The Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is proposing a new Women and Family Recovery & Housing Centre with 63 social housing units.
The seven-storey mixed-use building will replace an existing facility at the corner of East Cordova and Princess Street that currently houses 15 transitional housing units as part of the UGM’s Sanctuary program for women working towards recovery.
The new building will boost the number of units in the Sanctuary program from 15 to 27, as well as adding 36 new units of social housing consisting of three studios, nine one-bedroom, 15 two-bedroom and nine three-bedroom units.
A child care centre with 12 spaces for babies and toddlers and 16 spaces for three-to-five-year-old pre-school children will serve the children of mothers who live in the building.
The proposed palette of materials for the building exterior include brick masonry, phenolic wall panel, sealed concrete and glazing in aluminum frames.
While the façade will be undeniably modern in expression, the architect says the building form and materials allude to and reflect elements of the historical architecture of the Downtown Eastside.
Renderings: UGMÂ Women and Family Recovery & Housing Centre
As residents are typically on a form of social assistance and unlikely to own or drive cars, parking will be minimal at 21 underground spaces.
Under the Downtown-Eastside/Oppenheimer District (DEOD) zoning, the application is “conditional” so it may be permitted; however, it requires the decision of the Development Permit Board, which will make its decision on Monday, June 11, 2018.
The Union Gospel Mission or UGM is a non-profit society and has been active in Vancouver since 1940.
