alse
ereek
north

False Creek North stretches from
the Granville Street Bridge west to
Main Street, bordering Yaletown,
B.C. Place Stadium, Chinatown to
the north, and the waters of False
Creek to the south. This 204 acre
site, the former Expo 86 grounds, is
the largest section of undeveloped
land in Vancouver. The development
itself is the most expensive and
extensive “urban renewal” project
ever seen or attempted in the short
history of Vancouver, representing
an over 2.5 billion cost of completion
over the next 10-15 years. Needless
to say, this project will change the
make up of this city drastically.

The development, owned by a
development company entitled
Concord Pacific and called Pacific
Place, will consist of mixed high price
residential, commercial, and hotel
development, as well as parks and
two proposed schools and childcare
facilities. The residential is exclu-
sively high priced condos, although

‘the public consultation process that
was engaged for this project called
for 20% lower income housing, which
was a main point for the fast track
zoning the developers applied for,
and received from City Hall. The

schools and childcare were also main
points in the initial proposal, and they
too appear to be last on the develop-
ers list of production. The process of
time has shown huge discrepancies
between what was said and promised
to the residents of this city and what is
being built on the actual site. Three
of the six planned, self contained:
“communities” have Feceived the
clearance for rezoning (from indus-
trial to high density residential), the
major hurdle the developers faced in
their path towards building. Already
there can be seen on the site, and
around the area, towering cranes-
marking the sites of future high rise
offices and condo towers. This article
looks at the players, process and
history behind this development
(gentrification?) of Vancouver in the
90’s and beyond. Who is Concord
Pacific? What is their mandate in this
development? How will this develop-
ment affect the long term residents of
the area, including the largest
concentration of homeless in the lower
mainland? These questions raise still
more questions, answerable only by
time as we wait for the changes and
search for the answer.
2
A BRIEF HISTORY

Two hundred years ago, this entire
area was a huge old growth forest. As
the colonial invaders moved in,
enslaving the original inhabitancy and
logging the entire area. By the late
1800’s the area was comprised of
many small, spread out communities,
mainly separated by race and class
lines, with the west side of the area
being white upperclass (Point Grey)
and the east being mostly immigrant
working class (Chinatown, East
Vancouver). The land in between was
mostly industrial, with working class
and ethnic neighbourhoods. The area
now encompassed by Pacific Place
was once a distinct working class

neighbourhood called Yaletown, a
logging and manufacturing site, as well
as home to: booze cans and “hobo
hotels”, places where homeless
bachelors lived. As time wore on and
the communities began to grow
together to establish Vancouver as a
single entity, Yaletown was swallowed
up and pretty much left alone from the
development, maintaining its’ indus-
trial nature and perceived “seediness”
from the downtown core and west side
of the city. Even today it is the site for
prostitution, drug deals and the
homeless.

Old Yaletown was left to pretty much
rot fora quarter century, and not
until the late sixties did the city and
province put in services for those that
made the area a transient home (social
services, adolescent street services,
mental health, crises centres, shelters;
are all located within a few blocks of
one another, five minutes from Pacific
Place). In the early 80’s the Provin-
cial government submitted a proposal
to hold the 1986 World’s Fair in
Vancouver, the site being the bulk of
the old Yaletown industrial complex,
now rapidly decaying from years of
neglect. All of the buildings were
bulldozed, with tons of toxic soil
removed and dumped into the Georgia
Strait, to make way for this billion
dollar project.

The province received the Fair,
causing massive interest and financial
hysteria to grip the merchants and the
government. Everyone salivated at the
thought of millions of tourist dollars
flowing into the city, and the rush was
on to capitalize on the new market. In
one of the most tragic events to take
place during this time, hundreds of
long time hotel dwellers, some living in
the same room for 20-30 years, were
turfed out on a months notice, with no
where to live, drastically raising the
street population that was barely
helped by the meagre resources

allotted to street services. The police
also cracked down and swept a lot into
institutions for the remainder of the
fair, giving the event the earned name
of Exploitation 86.
ye
POST EXPLOITATION -
CONCORD PACIFIC

After Explo 86 was said and done,
the whole lot was stripped again, with
the exception of the Roundhouse, a
heritage building that was renovated
and restored before Explo, and
summarily put up for sale to the
highest bidder on the international
market.

