Everything you need to know about the Jericho Lands development

Good morning,

A big shout out to everyone who participated in Vancouver Beautification Day on Saturday, helping clean up graffiti — the non-art kind — across the city. While the city really should be the ones doing it, there’s nothing better than the community coming together to tackle problems.

In today’s newsletter, we’ve got:

• All the details on the massive Jericho Lands development project 🏗

• And a new gang causing problems in the Downtown Eastside 🚓

Plus some events! Let’s get to it.

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

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WEATHER

Monday: 13 🌡️ 10 | 🌧

Tuesday: 18 🌡️ 12 | 🌧

Wednesday: 20 🌡️ 12 | 🌤

DEVELOPMENT

Jericho Lands development is here

It’s here! The long-gestating Indigenous-led Jericho Lands development proposal has been released, a project that would create a new neighbourhood and house more than 26,000 new residents, according to CBC.

The details: Located in the West Point Grey neighbourhood, the project is massive in scope, and would be the most dense neighbourhood in Vancouver if approved. The tallest tower would be 49 storeys, with buildings designed to maximize greenspace and parks in the area. The plan includes 20 percent of housing for social housing, and another 10 percent for moderate-income rental, according to the Globe and Mail.

Of interest: The houses will not be for sale, but rather leased, potentially driving down the price of housing, much like Granville. It also includes an elementary school, daycare spaces, offices and a grocery store amongst other buildings.

• Leased land means anyone purchasing a home will technically not own the unit. Ultimately ownership remains with the First Nations. For more info on how leases can work, read this story by Urbanized on leasehold land in False Creek South.

Zoom out: The project is different than the Squamish Nation's Sen̓áḵw, where this one requires rezoning approval by council. While the city has expressed support for building more homes, the scope of this project may test council’s commitment to that vision.

Matt Shillito, director of special projects at the City of Vancouver to CBC, “There's a great opportunity presented here by this project to deliver housing in a very sustainable location."

• The Jericho project is twice the size of the Sen̓áḵw project, with nearly triple the floor area, according to Urbanized.

Opposition, of course: The project faces opposition from local homeowners, who oppose the size of the project. The Jericho Coalition advocated for more limited development and lower levels of densification, with eight-storey height caps. Locals also expressed concern over the affordability of the condos, though as mentioned before, these units are leased and not purchased outright, which may drive down costs.

Thought bubble: If you thought the concerns of local residents echos the same concerns of other homeowners near the Sen̓áḵw development, you’d be right. The fact of the matter is the city needs a radical plan to increase housing. And unlike other projects, these units will be affordable, given they are leases and 30 percent are rentals.

What’s next: It’s a long road toward approval and construction. An open house for the project was held on Saturday, according to CBC. A master plan must be approved by city council, which is expected to be reviewed by the fall. The project could take up to 20 to 30 years to complete, and construction likely wouldn’t start for another five years.

• You can share your opinion on the project at the city’s public consultation survey here.

VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS

💊 99%: The decline in sales of the popular diabetes and weight loss drug Ozempic to American customers after the B.C. Ministry of Health limited the sales of the drug to B.C. residents. [CityNews]

💸 22%: The number of working adults across the country living below Canada’s poverty line. [CTV]

CRIME

New gang operating in Downtown Eastside

What happened: Downtown Eastside residents are raising concerns a gang from Montreal is making the community less safe, according to the Vancouver Sun. Dubbed “Zone 43,” the gang may be responsible for an increase in violent crime throughout the neighbourhood.

The causes: Overdose Prevention Society executive director Sarah Blyth told the Vancouver Sun that the street sweeps are partially responsible, with the chaos creating an opening for other groups to take over the street-level drug trade.

• Postmedia reported the shooting on June 1 is associated with the gang.

Zoom out: Gang involvement is not new in the area, according to the Vancouver Sun. Back in 2021, conflicts and violence erupted between Lower Mainland gangs, including Redd Alert, Brothers Keepers, Wolfpack and Red Scorpions. The groups all vied for control of the lucrative drug trade in the area. A gang from Ontario was also attempting to break into the drug trade in the area.

