Should Vancouver turn office buildings into apartments?

Good morning,

Turns out all my wrist sprain needed was some rest, ice, and…some cross-country skiing? Yes, after injuring myself cross-country skiing, I returned to the crime scene 48 hours later, and I don’t regret it.

Today we’ve got a breakdown of the good and bad of turning office units into apartments, an event that turned violent and some things to keep you busy this week.

Let’s get to it.

— Geoff Sharpe, newsletter editor

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WEATHER

Monday: 9 🌡️ 2 | ⛅

Tuesday: 11 🌡️ 2 | ⛅

Wednesday: 11 🌡️ 5 | ⛅

VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS

⛴️ 9.2%: The highest fare rate increase the British Columbia Ferry Commission confirmed it could raise over the next four years. Due to $500 million in funding from the B.C. government, the final increase is expected to be much lower. [CTV]

📈 98.1: The RBC's aggregate affordability measure for Vancouver, which is the highest it’s ever recorded, meaning that, yes, Vancouver continues to be unaffordable. [Vancouver is Awesome]

🛢️ 1.15 million: The number of barrels of oil Saudi Arabia and other countries will reduce their output per day, until at least May. This will likely raise fuel prices worldwide. [The Associated Press]

HOUSING

Goodbye office buildings, hello apartments?

What’s going on: Vancouver and Calgary are approaching the housing crisis in different ways regarding what to do with existing vacant office buildings, according to the Globe and Mail.

Background: Across North America, cities are increasingly turning their office buildings into apartment units. It’s done partially because of high office space vacancy, from increased work-from-home workers because of the pandemic, as cities grapple with massive housing shortages.

Some cities have brought in subsidies to encourage developers to renovate these vacant office buildings, according to CBC

• The numbers: Around eight to 10 percent office vacancy rate is considered healthy. But the rate currently stands at 17 percent nationally, with Calgary having a vacancy rate as high as 30 percent.

Calgary: The city’s office vacancy rate is quite high, having less to do with COVID and changing work habits and more to do with the oil recession. The city approved $152 million as an incentive to encourage more renovations. Eight buildings have been approved so far. The city also allowed office spaces to be converted into hotels, schools and other usages.

Vancouver: In Vancouver, the office vacancy rate isn’t that high, so the city has resisted moves to switch buildings, according to the Globe and Mail. Vancouver’s office vacancy rate is only 7.1 percent, which is almost four times less than Calgary, according to Storeys. This comes even as the city has some of the worst housing affordability in the country.

• A soon-to-be-released study from The Canadian Urbanism Institute portends to show that most major cities have buildings that could be converted.

The problem: It’s not as easy as it sounds. The structural changes to buildings are quite extensive, according to Slate:

“Their deep floor plates mean it’s hard for natural light to reach most of the space once it’s divided up into rooms. Their utilities are centralized, which requires extensive work to bring plumbing and HVAC into new apartments.”

• International architecture firm Gensler estimates that on average, around 25 percent of office buildings are in a situation where conversion makes sense, according to CBC. Costs may be so high that the building should be torn down and replaced.

Zoom out: The federal government in 2021 promised $600 million to turn office space into rental housing, according to CBC. But there is no data on how much has been invested so far.

Examples: One of the best examples of these types of conversion is in the Distillery District in Toronto, according to Storeys.

NEW JOBS

Find your dream job in Vancouver:

• Field marketing specialist - event and activation at Red Bull

• Director of communications projects, communications and public affairs at Vancouver Coastal Health

• Operations manager, Vancouver at DoorDash

• Corporate development manager at TELUS

• Data scientist at TransLink

PUBLIC SAFETY

Police calling for witnesses over alleged assault at Transgender Day of Visibility rally

What happened: An event marking Transgender Day of Visibility held at Grandview Park on Friday turned violent and police are now investigating, according to CBC. There were two violent confrontations at the event, and people were grabbed and thrown to the ground.

• Numbers: Police have said two people were assaulted. About 75-100 people attended the event.

A man in a cameo jacket can be seen pushing what appears to be an older man to the ground. Another person can also be seen assaulting a man in a suit. Police were in attendance and broke up the confrontation. Videos of the alleged assault can be found here

More details: The man in the suit who appears to have been knocked down is described online as a “conservative activist.” Right-wing and far-right commentators have taken to social media to attack the Vancouver police’s actions, including former Trump staffer Sebastian Gorka.

