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Joint Indigenous and Local Government Initiatives and Relations
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Citizens' Group Wants New Plan for Jericho Lands Project
Imagine a new 35-hectare community of midrises built out of mass timber - a place that restricts cars and has a significant share of truly affordable housing for low to moderate incomes.
That's the vision put forward by a citizens' group that wants the City of Vancouver and a First Nations-owned developer to come up with a new plan for Vancouver's Jericho Lands, located in West Point Grey.
The conceptual plans were created by the MST Development Corp., a partnership of three First Nations; Canada Lands Co., a Crown corporation that co-owns part of the proposed development land; and the City of Vancouver. The city released the conceptual plans for the site last fall that showed three 38-storey towers amid many more midrise buildings and about 10 million square feet of floor space.
The next phase in the city's process is to refine the concept and draft a policy statement, so there is still time to hammer out the details of such an important site. In an e-mail, city staff said no dates have been set and the next phase of public engagement will be after the election in October.
Jericho Lands are privately owned by MST Development Corp., a partnership between the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation, and the Canada Lands Co., a Crown corporation that specializes in real estate and development. They purchased the land in 2014, and MST and CLC each own 50 per cent.
MST later purchased the western part of the site from the province for almost a half-billion dollars. The two parcels are being planned as one community, designed in a way that pays respect to the ancestral land. MST and CLC have been working with nearby residents and the City of Vancouver in planning the site.
Unlike the proposed Senakw development, which is on Squamish Nation reserve land on the edge of the Kitsilano neighbourhood, Jericho Lands fall within city guidelines and policies.
Tsleil-Waututh councillor Dennis Thomas, who is a cultural liaison for MST, says it's a pivotal time for Indigenous communities as they take economic control of ancestral lands.