Massive mixed-use building development at VCC-Clark SkyTrain station with rental housing, office, childcare, grocery store, and retail uses

Currently, VCC-Clark Station is the “dead end” westernmost terminus station of SkyTrain Millennium Line, and the easternmost end of the Great Northern Way corridor along the southernmost perimeter of the False Creek Flats.

That could change with a new major mixed-use building redevelopment of the Rogers/Shaw warehouse and vehicle compound at 1155 East 6th Avenue, located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Great Northern Way/East 6th Avenue and Glen Drive.

With just two acres of industrial land to work with, few high-density, transit-oriented development projects in Vancouver have thoughtfully packed such a wide variety of significant uses and public benefits spaces into such a tight space.

This site is wedged between VCC-Clark Station and ICBC’s future headquarters office to the east and Electronic Arts’ newest office location (former MEC office building) to the west, and is situated just north of Vancouver Community College’s north parking lot.

While this is currently the westernmost end of the Millennium Line, it will be the starting point of the Broadway Extension to Arbutus, opening in Fall 2027. Once the extension is complete, VCC-Clark Station’s regional accessibility will increase significantly.

Existing condition:

Future condition:

This latest proposal comes from the ongoing partnership between PCI Developments and Low Tide Properties, once again collaborating with the local architectural firm Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership.

According to the newly submitted rezoning application, there will be a 19-storey office tower on the west side of the property and two 35-storey secured purpose-built rental housing towers on the east side. These heights include a shared four-storey base podium with a range of mixed uses that are strategically intended to bring much-needed new life to the area.

There will be 600 secured purpose-built rental homes in the two east towers, including 480 market rental units and 120 below-market rental units, based on the City’s Broadway Plan’s stipulation that at least 20% of the rental homes be set aside at below-market rental rates. The overall unit size mix is 125 studios, 254 one-bedroom units, 157 two-bedroom units, and 64 three-bedroom units.

The west tower will contain 221,000 sq ft of office space, which is intended for tech firms, large businesses, and creative organizations.

Residents will have access to 23,000 sq ft of common indoor amenity spaces within the third level of the base podium and the tower rooftops, with each of these spaces also opening up to outdoor amenity spaces. Office tenants will have access to over 15,000 sq ft of common indoor amenity spaces, including the third level of the base podium and the office tower’s rooftop. It is noted that part of the office and residential indoor amenity spaces will have an “indoor-outdoor connection for various amenity programs and to share certain outdoor amenities between the two user groups.”

As for the other uses of the base podium, there will be a 10,500 sq ft City-owned childcare facility for 64 kids on the fourth level, including an outdoor play space completely separate from the building’s outdoor amenity spaces.

The second level of the base podium will primarily contain a nearly 40,000 sq ft grocery store, along with a restaurant with a partially-covered outdoor patio overlooking China Creek Park. This level will be accessible by highly prominent sets of escalators, staircases, and elevators at the south side of the building, fronting Great Northern Way and East 6th Avenue.

Both entries at ground level will be defined by expansive canopy coverings featuring a First Nations-inspired design. According to the proponents, the canopies are a result of extensive First Nations consultation throughout the design process, which also incorporates considerations for the “Cultural Ribbon” of public art found along the Great Northern Way corridor.

Over portions of the first three levels of the building, there will be 41,000 sq ft of creative industrial space, which aligns with the City’s overlapping False Creek Flats Plan’s vision of a “Creative District” for the area.

A large portion of the industrial floor area will be at ground level, fronting the existing laneway to the north of the property, beneath SkyTrain’s elevated guideway. Industrial and “makers space” uses will front this northern laneway, including a not-for-profit community hub curated and operated by Food Stash Foundation.

As for other frontages on the ground level, all four sides of the building will see active uses to encourage pedestrian activity at the new and improved public spaces.

In addition to industrial makers space uses activating the north laneway, retail and restaurant units will line the building’s frontages of East 6th Avenue to the south and Glen Drive to the west. The varied frontage design is also applied to the retail units along East 6th Avenue. Additionally, the facades of the high-rise towers differ according to their use, with the office tower notably featuring a streamlined, curved form with a continuous glass facade.

“Large format retail uses are elevated to support more pedestrian-friendly, smaller-scale retail units at the ground floor,” reads the application, adding that a large grocery store situated on the second level instead of the ground level “addresses neighbourhood food security needs while adhering to best practices in public realm design. This configuration retains the utility of a large grocery store while preserving the diversity of goods and services at street level.”

“1155 East 6th Avenue will primarily be programmed with small scale ‘scrappy’ retail and restaurants, creating a destination for pedestrians that reflects the neighbourhood character. The design of the retail podium is derived through an extensive study of successful local and global retail streets with a focus on organic varied experience. Various setbacks maintain a human scale along the street with opportunities for different engagement (i.e. patios, spill out retail space).”

The makers space will be located in units with “classic industrial-inspired” facades facing the pedestrian-oriented laneway. Each makers space unit will have a garage-style overhead door to extend the workspace into the roadway. The roadway, accessible to both pedestrians and vehicles, will feature a painted mural on the pavement, lighting, and seating, with the SkyTrain’s elevated guideway providing weather protection.

Vehicle traffic within the northern laneway is further reduced by creating the vehicle parking and freight truck entry through the middle of the building, accessible from Glen Drive.

Three underground levels will contain 550 vehicle parking stalls, including 171 stalls for residents, 246 stalls for office and industrial uses, 80 stalls for the grocery store, 43 stalls for other retail/restaurant uses, and 10 stalls for the childcare facility. Under the provincial government’s Transit-Oriented Area legislation, there are no minimum vehicle parking requirements for the residential uses of new buildings located in such close proximity to VCC-Clark Station.

The total building floor area will reach 746,400 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 8.67 times larger than the size of the lot. This is under the Broadway Plan’s prescribed maximum density of 10.0 FAR for this particular site, but achieving this maximum density is hindered by the stipulated maximum height of 35 storeys.

This project at VCC-Clark Station forms a part of PCI Developments and Low Tide Properties’ “South Flats” portfolio of properties along the Great Northern Way corridor through new-build construction and acquisitions. They are also proposing a major three-tower mixed-use project next to SkyTrain’s future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station, featuring rental housing, office space, retail and restaurant options, and various community spaces — all integrated with the transit hub.

ICBC’s future headquarters office within a new mass-timber office building previously slated for Nature’s Path’s new headquarters is slated to reach completion in late 2025, with the provincial Crown corporation moving in starting in early 2027.

Over the longer term, Vancouver Community College has plans to redevelop its Broadway campus into a mixed-use district with new replacement and expanded academic uses, significant housing, and neighbourhood-serving retail, restaurants, community amenities, and public spaces.

Source