Several scandals came out of the
government at this time, issues of
patronage and backroom dealings
appeared on the front pages. A bid
was rejected when the financier was
found to be a close friend of then
premier Bill Vander Zalm, who had
pulled strings to allow his friends bid
to come through the back door.
Finally, after a year of scandal, in
May, 1988, the deal was finalized, and
the area became property of Mr. Li
Ka-Shing, a billionaire from Hong
Kong. Mr. Li’s development com-
pany, Concord Pacific, proposed a
mix of condo, retail and office space,
to be constructed in a series of high
and low rise structures.

There was a general outcry from a
lot of residences about the possibility
of this development becoming a huge
mess, so as part of the zoning require-
ments Concord had to put on a series
of public consultations to inform the
residents of every aspect of the plan,
to get input and integrate the site more
successfully into the greater Vancou-
ver community. The meetings, over
200 of which were held claims Con-
cord, ranging from promotional videos
to slide lectures and forums, were
advertised in the local papers and
through community organizations.
Concord also claims the input of
25,000 people within these “meetings”,
and how they arrived at that figure is
unsure. Regardless, it does appear
that the public was asked for input,
given opportunity and this fact is
widely praised in Concords promo-
tional material. Out of this process
came the final proposal for the
development, which-had been worked
on with the Vancouver city planning
department during the public inquiry
process, that was quickly approved by
City hall in November 1989, and
widely praised by the old boys
network in the fields of architecture
and planning. The Official Develop-
ment Plan for Pacific Place received
the 1990 Award for Planning Excel-

_ lence from the Planning Institute of

B.C..
LE
THE OFFICIAL PLAN -
FALSE CREEK NORTH

The official plan released in ’89 was
comprised of six major complexes, or
self contained “communities”,
including a minimum 20% lower
income housing, to be linked together
by a network of parks, community
centres, public spaces (plazas and a
3km boardwalk along False Creek)
and two schools and childcare
facilities. It was this plan that was
granted the zoning go ahead, and won
the award, the integration of a new
Metropolis within Vancouver. The
development was to bring in upwards
of 10,000 new units into the core,
allowing potentially 25,000 new
residents in the downtown core. This
allowed the developers to.begin
construction of the complexes, the

alse
creek
north

False Creek North stretches from
the Granville Street Bridge west to
Main Street, bordering Yaletown,
B.C. Place Stadium, Chinatown to
the north, and the waters of False
Creek to the south. This 204 acre

te, the former Expo 86 grounds,
the largest rection of undeveloped
land in Vancouver. The development
itself is the most expensive and
extensive “urban renewal” project
ever seen or attempted in the short
history of Vancouver, representing
‘an over 2.5 billion cost of completion
lover the next 10-15 years. Needless
to say, this project wil change the
make up of this city drastically

‘The development, owned by a
development company entitled
Concord Pacific and called Pacific
Place, will con
residential, commercial, and hotel
development, as well as parks and
two proposed schools and childcare
facilities.

of mixed high price

The residential is exch
sively high priced condos, although
the public consultation proves

was engaged for this project called
for 20% lower income housing, which
was a main point for the fast track
‘zoning the developers applied for,
and received from City Hall. The

schools and childcare were also main
points in the initial proposal, and they
too appear to be last on the develop-
crs lst of production. The process of
time has shown huge discrepancies
between what was said and promised
to the residents of this city and what is
being built on the actual site. Three
of the six planned, self contaitied
“communities” have Feceived the
clearance for rezoning (from in«
trial to high density residential), the
major hurdle the developers faced in
their path towards building, Already
there can be seen on the site, and
around the area, towering cranes
‘marking the sites of future high rise
offices and condo towers. This article
looks at the players, process and
history behind this development
(gentrification?) of Vancouver in the
90's and beyond. Who is Concord
Pacific? What is their mandate in this
development? How will this develop-
‘ment affect the long term residents of
the area, including the largest
concentration of homeless in the lower.
mainland? These questions raise still
more questions, answerable only by

ime as we wait for the changes and
search for the answer.
A BRIEF HISTORY

‘Two hundred years ago, this entire
‘area was a huge old growth forest. As
the colonial invaders moved in,
‘enslaving the original inhabitancy and
logging the entire area. By the late
1800's the area was comprised of
‘many small, spread out communities,
mainly separated by race and class
lines, with the west side of the area
being white upperelass (Point Grey)
and the east being mostly immigrant
working class (Chinatown, East
Vancouver). The land in between was
mostly industrial, with working class
and ethnic neighbourhoods. Th
now encompassed by Pacific Place
‘was once a distinet working class

neighbourhood called Yaletown, a
logging and manufacturing site, as well
as home to booze cans and “hobo
places where homeless
bachelors lived. As time wore on and
the communities began to grow
together to establish Vancouver asa
single entity, Yaletown was swallowed
up and pretty much left alone from the
development, maintaining its” indus-
nature and perceived “seediness”
from the downtown core and west side
of the city. Even today it isthe site for
prostitution, drug deals and the
homeless.

