The project at 1074 Cardero Street focuses on creating sustainable urban densification in Vancouver. It aims to provide a template and vision for addressing the challenges of offering rental housing for the growing population in the limited urban area of Vancouver’s West End. This project puts forward a strategy for sustainable development and heritage revitalization of the city’s historic fabric while balancing the needs of the “missing middle” in urban housing. It offers an affordable, mid-density rental housing alternative by way of preservation and carefully considered augmentation of the site. The project aims to address the need for more housing by utilizing the unused space in the city while preserving the historic urban scale of 19th and early 20th-century West End Vancouver.
Where possible, materials from the deconstructed elements of the houses were salvaged or rebuilt in kind. Guided by our Conservation Consultants Donald Luxton & Associates, distinct building elements were catalogued and assessed, carefully dismantled, and stored off-site. The restoration of original wood siding, columns, dentals, architraves and doors were tested for original 20th-century paint coats. These elements were then meticulously stripped, rehabilitated and primed before being reinstated into the building. The restoration of original wood sash windows and float glass (where possible) was carefully dismantled and rehabilitated using original components in-so-far as possible. The original 100 glazing can still be seen on the majority of the Cardero Street facing windows.
Urban densification projects in Vancouver often do not consider the established patterns and refined grain of the city’s remaining grid of historic lots. This project offers an alternative approach to urban densification through the restoration of two historic houses and the addition of a high-performance adjoining infill residence strategically attached to the rear of the site. This project converted three independent dwellings (two 3-bed units + one 2-bed unit) and a CRU to into five independent dwellings + CRU.
The units are large, spacious, family-orientated dwellings with their own exterior spaces, making them rather unique and desirable in the West End neighbourhood. It sets a vision for sustainable development and heritage revitalization while balancing the needs of the "missing middle" in urban housing. This project also holds an 85-year rental covenant to further protect the attainability of unique ground-orientated units for the rental market.
This compact square site adjacent to a mini-park included two Class B registered Heritage Houses; the Fleming Residence and the Cardero Street Grocery. The purpose-built mixed-use Cardero Grocery, which anchored the corner site as a commercial hub in the neighbourhood for over 100 years, was a vital aspect of its regeneration, underscoring the importance of preserving our historical landmarks.
The retention of the corner Commercial Retail Unit (CRU) was a key aspect of this development. It acts as an extension of the public realm, animating the corner site and adjacent parklet, helping to anchor a social hub in the neighbourhood, and contributing to its regeneration. This approach supports the integration of commercial spaces in the residential area, enhancing the livability and community aspects of the neighbourhood.
The extremely tight site constraints posed a huge challenge to fit additional space into the project and leverage it to make it viable. Additionally, the presence of two large Heritage Houses on the site could have been seen as a limiting factor to some in how the site could be future developed. Our solution was to work with the city and creatively reimagine how we could work with the houses to leverage additional density for the site. This was achieved by raising and relocating the existing houses forward to capture space in the rear yard. This allowed us to create a large three-bedroom unit in a former crawl space and to add a bespoke adjoining infill structure.
