The City of Vancouver has acquired an old, vacant warehouse in the Chinatown district for redevelopment as social housing.

The 1950s-era building at 41 West Pender Street also housed a Wosk’s furniture store.

According to a city webpage, plans call for two new floors to be added, bringing the height to six storeys. The city began accepting public comments August 17.

Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services said the 34,000-square-foot property sold for $9.5 million.

In April, the city’s bid committee approved a proposal to hire Vancouver-based Carscadden Stokes McDonald Architects to design a conversion to affordable housing under Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s rapid-housing initiative.

The architectural firm has since filed a formal redevelopment application with the city.

Former owner Living Balance’s 2019 mixed-use proposal became unworkable due to a change in market conditions, Jordan Eng, president of the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association told Daily Hive Urbanized.