Old Yaletown was left to pretty much
rot for a quarter century, and not
until the late sixties did the city and
province put in services for those that
made the area a transient home (social
adolescent street services,
tal health, crises centres, shelters,
a few blocks of
‘one another, five minutes from Pacific
Place), In the early 80's the Provin-
cial government submitted a proposal
to hold the 1986 World's Fair in
Vancouver, the site being the bulk of
the old Yaletown industrial complex,
now rapidly decaying from years of
neglect. All of the buildings were
bulldozed, with tons of toxic soil
removed and dumped into the Georgia
Strait, to make way for this billion
dollar project.

‘The province received the Fair,
‘edusing massive interest and financial
hysteria to grip the merchants and the
government. Everyone salivated at the
thought of millions of tourist dollars
flowing into the city, and the rush was
‘on to capitalize on the new market. In
‘one of the most tragic events to take
place during this time, hundreds of
Tong time hotel dwe
the same room for 20-

fed out on a months
where to live, drastically raising the
street population that was barely
haelped by the

hotel

are all located wit

meagre resources

allotted to street services. The police
also cracked down and swept alot into
institutions for the remainder of the
fair, giving the event the earned name
‘of Exploitation 86.

POST EXPLOITATION -
‘CONCORD PACIFIC

the exception of the Roundhouse, a
heritage building that was renovated
and restored before Explo, and
‘summarily put up for sale to the
highest bidder on the international
market.

several scandals came out of the
‘government at this time, issues of
patronage and backroom dealings
appeared on the front pages. A bid
was rejected when the financier was
found to be a close friend of then
premier Bill Vander Zalm, who had
pulled strings to allow his friends bid
to come through the back door.
Finally, after a year of scandal, in
May, 1988, the deal was finalized, and
the area became property of Mr. Li
Ka-Shing, a billionaire from Hong
Kong. Mr. Li's development com:
pany, Concord Pacific, proposed a
mix of condo, retail and office space,
to be constructed in a series of high
and low rise structures.

‘There was a general outery from a
lot of residences about the possibility
of this development becoming a huge
‘mess, 80 as part of the zoning require-
ments Concord had to put on a series
‘of public consultations to inform the
residents of every aspect of the plan,
to get input and integrate the site more
successfully into the greater Vancou-
ver community. The meetings, over
200 of which were held claims Con-
cord, ranging from promotional videos
to slide lectures and forums, were
‘advertised in the local papers and
through community organizations.
Concord also claims the input of
25,000 pedple within these “meeting:
and how they arrived at that figure is
unsure. Regardless, it does appear
that the public was asked for input,
given opportunity and this fact is
widely praised in Concords promo-
tional material. Out ofthis process
‘came the final proposal for the
development, which had been worked
‘on with the Vancouver eity planning,
department during the public inquiry
process, that was quickly approved by
City hall in November 1989, and
widely praised by the old boys
network in the fields of architecture
and planning. The Official Develop-
ment Plan for Pacific Place received
the 1990 Award for Planning Excel

_ lence from the Planning Institute of

B.C
oe
‘THE OFFICIAL PLAN -

FALSE CREEK NORTH
‘The official plan released in "89 was
comprised of six major complexes, or
tained “communities”,
including a minimum 20% lower
income housing, to be linked together
by a network of parks, community
‘centres, public spaces (plazas and a
‘3km boardwalk along False Creek)
and two schools and childcare
facilities. It was this plan that was
granted the zoning go ahead, and won
the award, the integration of a new
Metropolis within Vancouver. The
development was to bring in
‘of 10,000 new units into the cor
allowing potentially 25,000 new

self

pwards

residents in the downtown core. ‘This
allowed the developers to begin
construction of the complexes, the