East Fraser Lands
Wesgroup Properties is in the process of delivering a vibrant and sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood, complete with a variety of homes, a commercial centre, parks and green space along the river, plus amenities for residents.
East Fraser Lands Today
What are the East Fraser Lands Today?
The East Fraser Lands (EFL) is a 128-acre site located in the Southeast corner of Vancouver along the Fraser River, stretching between Kerr Street and Boundary Road, south of Marine Way, as well as a triangular site north of Marine Way at Boundary Road. While the site was previously zoned as industrial and home to the Canadian White Pine Sawmill until 2001, Wesgroup Properties now owns the majority of the land. The planning process at EFL has been ongoing since 2002; each step in the process has been a collaborative effort between the community, City staff, and Wesgroup.
There are currently approximately 4,000 residents and a vibrant town centre with major retailers such as Save-On-Foods, Everything Wine, Shoppers Drug Mart and local dining options such as the Local Public Eatery, Bufala, Sushi Mura, Lucky Taco and others.
Area 1
Area 1, the central neighbourhood, is currently under development and consists of the Town Square Precinct, Waterfront Precinct, and Park Precinct. Significant retail, restaurants, shops, and services have opened in Area 1, marking a major milestone in the creation of this new community. Development efforts in Area 1 are now extending south of the rail corridor to River District Crossing (High Street), which will bring more shops and services, including a new community centre, to support the growing community.
Community Centre
The development of the Community Centre, Childcare and plaza project is taking shape. Wesgroup Properties has applied to the City of Vancouver under a Pre-Development Permit (PDP) application to develop on this site a new three-storey community centre building and two one-storey commercial buildings.
The proposal includes the following:
- Community centre with a 74-space childcare facility and one level of underground parking
- New plaza and riverfront park
- Shoreline walkway with bike path.
The uses in the Community centre are a Gymnasium, a fitness, an express library, a teaching kitchen, different multipurpose rooms, a Cultural practise room a lounge and room for arts, crafts and music.
Timeline:
- September 29, 2023: Wesgroup submitted the pre-development permit, revealing an initial glimpse of the design.
- November 29, 2023: Wesgroup organized an Open House to gather feedback from the local community.
- November 16 – December 8, 2023: The City of Vancouver received public feedback via their Shape Your City website.
- December 2023: the project underwent presentation to the Urban Design Panel of the City of Vancouver, receiving constructive and valuable feedback.
- March 4, 2024: Development Permit Board Approval.
To learn more, please visit https://www.shapeyourcity.ca/3398-north-arm-ave
River District Energy Centre
River District Energy (RDE) supplies buildings with thermal energy that delivers space heat and hot water to your home. Our system produces hot water and distributes it through a network of underground piping across the River District Community. RDE is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed by Q1 2025.
To learn more, please visit https://www.rdenergy.ca/
Area 2
The development in Area 2, the western neighbourhood, is largely complete, with a variety of housing options, new streets, and infrastructure substantially completed. The majority of Area 2 was developed by Polygon Homes.
Area 3
Area 3 is currently undeveloped and would form the final phase of development at River District. It comprises of key green amenities like Avalon Park and the east end of Foreshore Area. It is primarily residential in nature with some mixed use parcels of neighbourhood serving retail and amenities.
History of East
Fraser Lands
Past Steps of the Planning Process
Over the past two decades, thousands of Vancouver residents have engaged in the planning for the future of the EFL community. Wesgroup is committed to continuing the successful development of the East Fraser Lands, including the delivery of much-needed community amenities to serve existing and future residents.
There are currently approximately 4,000 residents and a vibrant town centre with major retailers such as Save-On-Foods, Everything Wine, Shoppers Drug Mart and local dining options such as the Local Public Eatery, Bufala, Sushi Mura, Lucky Taco and others.
Policy Context
Planning and development of the East Fraser Lands Official Development Plan (“EFL ODP”) has been underway since 2002. The original EFL ODP was adopted in 2006, and has guided development in the community since then, including land use, density, building height, public benefits, transportation, built form and character, sustainability and development phasing.
