A crowd of Mount Pleasant tenants and their supporters gathered in protest outside of a charity golf tournament in West Point Grey on Monday.
The protest was in response to corporate owners, Lotus Capital Corp. and Nicola Wealth Real Estate, plans to redevelop the 1960s apartment building at 75 East 8th Avenue.
Michael Cook is one of the 75 East 8th Avenue residents who attended Monday’s protest outside of the Nicola Wealth golf tournament charity event. “[Nicola Wealth] told us that we should be ashamed of ourselves because they’re raising money for a charity,” he said. “We told them they should be ashamed because they’re evicting a bunch of families and elders.”
The apartment, referred to by tenants as “Myron Manor,” is slated for demolition to make way for a 21-storey “mixed-use” hotel aimed at accommodating tech talent relocating to the city.
Cook is just one of many of Myron Manor’s 40 residents who have called the apartment home for over a decade. “My two sons have been there their whole lives,” he said. “My wife and I are both working class… if we lose this home, we’re probably leaving the region.”
Michael Cook and his son at the protest at Nicola Wealth’s golf tournament. / Michael Y.C. Tseng
The protests came in part as a response to the release of the City’s Planning Developer referral report, which recommended that the city hold a public hearing and, ultimately, approve the rezoning for the proposed tech hotel.
The report also noted that between December 2025 and April 2026, the City received 160 comments from the public on the project. Out of those 160 responses, only 11 were in support of the project, with 145 opposed and four “mixed.”
“The planning department has shown that they represent the developers and they don’t represent the community,” Cook said, adding that “The more we’ve shown opposition, the more [the City] has fast-tracked things.”
When asked about the weight of public input in rezoning applications, the City responded that “public input is an important part of the process,” and is “one of several factors considered alongside Council-approved policies, technical analysis and broader city objectives, such as supporting jobs and economic activity.”
The City noted that “the public can also write to Council to ensure their feedback is on the public record, or speak to Council during the public hearing.”
A motion to protect tenants?
As it stands, tenants at 75 East 8th Avenue would not be granted all of the same protections afforded to others displaced by developments under the Broadway Plan. Notably absent is the right of first refusal, which generally gives tenants the opportunity to return to the new building at their existing rent.
Because the building is set to be redeveloped for temporary accommodation, existing tenants will not be offered a space at the new building and will instead be forced to relocate.
Following the release of the referral report, city councillor Sean Orr submitted a motion on June 3 to reinforce protections for tenants at 75 East 8th Avenue, including the “right of first refusal” provisions.
However, tenants said they were confused by the practicality of the motion. “[The right of first refusal] wouldn’t be possible because they’re trying to replace our building with a hotel,” said Cook.
This point was likewise raised in Council. In the end, Cook said, “the motion was watered down, and it passed with councillor Orr voting in opposition to his own motion.”
Cook expressed concern that this referral motion will do little to protect them should the building be approved for redevelopment, noting, “We don’t want a right of first refusal; we want the city to reject the rezoning application.”
Protestors at Nicola Wealth Invitational to Benefit Arts Umbrella at Point Grey Golf & Country Club/ Michael Y.C. Tseng
Cook and other Myron Manor tenants are also advocating for the removal of a specific clause in the City’s Hotel Development Policy.
Currently, the policy states that hotels cannot be built on sites where a purpose-built rental apartment building would be displaced. However, there are exceptions for “approved community plans,” including (but not limited to) the Broadway Plan and any designated “Transit-Oriented Areas.”
“We’ve asked Councillor Orr to introduce a new motion…that removes the subsection within the Hotel Development Policy that allows developers to replace rental apartments with hotels,” said Cook.
“Instead of having tenants, you have guests…They have no rights, the rates are incredibly volatile, just 300 square feet with a kitchenette, and it's dehumanizing, all because it's profitable for them,” said Cook.
The City told Vancity Lookout in an emailed statement that Metro Vancouver has seen a decline in hotel supply and that, according to Destination Vancouver, the region “requires approximately 20,000 new hotel rooms to close the gap.”
However, the Vancouver Tenants Union (VTU) has expressed skepticism surrounding the “hotel supply crisis.” VTU member Sydney Ball told Vancity Lookout that, as of earlier this year, 29 hotel projects had been proposed across Vancouver, with multiple projects in Mount Pleasant.
“While I don’t expect all of them to be built, I definitely expect them to be flipped,” Ball said.
She added that rezoning for hotels can be a way for developers to increase property values, regardless of whether the hotels are actually built.
Vancity Lookout reached out to Nicola Wealth for comment regarding the protests and tenant concerns of displacement. Josh Anderson, vice president of development for Nicola Wealth responded in a written statement that, “people have a right to raise concerns about redevelopment, including difficult concerns about displacement.”
The company added that it takes these issues “seriously” and that their focus remains on “respectful engagement with affected tenants, providing clear and accurate information about the project, and working through the City’s established process in a responsible way.”
While the exact date has not yet been set, the City has decided to schedule the public hearing for the 75 East 8th rezoning application for mid-July, before Council breaks for the summer.
“We never have a lot of hopes for public hearings,” said Ball. “That said, we do think that this is a particularly unpopular project… I don’t think anyone really wants the tech bro-tel.”
Ball encouraged those interested in supporting Myron Manor to visit defendmountpleasant.ca
Councillor Sean Orr was not available for comment before publication.
