Construction is expected to begin this month on a long-delayed massive social housing-detox facility in East Vancouver that politicians and harm reduction advocates have said is badly needed to address the city’s homelessness and overdose crises.
The project, which involves BC Housing, Vancouver Coastal Health and the City of Vancouver, was approved by a previous city council in February 2019 and believed at the time to be the biggest development of its kind in the province.
The Ministry of Housing said in an emailed statement Wednesday that demolition of the residential buildings on the block-long site at East First Avenue and Clark Drive began in December 2024.
As of Thursday, all but one house was still standing on the site, which is owned by the city.
“We expect to share more details about the project, including the overall funding breakdown and construction schedule, very soon,” the ministry said.
“While we always strive to move our projects ahead as efficiently as possible, projects can be impacted by any number of unanticipated factors including municipal approvals, site conditions, increased development costs, and so on.”
In this case, the ministry said, the project was delayed because of “changes in the municipal approvals schedule and unforeseen design changes required for various approval processes.”
City and provincial government documents show the project was originally priced at $81.8 million in May 2018 and is now anticipated to cost more than $109 million when its doors open sometime in 2026.
97 rental housing units
The project features 97 rental housing units, a 51-bed detox centre and a 20-bed transition space for clients. It will be built in the same neighbourhood that currently has a temporary modular housing complex, a shelter and 10 “tiny shelters.”
The detox centre would be a direct replacement for the existing Vancouver Detox Centre, which includes a sobering centre. It’s been operating nearby at 377 East Second Ave. for more than 30 years.
Vancouver Coastal Health has wanted to replace it for many years because the health authority says it’s undersized for the growing demand in the city for withdrawal and substance-use programs.
The detox, or withdrawal management centre, will also serve as an academic teaching, research and learning hub.
When Glacier Media reported in 2023 that the project would be further delayed, then-city councillor Adriane Carr and harm reduction and recovery advocate Guy Felicella said they were disappointed there wasn’t more urgency to getting the facility built.
“These [politicians] have to all pull together and stop passing the buck,” Felicella said at the time, describing the project as a potential “game-changer” in supporting people and giving them the ability to move forward with their lives.
“Whether it’s building permits or this or that, just stop talking about it and get it done.”
$930 a month for studio
At the time of the project’s approval in 2019, BC Housing said it would rent about 50 per cent of the housing units to households below the province’s Housing Income Limits (HIL) levels, with the remaining rented at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) private rental market rates for Vancouver.
HILs rates in 2019 meant a household earning $41,500 would pay $930 a month for a studio. A household with an income of $43,500 would pay $1,080 for a one-bedroom, while a household earning $58,000 would pay $1,300.
The CMHC private rental market rate in 2019 for a one-bedroom was $1,730 for the neighbourhood, and $2,500 for a two-bedroom.
The site, which stretches from Clark Drive up East First Avenue to McLean Drive, had long been home to three single-family homes, one duplex containing two homes and a three-storey apartment building with 13 units, totalling 18 units.
Residents were to be provided a tenant relocation plan and offered right of first refusal for the new housing, if they met eligibility requirements.
The Metro Vancouver homeless count in 2023 recorded 2,420 people in Vancouver who were unhoused. Another count is scheduled for this month.
Meanwhile, BC Coroners Service data shows 515 people died of a suspected overdose drug death in Vancouver in 2024.
With files from Naoibh O’Connor
