Aging Granville Island needs up to $300M in upgrades. Is housing a solution?

2 month_ago 17

British Columbia

There's thing successful Metro Vancouver similar Granville Island — but that's portion of the occupation successful making changes to support it financially viable.

It's been 45 years since the country became an arts and tourism hub, but lacks backing mechanics for needed fixes

Justin McElroy · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 12

An aerial presumption    of Granville Island and False Creek successful  Vancouver.

An aerial presumption of Granville Island and False Creek successful Vancouver. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

There's thing successful Metro Vancouver similar Granville Island — but that's portion of the occupation successful making changes to support it financially viable. 

"We're benignant of stuck successful wherever we tin get wealth from," said Granville Island wide manager Tom Lancaster.

He estimates up to $300 cardinal is required for each the infrastructure upgrades needed for the fashionable arts and tourism hub, which has remained comparatively unchanged since it was transformed successful the precocious 1970s. 

"We are approaching a fiscal concern present wherever alteration has to happen," said Lancaster, citing buildings that were either shuttered oregon facing a important request for structural upgrades, including the extortion of the famed nationalist market. 

"The problems tin beryllium pushed into the aboriginal implicit and implicit until it's nary longer truly that desirable. We're not determination yet, but we're close."

This week, the land held an lawsuit to sermon its future, with a sheet treatment and a video produced by fashionable urbanist and columnist Utaye Lee that accumulated astir 200,000 views successful its archetypal 3 days.

The video ended with a plug for a survey by the island, which asks radical astir a imaginable "Granville Island Foundation" foundation that would let them to rise wealth from funny donors.  

WATCH | Debate implicit the aboriginal of Granville Island: 

Does Granville Island's aboriginal see housing?

One of Metro Vancouver's marquee attractions could soon beryllium successful fiscal trouble. Granville Island is informing the nationalist that it won't beryllium capable to wage for mounting infrastructure renewal without aboriginal investment. It has led a erstwhile Vancouver politician to propulsion for bold changes to rise the money, including putting lodging successful the arts and tourer blistery spot.

Lancaster hopes that by sounding the alarm, Granville Island tin assistance bring the nationalist and stakeholders unneurotic to make a caller epoch for the peninsula.

"If radical successful Vancouver privation to spot a revitalized Granville Island, thing that inspires them the mode that it did successful the 1980s and 1990s, that's the alteration that we need. That's the concern we need."

In the precocious   1970s, the concern   wasteland of Granville Island — and overmuch  of False Creek — began its translation  into the unsocial   municipality  abstraction  we cognize  today.

In the precocious 1970s, the concern wasteland of Granville Island — and overmuch of False Creek — began its translation into the unsocial municipality abstraction we cognize today. (CBC archives)

Complicated governance structure

But that concern has historically proved hard due to the fact that of the peculiar governance operation of the island.

While it's close successful the mediate of Vancouver, the modern past of Granville Island began successful the precocious 1970s, erstwhile metropolis assembly agreed to the national government's improvement proposal, which would person the decaying concern onshore into the eclectic premix of spaces that remains successful spot today.

But portion the onshore is owned by Ottawa, it has been managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation successful a hands-off fashion, with the request that it pays for its ain attraction and expenses. 

The positive broadside is Granville Island has been immune to marketplace forces oregon politicization for 40 years, portion maintaining rental subsidies for artists and a absorption connected autarkic and section businesses.

ARCHIVES | How Granville Island changed the people of Vancouver municipality plan history: 

Vancouver Centre MP Ron Basford - 1977

Vancouver Centre MP Ron Basford, champion of Granville Island's redevelopment, outlines what he'd similar to spot the spot become.

The downside is simply a deficiency of superior disposable for large projects, and nary level of authorities historically accountable to the nationalist for changes. 

"Our hands are tied a small spot due to the fact that of the governance … the exemplary seems to person either stalled oregon is conscionable simply not moving today," said Vancouver Coun. Mike Klassen, who called the land "a gem" and agreed with Lancaster that a revitalization is needed. 

"The corroding buildings, the infrastructure that's been determination for decades — it doesn't correspond the metropolis well. And I deliberation that if we privation to get superior astir it, we're going to person to marque those investments."

'Build housing' connection gets booed

As for wherever that wealth comes from?

A idiosyncratic who voted successful favour of the archetypal plans for the land has a bold — if arguable — idea.

"Let's enactment lodging in," said Mike Harcourt.

The erstwhile politician of Vancouver and premier of B.C. argues that higher levels of authorities aren't consenting to supply wealth to projects these days without creating much lodging units. And helium says that 1 of the island's galore parking tons oregon decaying buildings could beryllium amended utilized for a fewer mid-size flat buildings that could marketplace units and designated spaces for artists.

When helium enactment the thought to the assemblage astatine past week's event, helium was roundly booed.

"I don't caput being booed … present that I don't person to interest astir votes anymore. I conscionable archer it similar it is," said Harcourt. 

"If radical person suggestions of however [to lick this] different than penning a cheque for $500 million, oregon fto the backstage marketplace travel on and the full spot arsenic a commercialized venture, I deliberation excavation is the tenable 3rd option."

Lancaster didn't privation to regularisation the thought out, saying "at this constituent successful history, we person to truly look astatine everything," but acknowledged that for galore people, the thought of alteration for Granville Island is difficult. 

"Not everybody agrees connected what to do, due to the fact that Granville Island is simply a small spot of thing for everybody," helium said. 

"People privation things to change, but they privation it to enactment the same. And truthful successful managing change, we truly request to archer the communicative and bring everybody to the table."

It was a connection seconded by CMHC, which said "there are nary existent plans for lodging development," portion adding "we are keenly funny successful engaging [with stakeholders] to recognize however Granville Island should champion germinate and change."

Granville Island has had a bully tally truthful far, said Harcourt, but present it needs to beryllium rethought.

"It's like, 'let's find different Stanley Park' ... it's truthful vitally important to the city, and you're not going to find different determination arsenic bully arsenic this."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Justin is the Municipal Affairs Reporter for CBC Vancouver, covering section governmental stories passim British Columbia.

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