Metric Architecture has applied to the City of Vancouver for permission to develop the site at 1805 Larch Street in Kitsilano into a purpose-built rental building by Jameson Development Corporation. The 17,700-square-foot site is presently occupied by Trinity St. Mark’s Church, a vacant former ecclesiastical building that closed in 2013.
The site was approved to be rezoned in December 2019 under the Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Rezoning Program (MIRHPP), which requires at least 20 percent of the residential floor area to be made available to households earning between $30,000 and $80,000 annually.
The application proposes a total of 68 units with 14 designated MIRHPP units, of which 35 percent are family suites with two or three bedrooms. The total unit breakdown includes 22 studios, 22 one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. There would also be 42 underground vehicle parking spaces and 126 bicycle spaces.
Onsite amenities would include a 630-square-foot multi-purpose room with kitchen facilities and accessible washrooms. A rooftop terrace would provide ample outdoor space and include a patio lounge, urban garden plots and a children’s play area with rubber stile surfaces, a sand pit and an open flexible space for active play.
Envisioned by Metric Architecture, the five-storey building was designed to fit in with the scale and proportion of the surrounding homes.
“The elevations step in and out at the corners and balconies with material change from brick to lap siding, adding a depth and layering complexity akin to buildings adjacent and of an earlier era,” states the design rationale. “Trellis above portico gives prominence to each suite and notifies its entrance and further breaks up the facade for a more individualized identity.”
The new residence would also be built on the existing building’s footprint, allowing for the preservation of the mature trees situated along West 2nd Avenue.
