An 11-storey social housing building with an integrated healing centre is slated for the corner of East Hastings and Columbia in the Downtown Eastside.
Currently the site is occupied by a former bank building, now Pigeon Park Savings, and an empty lot that is used for the Downtown Eastside street market.
The Aboriginal Land Trust is spearheading the redevelopment, with design by Urban Arts Architecture.
The new building is distinctive and draws from Coast Salish art. The façade will include glazed, coloured bricks in a pattern similar to a Coast Salish blanket. The tower portion of the building will be clad in a cementitious panel.
There will be 111 social housing units, with unit sizes ranging from studios to one, two and three bedrooms.
There will be a “food centre,” although details are not yet known on how the centre will operate. The development also includes a long house gathering space.
A community open house is scheduled from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Thursday, October 3, 2019 at the Chinese Cultural Centre – Exhibition Hall (Room 401), 50 E Pender Street.
