A decade after the City of Vancouver approved a plan to remove the twin viaducts serving the downtown core, a major developer has unveiled plans that could see the plan move forward.
Concord Pacific, which owns the last major slice of undeveloped land along False Creek has revealed a proposal to build 12 towers with 5,000 homes in what it is calling “Concord Landing.”
The Northeast False Creek site is currently home to two parking lots that sit between the waterfront and the viaducts.
The land has sat stagnant since it was used for Expo 86, with occasional use for events such as Cirque du Soleil.
In April 2024, Concord Pacific and the City of Vancouver inked a land agreement transferring three undeveloped sites in the area, with plans for the city to develop 670 affordable rentals, along with a firehall and child care facility.
Peter Webb, senior vice-president of development for Concord Pacific, said the proposal is similar to ideas floated in 2018 when Vancouver city council approved the Northeast False Creek Plan.
“The only thing that’s changed really is that as a result of the view cones changing the nature of how tall the buildings can be has changed in an effort to create supply,” he told Global News on Wednesday.
Vancouver city council voted last summer to amend its “view cone” policy, which limits building rights to preserve mountain views, in order to allow for more housing construction.
Under the changes, Concord Pacific is now proposing towers of up to 65 storeys, which would be the tallest in the city.
The 2018 plan envisions the removal of the viaducts, with Georgia Street reconfigured to connect directly to a new major arterial along Pacific Boulevard.
That thoroughfare would feed car traffic in and out of downtown from the east, and would cut between Andy Livingston Park and a proposed new 11-acre park, according to the 2018 plan. Concord Pacific said Wednesday it was looking at a 14-acre park.
A park has been promised in that lot since 1990, part of an agreement between the province, City of Vancouver and developer Concord Pacific.
Lon LaClaire, City of Vancouver general manager of engineering, said the viaducts were built decades ago to service a highway that was never built and are currently an earthquake risk.
“They are two-kilometre structures that are very expensive to maintain, and represent a risk hazard without seismic upgrades, and they go over pretty much nothing. No waterways, no railways,” he said.
The city’s own studies, he added, have determined pulling them out will actually improve traffic flow in the area by removing major bottlenecks and allowing drivers better access to local neighbourhoods.
That’s hard for people to believe, but its because the existing viaducts don’t serve this neighbourhood at all. They fly right over it,” he said.
“The connectivity that provides both for the city at large and for the neighbourhood, in particular, (is) significant, and it actually reduces a lot of traffic that is otherwise trying to make a short trip but has to make a long trip to do it.”
Webb said Concord Pacific envisions “European-style” shopping areas, inspired by the Italian fishing village of Portofino. The development would also include a marina, shops and restaurants at ground level.
He said Concord Pacific aims to have a fully fleshed-out rezoning application complete within a year.
At that point, the proposal would open to public feedback and the city council process.
If everything proceeds according to the developer’s plan, it will still be years before any major construction gets underway.