Real Estate

Should Vancouver ban the so-called poor doors for social housing units?

By Trevor Melanson /

The 19-storey tower proposal at 1171 Jervis St.

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Is a separate entrance for social housing a form of segregation?

Some more equal than others
One apartment, two entrances. That’s the deal with a new West End condo project that has become a lightning rod for controversy after its development permit was approved Monday. One entrance will be for social housing, the other for the market-priced condos above. They will also have separate amenities, so the people who can afford Vancouver’s costly condos needn’t mingle with the down-belows. As it turns out, not everyone’s a fan of socioeconomic segregation, but it’s hardly the first building of its kind. Woodwords in Gastown, for example, separates its social housing units from its market-priced condos. And the practice has already been brought to the public’s attention in New York and Seattle, both of which are considering banning so-called poor doors. (via CBC)

What does #OrangeCrush mean for B.C.?
You may have heard: the NDP won a majority in Alberta’s provincial election last night, ending a 44-year streak of Progressive Conservative governments. What does an NDP Alberta mean for B.C.? First off, the premier-designate doesn’t support the Northern Gateway pipeline. “From an environmental point of view, it’s a problem and I think B.C.’s made itself very clear on that,” Rachel Notley told the Calgary Herald a week before the election. But she has also said her government won’t be very involved with Northern Gateway, unlike the PCs, who championed it. Notley has also made it clear that her party is not anti-pipeline and is interested in the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain line to Burnaby. (Also, it’s a good time to read our recent cover story, “What Alberta can learn from B.C.’s brush with death.”)

Who guards the Coast Guards?
Another Vancouver Coast Guard facility is being shut down by the federal government, and marine traffic will now be managed out of Victoria. This comes just weeks after the contentious shuttering of the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station, which critics have argued could have responded to the recent oil spill in English Bay faster. (via CBC)