Little Mountain redevelopment up for rezoning after 7-year wait

It was called 'nothing short of criminal' when backhoes razed Vancouver's oldest public housing project Little Mountainin 2009.

Seven years later a plan is finally on the table to rebuild on the site.

On Tuesday night a public hearing on the rezoning application will reopen discussion on development of theprime real estate located at 155 East 37th Avenue.

The City of Vancouver has chosen Holborn Properties Ltd. to redevelop the site, which sits between Queen Elizabeth park and Main Street overlooking city hall.

The public hearing on the rezoning application is expected to draw a crowd given ongoing demand for affordable housing in Vancouver's red-hot housing market.

The new proposal to replace the 224 public housing units splintered by wrecking crews years ago includes:

• Three 12-storey mostly residential buildings
• 1,400 market value homes.
• 234 social housing units.
• 69-space childcare.
• 48 units of affordable housing adjacent to Main Street.
• A new community plaza and public park.
• A new city street and an extension of 35th Avenue

Little Mountain's history

When Little Mountain social housingwas demolished in 2009 activist Kia Salomons with Community Advocates for Little Mountain slammed the province for razing affordable homes.

"It's nothing short of criminal to be destroying solid, well-built homes with the knowledge that nothing will be built here for many years to come," Salomons told CBC at the time.

The project built in 1954 was home to 700 people and 37 buildings on the 15-acre or six-hectare site.