• Police are conducting a full investigation into the assaults and are calling on anyone to come forward if they witnessed the event.

No arrests: Police defended their decision not to arrest anyone at the event, and expressed outrage at the abusive comments directed at police officers. Deputy Chief Howard Chow explained the rationale for not arresting anyone:

THE AGENDA

🔥 Vancouver Fire Rescue Services is raising concerns about a recent fire in an SRO unit, saying they had trouble accessing the building due to people living in tents in front of the building who would not move. [Global]

🏢 ​​Mount Pleasant is becoming a popular location for corporate offices, with boutiques, breweries and other amenities scattered throughout the area, catering to creative industries not interested in stuffy downtown corporate offices. [Business in Vancouver]

👩‍⚕️ A new three-year contract has been tentatively reached with the B.C. nurses. The agreement must still be ratified by members. [Global]

🏠 B.C. is considering new short-term rental regulations to allow local municipalities to better regulate platforms like Airbnb. [CBC]

🌳 Collingwood Park is about to get an upgrade. New playgrounds, a multi-sports court and a skateboard spot are all planned. Plus, it’ll have a new splash pad! [Vancouver is Awesome]

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK

UBC Food Truck Festival | April 5-6, 11 am-7 pm | University Commons, UBC | Over 20 food trucks to stuff your face | Free

Vancouver Whitecaps vs Los Angeles | Apr. 5, 7 pm | BC Place | Live soccer. What else is there to love? | Tickets $42 and up

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, Rock Reel 17 | Apr. 4-5 7:30 pm | Rio Theatre | Come watch the biggest climbing and adventure stories of the year | Tickets $25

Busybody | Till Apr. 15, 8 pm-10 pm | Deep Cove Stage | Community theatre production of a murder mystery | Tickets $22.

Capture Photography Festival Exhibition, Here and Now | Until Apr. 28 | Photography exhibit that asks artists to respond to this place, and reveals our diverse city | Learn more

SPORTS

Hockey

🏒 The Giants lost to the Kamloops Blazers 6-1 in a blowout game two of their playoff series. The Blazers are now up two games to zero in the best-of-seven series. Game three is on Tuesday and game four is on Thursday at the Langley Events Centre. [Castanet]

🏳️‍🌈 Canucks Russian player Andrei Kuzmenko skipped a warmup where the Cancucks practiced in pride jerseys. [CBC]

 🏒 The team also lost on Friday 5-4 in overtime against Calgary. The overtime goal on a Calgary powerplay was controversial, as linesmen are not technically allowed to call high-sticking penalties. [Sportsnet]

Soccer

⚽ Congrats to the Whitecaps on their first win of the season on Saturday against CF Montreal, with a score of 5-0. Two of the younger players, Simon Becher and Ali Ahmed, led the team to victory with three goals and two assists between them. The team is now 1-2-3 for the season. [CTV]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• DJ Red Robinson, a longtime Vancouver broadcaster who interviewed such artists as The Beatles, passed away at age 83 this week. [CBC]

• Apologies to Calgary, but we cannot wait to see Vancouver featured in The Last of Us. [CityNews]

• It was 30 years ago that the X-Files started filming in Vancouver. [CBC]

• Do you have a car? Volunteer drivers are needed to transport cancer patients. Contact the Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society today if you want to help. [CTV]

• Congrats to Vancouver artists Nettie Wild, Germaine Koh, and Shannon Walsh, who were among the winners of the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts. [Stir]

VANCOUVER FAVOURITES

There’s almost nothing better than ordering up a Negroni or Aperol Spritz, tucking into a big plate of pasta and finishing it off with some gelato. With that wonderful evening in your mind, we want to know — what’s your favourite Italian restaurant in Vancouver?

• Cioppino's

• Ask for Luigi

• Pepino’s

• Osteria Favio Volpe

• La Quercia

• Di Beppe

• Other

We’ll share the poll results on Wednesday, including any recommendations from readers.

PHOTO

Yikes! Did anyone else see these clouds this weekend? Thanks to Reddit user mustinjellquist for sharing this.

Reply with your own photo to have it featured in the newsletter.

GAME TIME

Congrats to everyone who guessed Friday’s Wordle. The answer was CRIME.

If you read today’s newsletter, this question should be easy — what Vancouver neighbourhood is becoming popular for corporate offices? Here’s a hint, they’ve got some great breweries.

Reply with your name and the correct answer to have it featured in the newsletter.

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