A 28-storey residential tower will soon replace a small commercial building in the West End where small business owners were facing a 92 per cent property tax increase.
The commercial building at 1555 Robson Street, built 1949, is home to the Jang Mo Jib Korean restaurant and the Chocolate Mousse kitchenware shop.
The Chocolate Mousse was the subject of a Vancouver Courier story last year, with the shop struggling to survive as it paid more property tax than rent. Now it appears the Chocolate Mousse will be looking for a new location.
Vivagrand Developments has applied to the city to develop the site, which it acquired in 2017 for nearly $80 million. At the time, CBRE said “the transaction represented a new benchmark value for a downtown residential site.”
The new tower will include 177 residential units, plus 24 units of social housing as mandated by the West End Plan.
There will also be three retail units on the ground floor.
Vivagrand is also developing another residential tower in the West End — at the corner of Davie and Nicola, across from the Gabriola Mansion. It was recently redesigned after the first version was rejected by the city.
