Vancouver city council has approved Holborn Group’s request to delay social housing construction in a Little Mountain area mixed-use development.

Council lifted occupancy permit holds on condos to be included in the project, which is slated to include market and social housing. Holborn has maintained that the holds prevented it from obtaining financing for the development, according to a city staff report to council. Staff and councillors with the governing ABC party, whose majority vote resulted in the approval, say the decision will accelerate construction of the social housing component.

The project has been in the works for 15 years. Plans call for 1,573 homes, including 282 social housing units, a childcare centre and neighbourhood house.

“It’s obviously, a whole project that’s got a lot of history and a lot of baggage behind it,” Councillor Mike Klassen, an ABC member, told Connect. “But the fact is that we’ve had five [previous] council terms where nobody’s been able to get this site built, and we need housing.”

Klassen said B.C. Housing, which will own most of the social-housing buildings, is satisfied that the removal of the occupancy permit holds will not put the social housing component at risk. The city will own one building.

Holborn has completed one 53-unit social housing structure and another is expected to be completed by year-end 2023 or in early 2024. Several market housing occupancy permits remain in place.

Image: Holborn Properties