DREAM JOB

Discover a new job in Vancouver:

• Global executive, community and operations manager at Lululemon

• Communications coordinator at City of Vancouver

• Senior officer, communications and marketing at Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation

• Director of design at Mark Anthony Group

• Manager of people experience at BC Ferries

THE AGENDA

🐻 Be bear aware! A black bear was spotted, tranquillized, and removed from East Vancouver this weekend. It’s uncommon for bears to venture this far into the city. [Global]

🍽 A grocery store owner said he empathizes with a man who broke into and stole from his grocery store, lamenting that people need to do such things to be able to eat. [CityNews]

🚆 After a long wait, the West Coast Express, which services commuter communities outside of Vancouver, is back to its full schedule starting today. The second scheduled train departure is back after ridership increased 55 percent compared to May of last year. [Urbanized]

⛴️ B.C. Ferries CEO says it will take a while for the ferries to deal with ongoing cancellations. The ferries currently operate under limited staffing, meaning ferries can be cancelled at the last minute if a worker doesn’t show up. Staffing issues are the key problem, but that is due to uncompetitive wages. The union and B.C. Ferries will be undertaking mid-contract wage negotiations to help fix this. [Vancouver Sun]

EVENTS THIS WEEK

Alien | Rio Theatre | Monday, 9 pm | The horror classic which catapulted Sigourney Weaver to the world stage | Tickets $11

North Vancouver Tasting Tour | June 21, 6 pm | Tour stops include 16 West Restaurant, Mumbai Masala, Main Street Honey Shoppe and more | Tickets $54

Bill Nye the Science Guy | Queen Elizabeth Theatre | Tomorrow, 8 pm | Join the famous scientist and TV personality to discuss climate change, natural disasters and making the world better | Tickets $77

Open Mic | Container Brewing | Tomorrow, 7 pm | Grab a beer and listen to music at Container’s open mic night | Free to attend

Julius Caesar | 1695 Whyte Ave. | All week | Shakespeare’s classic about the murder of Julius Caesar, performed live on stage as part of Bard on the Beach | Tickets $30

HISTORY

That’s an old newspaper!

SPORTS

🏒 The Canucks bought out the remainder of defenceman Ekman-Larsson four-year contract for $19.33 million, making him an unrestricted free agent July 1. [CTV]

⚾️ The Vancouver Canadians won 3-2 on Friday, 2-0 on Saturday and 5-1 on Sunday against the Hillsboro Hops.

🏈 The B.C. Lionstrounced the Edmonton Elks 22-0 on Saturday, with kicker Sean Whyte connecting for five field goals. The team is now 2-0 to start the season. LL Cool J also performed for the first home game of the season.

IMAGINING A BETTER CITY

A unique way to keep rents low

Sometimes we get caught up in our own little world when it comes to building better cities. Every so often we’ll feature stories about interesting news in city building outside of Vancouver, to get imagining different solutions that are possible.

A different way for affordability: Tenants in Hamilton have joined together to purchase the building they live in, forming a co-op in order to avoid rent hikes, according to CHCH. Residents were concerned it would be sold to a developer who would jack up rents. The project is supported by the municipal government who are working with the tenants to contribute a grant and provide rental subsidies.

What it means: Enabling renters to come together to purchase a home is a great step towards reducing the financialization of housing. City governments have a huge role to play in both enabling and funding this. Vancouver already has a deep history of co-op buildings, especially in the West End.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Is this your dog? She was found near the Museum of Anthropology at 10:30 pm on Friday. [Reddit]

• In a hilarious move, someone built a confession booth at Dude Chilling Park using old development application signs. No word on if it’s staffed by a priest! [Reddit]

• B.C. Place turned 40 years old on Saturday. Here are some of the biggest acts that performed there. [Vancouver Sun]

• The B.C. Government has released a video breaking down the Highway 99 Tunnel Program.

• Maybe people would enjoy B.C. Ferries more if it had more musical performances like this. [Reddit]

TWEET OF THE DAY

Well, this is depressing…

GOOD NEWS MONDAY

…But maybe this story will brighten your day:

A single father in Vancouver is sharing his experience overcoming alcoholism. He’s been sober for five years thanks to help from his community in the Downtown Eastside and is now studying to become a social worker. [CTV]

GAME TIME

Congrats to everyone who guessed the Wordle correctly, the answer was STARTS.

Today’s quiz — how many stories is the tallest building in the proposed Jericho Lands development? The first five people to reply with the answer will be mentioned in the newsletter.