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WATERFRONT PLAN
Province to buy ICBC building to develop new housing units JANE SEYD
jseyd@nsnews.com
The provincial government will buy the iconic ICBC building on North Vancouver’s waterfront and develop the property as transit-oriented housing.
B.C. Premier David Eby made the announcement in North Vancouver Monday. Eby said the province will work with the City of North Vancouver and the Squamish, Musqueam and TsleilWaututh nations to develop plans to provide hundreds of new housing units on the property. Eby said the province plans to demolish the old ICBC building and build housing that is “attainable” for middle-income earners on the site, with “shovels in the ground” by the time ICBC employees leave for new offices in 2027. While plans are still being developed, “we’re expecting hundreds of units of housing” said Eby, adding the plan for
the property is part of the government’s commitment to use government assets and properties to get housing built in the province. The housing announcement this week follows news from ICBC last week that after occupying a flagship location on the North Vancouver waterfront for more than 40 years, the Crown corporation will be packing up its headquarters there and moving across Burrard Inlet. The Crown corporation told employees June 13 it will vacate the 300,000-square-foot, six-story office tower on Esplanade Avenue for newer offices at 2150 Keith Dr. in Vancouver, a space about half the size to the current building, adjacent to the VCC Clark SkyTrain station. Spokesman Brent Shearer said with most of its 1,500 head office employees working from home part-time, having a huge office didn’t make sense anymore. Currently, the North Vancouver office is only occupied between 20 to 40 per Continued on A41
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks at a press event Monday, announcing plans for the province to buy and demolish the ICBC building in North Vancouver for housing development. JANE SEYD / NSN