In June 2017, Council endorsed a planning program to review the development of the EFL, which resulted in the approval of an updated Official Development Plan for the area in 2021, which better responds to the local needs of today.
History of East
Fraser Lands
Past Steps of the Planning Process
Over the past two decades, thousands of Vancouver residents have engaged in the planning for the future of the EFL community. Wesgroup is committed to continuing the successful development of the East Fraser Lands, including the delivery of much-needed community amenities to serve existing and future residents.
After this extensive community consultation, and years of work between City Staff and Wesgroup, a set of proposed amendments was brought to City Council in 2021:
- Revisions to align the ODP with current City policies and directions Since 2006 the City has created new policies for climate change and green building design, so the ODP has been updated to reflect these.
- An additional floor area of 422,442 sq ft in Area 1 and 1,123,303 sq ft in Area 3. At the beginning of the review process, Council identified the increase of housing options as a priority. This new allowable floor area will equate to approximately 350 units of social housing, 500 market rental units and 1000 market housing units.
- Increased amenity package, including 20 childcare spaces and 2 new acres of parks. Because of the additional residential area, more amenities are needed for the new neighbourhood in the future. Park space was identified as the preferred priority by the public during the community consultation process.
- New financial framework to pass the responsibility of amenity deliver from the City to Wesgroup, including the Community Centre. The City has a responsibility to deliver certain community amenities, including the Community Centre. As of 2021 the City has a budget shortfall in delivering these amenities and cannot deliver them with their current framework. The amendment sets the financial framework for transferring responsibility to Wesgroup, who will build and deliver the Community Centre.
Community Amenities
Since the adoption of the ODP in 2006, the East Fraser Lands (EFL) have been envisioned as a neighbourhood rich with amenities. There has always been land set aside for community use, and Wesgroup has paid development fees associated with each rezoning to help fund these amenities
Community Centre
The 2006 ODP envisioned a community centre of at least 30,000 sq ft to provide indoor cultural, recreational, and educational opportunities. The 2010 Public Amenity Financial Plan & Strategy set out a plan by which the City was to fund the construction of this community centre, but as the years passed, the City was unable to deliver the asset. In 2021 the City approved a number of amendments to the ODP, including a financial framework for passing the responsibility of building the community centre over to Wesgroup, who intend to finish construction by 2027.
Park Space
The 2006 ODP included guidance for over 25 acres of park space, including a riverfront park with a separated greenway and bikeway. There will be two major neighbourhood parks, Kinross Park and Avalon Park, each with a watercourse for rainwater remediation, green space, and connectivity to the school sites and playing fields. A north section of Kinross park finished construction in 2021, and future phases will continue at the direction of the Vancouver Park Board. The ODP amendments approved in 2021 include an additional 2 acres of future park space.
Land for Schools
The 2006 ODP called for an elementary school site of at least 0.44 hectares to be located in Area 2, and a secondary school site of at least 0.57 hectares to be located in Area 1. Timelines and construction of the schools is under the jurisdiction of the provincial government of British Columbia.
Child Care
The 2006 ODP for the EFL called for a total of 256 child care spaces spread across at least four facilities, plus 140 spaces of out-of-school child care. The ODP amendments approved in 2021 added an extra 20 spaces for a new total of 276 spaces.
Affordable Housing
The original 2006 ODP required 20% of all new homes to be affordable. Of these homes, 50% must be sized for families. Wesgroup has met these targets in all rezoned areas, and has also proposed to build a portion of the market homes as secured market rental homes, adding to Vancouver’s supply of purpose-built rental homes. The City also has plans to purchase some properties back from Wesgroup to construct its own future affordable housing.
Future of East Fraser Lands
Area 3 – the final phase of the River District area development – will feature a range of community serving amenities, including a neighbourhood ‘hotspot’ with local serving retail and community services, green spaces (Avalon Park and the east end of Foreshore Park) and the creation of a ‘community court’ – a collection of publicly accessible open spaces and laneways designed to accommodate community events and special social gatherings. After this extensive community consultation, and years of work between City Staff and Wesgroup, a set of proposed amendments was brought to City Council in 2021.
