field. However, use cases were developed for commercial products, and Palantir has also successfully expanded into that world. Its software is all about data analytics and giving its users actionable insights based on its information flows. This is all powered by AI and has transformed how some businesses operate. Palantir has seen success in its financials, with impressive growth accelerating quarter after quarter. In Q1, Palantir's U.S. commercial revenue rose 71% year over year to $255 million, and U.S. government revenue rose 45% year over year to $373 million. However, overall commercial growth was 33% to $397 million. This clearly indicates that other areas of the world (namely Europe) aren't embracing AI as much as the U.S. is. However, that could quickly change as several positive developments have been rolling out AI in Europe over the past few weeks. Should Europe more widely adopt AI, that could boost Palantir's commercial sales to even higher levels. Overall, government revenue rose 45% year over year to $487 million, so governments around the globe are adopting AI just as fast as the U.S. government is. Palantir's total year over year growth was an impressive 39%, and management gave guidance for a 38% growth rate in Q2. However, that figure should be taken with a grain of salt, as management consistently beats its own expectations. While this all sounds impressive, investors should be alarmed by Palantir's growth in conjunction with its valuation. Palantir's stock comes with a hefty price tag As mentioned above, Palantir's revenue rose 39% year over year in Q1, yet the stock is up over 700% since the start of 2024. That indicates that the stock far exceeds actual business growth, which shows up in Palantir's valuation. PLTR PS Ratio data by YCharts Palantir has risen from a stock that traded in the 10 to 20 times sales range (normal for a software company) to 110 times sales, a level that few stocks ever trade at. That's because the expectations are unbelievably high at these levels, and it's unlikely that Palantir will be able to live up to them. To illustrate, let's make a few assumptions: Palantir's revenue growth accelerates to 50%, maintaining that level for five years. Palantir's profit margins reach industry-leading 30% Palantir's share count doesn't rise (a terrible assumption; its share count is up 7% year over year). Should all three occur, Palantir's revenue and profits will rise from $3.12 billion and $571 million, respectively, to $23.7 billion and $7.1 billion. If it did that, Palantir would undoubtedly be a once-in-a-generation company. However, at today's current market cap and five years from now's profits, Palantir's stock would trade at 46 times earnings, which is still quite expensive. For reference, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) grew revenue at a 69% pace in Q1 and trades for 46 times earnings right now. This tells me that there's almost no upside left in Palantir's stock besides what's driven by hype. Palantir's stock has run up too far, too fast, and is now in a precarious situation. While Palantir could be a once-in-a-generation company (its business is fantastic), the stock is incredibly overvalued. It could be prone to a drastic sell-off if Palantir has a slip-up in execution. Should you invest $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now? Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025
Global News
11 hours ago
- Global News
Ontario city skyline to undergo drastic change after ‘iconic' landmark toppled
For years, residents and visitors to Sudbury, Ont., knew they were approaching the Nickel City when they saw the Inco Superstack. 'For us, it's a beacon in our community,' Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre told Global News. 'You see Superstacks, you're near home, right? You're almost there because you can see it from pretty far away.' But the skyline of Sudbury is undergoing a drastic change as plans are underway by current owner Vale Base Metals (VBM) to tear down the structure, as well as its neighbouring copper sister. The company has made the Superstack and its little copper sister obsolete by finding more environmentally friendly way of dealing with emissions. Before the arrival of the chimney, which residents refer to as 'the Smokestack,' Sudbury was known as an environmental disaster, as spewing toxins made vegetation and wildlife in the area disappear. Story continues below advertisement 'Vegetation could not survive,' Lefebvre said. 'And certainly in the Copper Cliff area (where the mine is located) was really bad.' Then came the Superstack in 1972. Standing more than 1,250 Ft. high, it was, for a short time, the largest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere until it was surpassed by the CN Tower. Until it disappears, it will remain the largest chimney in Canada. 'If you look at the history of why it was built, it was just to get the sulphur to go further instead of having it landing right beside the community,' Lefebvre said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He noted that while that was a major innovation for its time, things have continued to evolve. In 2010, VBM, which acquired Inco in 2006, first announced the Clean AER Project, which would see the towering chimneys replaced with environmentally friendly and efficient methods of dealing with nickel extraction. 'The Superstack and Copperstack have been iconic landmarks in Greater Sudbury for decades,' said Gord Gilpin, director of Ontario operations for VBM. 