By: Olivia Sherman, News Writer
The City of Vancouver is reconsidering its controversial development proposal in the heart of Chinatown. The proposal from Beedie Holding Ltd. had been rejected five times before, between 2012 and 2017. A rally was held outside Vancouver city hall on May 29, with over 70 speakers and activists. Another rally occurred outside Vancouver City Hall on Monday, June 12. No decision on the proposal had been made as of the time of publication.
The first rally’s large turnout “was a huge victory, not just for the community, but it really [was] a symbol for the rest of Vancouver to say, ‘hey, when we come together, people power is powerful. Collective power does work,” said Jade Ho, in an interview with The Peak.
Ho is a member of the Vancouver Tenants Union and a PhD candidate with the SFU department of education. She explained the significance of Chinatown and how detrimental gentrification is to its survival. “The history of Chinatown is that of anti-Asian racism [ . . . ] they were basically relegated to this one area.” Ho explained how Chinese immigrants were not permitted to hold certain jobs such as lawyers or doctors because of economical segregation. “Even though it was born out of anti-Asian racism, the residents turned it into a place of safety [ . . . ] a place of survival.”
Beedie’s proposal is to build a 9-storey, multi-purpose condo at 105 Keefer Street, which is currently an empty lot.
As well as ventures in capital, industrial construction, and residential building, Beedie Holding Ltd. is known for its Beedie Luminaries scholarship program and SFU’s Beedie School of Business. After a $22-million donation from Ryan Beedie, the company’s president, and the late Keith Beedie, founder of Beedie Holding Ltd., the SFU business program was named after them in 2011.
Despite Beedie’s five failed attempts to get the condo built, BC Supreme Court Justice Jan Brongers recently ordered a rehearing for its development. Many have expressed concerns over the increased gentrification of Chinatown, and the Keefer Street proposal is no exception.
“Gentrification is the changing of a neighbourhood into a more wealthy value and culture,” Ho explained. This creates a drastic rise in costs for housing and groceries, which is detrimental to low-income residents, many of whom are senior citizens. “Landlords will start raising rents because they can make more profit,” leading to “a replacement of more wealthy tenants,” Ho said.
“We are in a really dire situation,” they stressed. “This is about people’s lives.”
Despite backlash from residents, seven major organizations in Chinatown, such as the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Society and the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, have come forward in support of the Beedie proposal. Ho considered this support as going against the wishes of Chinatown’s majority, stating, “I just don’t think they represent the voices of the Chinese community anymore,” and that the Keefer Street development is another example of “housing that’s being positioned as investments, positioned as profit-making.”
Ho argued for increased social housing for those in need: “One way to solve housing issues is to house people. But we’re not doing that. Instead, we’re allowing more and more luxury condos to be built.
“I don’t think our city needs more luxury condos [ . . . ] none of those are going to be affordable.
Ho further encourages an inclusive vision for the city’s housing proposals: “‘Who do you want to include in this city? What do we want our city to look like?’” They want a city where “everyone’s well-being is being prioritized, and not just the people who have the access [ . . . ] I want everyone to be housed, I want everyone to have food. That’s not a radical idea.”
For more information on the Vancouver Tenants Union’s petition, visit their website.