Vision for East Fraser Lands
Since the late 1990’s, our vision has been to is to transform an underutilized site into a vibrant, eco-friendly, accessible, and thoughtfully planned master-planned community. It will include various uses such as residential strata housing, rental housing, affordable housing, commercial spaces of varying sizes, flex spaces, and daycare facilities. This vision is well underway with one of the three largest neighbourhoods near complete (Area 2). Area 1 is partially constructed, with ongoing development in the remaining portion. Area 3 is in an earlier stage of development, with the rezoning package currently under review by the City of Vancouver.
Future Steps of the Planning Process
Following the approval of Official Development Plan (ODP) in April 2021, which governs all of the EFL lands, Wesgroup intends to continue the rezoning process for the remaining undeveloped lands in Area 3. As part of the next phase of development, Wesgroup has submitted a rezoning application to the City of Vancouver for the undeveloped parcels in Area 3. The rezoning application is the culmination of multiple years of planning and urban design work to meet the objectives of the EFL Official Development Plan (ODP).
Approximately 4,000 residents have moved into EFL, out of an expected population of around 18,000 based on the original ODP (Official Development Plan). EFL is on track to achieve 50% build-out by 2025, and full build-out, including Area 3, is anticipated to take another 25 to 30 years.
Proposed Future Development in Area 3
Area 3, the easternmost precinct within East Fraser Lands, focusses on providing diverse housing options with shared community spaces, fostering social wellbeing, sustainability, access to amenities and locally serving retail, all within a network of connected public realm and active streets designed for walking, rolling, biking and driving.
Wesgroup anticipates that the Area 3 Rezoning Application will be among the City of Vancouver’s largest scale projects, delivering the most net-new homes to the City, with zero displacement of existing residents. The Area 3 rezoning application is anticipated to deliver:
- over 3,500 new homes, including:
- approximately 2,150 market condos
- approximately 400 market rental homes
- approximately 950 affordable housing units
- 36,000 sf of neighbourhood serving retail
- 68,000 sf of local amenities/flex space
- A new childcare facility with a minimum of 64 spaces
Vision for Area 3
At its heart, the vision for Area 3 is to complete a great waterfront neighbourhood. With much of the remaining areas of EFL completed, under construction, or in detailed design, Area 3 represents the final portion of a comprehensive master plan in the making for more than two decades.
More specifically, the vision for Area 3 is a highly livable, ecological, and socially inclusive community. Its urban design is rooted in planning principles that seek to establish a complete community with:
- local serving retail
- diverse housing options
- foster social well being
- a welcoming public realm
- local amenities,
- a sustainable, zero-waste future
Area 3 Rezoning Overview
This application takes the concepts and vision currently supported in the EFL ODP (2021) through a rezoning process. Per the ODP, the application aims to increase the amount of floor area in Area 3 from 194,471sm to 296,780sm.
This subject rezoning of Area 3, proposes to add (consistent with the 2021 ODP):
- The Creation of a ‘Paseo’: The paseo is a people-first street designed as a visual and physical connection between the high street and Area 3, traversing Avalon Park and terminating at a community magnet.
- Curating a ‘Neighbourhood Hotspot’: Not a high street and not a community services hub, the neighbourhood ‘hotspot’ is the convergence of residential lobbies, local serving retail, daycare, and pedestrian priority routes. A place where many visit on a daily basis, it is a hub of activity.
- A Shared ‘Community Court’: Through distinctive laneway design, landscape of shared semi-public spaces, and coordinated programming of adjacent development parcels, a shared community courtyard is proposed to host day to day activities as well as special, community events.
- Community Park Space: Avalon Park will serve as a shared natural amenity that will give all residents within the neighbourhood a backyard to enjoy.
Next Steps & Opportunities for Public Input
About Us
We are a Vancouver-based, family-owned real estate development company with a proven history of innovation and award winning design. We’re recognized for our good social conscience, entrepreneurial spirit and long-sightedness. As the long-term property owners and developer at the East Fraser Lands, we have the deep experience with master planned communities needed to deliver a great neighbourhood. Ultimately, we’re working very hard to create valuable opportunities for our employees, customers and neighbours.
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