'While we appreciate that the city's landscape will look different after these structures are dismantled, our business has evolved and improved over time and this project is part of that evolution. We are modernizing our facilities and reducing our environmental footprint and, in so doing, laying the groundwork to ensure that our next century of mining in Sudbury is as successful as our first 100 years.' Story continues below advertisement The company says the move will eliminate 100,000 metric tonnes of sulphur dioxide emissions each year (equivalent to 1,000 railway tanker cars of sulphuric acid). It will also see the end of the Superstack and its copper counterpart, as they were decommissioned in 2020, and have been dormant ever since. The company is just about finished with the demolition of the smaller Copperstack and is expected to turn its attention to the Superstack this summer. 'It's a massive undertaking of how they're going to do this,' Lefebvre said. 'They had to prep for it the last five years and here we are, we're on the cusp of it.' The company says it will take about five years to pull down the towers and while some have argued that the towers should remain as a tribute to the city's mining history and effort to clean up, the mayor said that is not a realistic option. 'There are some folks in the community that think we should keep it, but again, it's not ours, right?' he said. 'It's the company's and it's a liability, because if they just leave it there, the whole thing will rust and the inside will, then it becomes a liability.' Lefebvre also noted that the structure sits atop an active nickel mine, so there is no way it could ever be an attraction for people to visit and would be something that would need to be admired from afar. Story continues below advertisement While he is sad to see it go, the mayor noted that it is a weird twist that a place that once held such a bleak landscape would hold such an important stake in the world's environment. 'The irony of all this is now Sudbury, that was one of the most polluted places back in the '30s, '40s, '50s and '60s, is now obviously contributing enormously with our critical minerals to our environment,' he said. 'All electric vehicles and all battery, it needs nickel and we are the ones providing that across our entirety in the world.'
Global News
18 hours ago
- Global News
Slowing sales raise questions about B.C.'s electric vehicle mandate
The British Columbia government is facing renewed questions about whether its aggressive electric vehicle (EV) sales mandates can be achieved. Under current B.C. law, 26 per cent of new light-duty vehicles sold in B.C. must be zero-emission by 2026, a figure climbing to 90 per cent in 2030 and 100 per cent in 2035. B.C. has, to date, been a Canadian leader in EV adoption, with 24 per cent of new vehicle shoppers snapping one up in 2024. But that momentum has run into trouble. Both Ottawa and B.C. phased out their EV subsidies earlier this year, and the auto industry says sales dropped quickly afterward. 2:24 BIV: EV sales in Canada plummet over last year 'The first quarter, we were pushing 19 per cent in adoption rate. In April, it was down to 15 per cent … in May it's about flat with 15 per cent again, so the math is just not there to achieve the 26 per cent in 2026,' said Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers' Association of B.C. Story continues below advertisement 'The 2030 number is virtually impossible.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Powering British Columbia's roads under a fully electric scenario is another concern. Barry Penner, chair of the Energy Futures Institute, said his group modelled the electricity needs B.C. would face if it did meet its 100 per cent adoption target by 2035. 'It would require, at full implementation, two more site C dams worth of electricity. And this year, we have been importing electricity,' Penner said. 'In the last couple of years, on average, we've imported 20 to 25 percent. Of our domestic electricity needs from outside the province.' Penner said consumer behaviour has also been shifting towards plug-in hybrids, which are cheaper, but have typically not qualified for government rebates. 3:48 B.C. electric vehicle rebate pause The Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions did not respond to a request for comment by deadline. Story continues below advertisement However, Global News obtained a technical review of B.C.'s Zero-Emission Vehicles Act and Regulation, which appears to show the government is open to adjusting the program. The document shows the province is considering 'several changes' to the legislation 'to respond to current economic conditions, support affordability for consumers, and lessen pressures on automakers.' Those changes include revising the 2030 zero-emission sales targets, amending compliance ratios for battery electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, changing the percentage of plug-in hybrids dealers can sell under the law, and changing range requirements to ensure more vehicles qualify for credits. The document further notes that challenges to EV adoption still include range anxiety and vehicle price. 'They're more expensive on average than a non-electric vehicle. Some studies suggest about $8,000 per vehicle,' Penner said. 'Internal government polling shows almost 60 per cent of British Columbians say that's the number one problem buying an electric cars is the cost and yet what have they done? They've removed the rebate.' B.C. has been working to upgrade infrastructure; BC Hydro has installed about 600 fast chargers around the province, with more to come. 'And while the province has paused EV subsidies for now, the policy document hints that it is looking at 'new initiative agreement pathways to support affordability for consumers.' Story continues below advertisement The province is also conducting a wider review of its entire CleanBC program. Qualey said new rebates would help the situation, but argued that even with them in place, the targets are too aggressive. 'Ideally, we would like a pause on all of it right now to continue the conversation so the manufacturers, who are the obligated parties in all of this, can sit with government … (and determine) what targets are achievable,' he said.
