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Vancouver sees ‘a huge spike’ in multifamily residential units

3,417 units currently under review or construction

By Lauren Dake, Columbian Political Writer
Published: November 9, 2015, 8:28pm

For the past couple of years, the Vancouver City Council has not been given an official update on development in the region.

“There was not much to report on during the recession,” said Chad Eiken, the city’s director of community and economic development.

That has changed.

On Monday afternoon, Eiken told the city council in a workshop that there are 3,417 multifamily residential units under review or construction.

“In the past, maybe three to four hundred would have been our normal backlog of units,” Eiken said in an interview with The Columbian. “This is a huge spike.”

The building of multi-family housing isn’t only happening in the downtown corridor; it’s spread across the city. In downtown, there are 854 units under review or construction. In the central part of the city, there are 1,059 units, and on the east side there are 1,504 units under construction or review.

The new development isn’t expected to ease the affordable-housing crisis that’s plaguing the city. There is a handful of projects reserved for those who earn below the median income, but the bulk are expected to be rented at market value.

An overall increase in supply, however, could help.

“There is a theory that as more market-rate units are available, people looking for the next step up would move into those and maybe free up some of the lower-quality units. … There might be some trickle down,” Eiken said.

Eiken said more developers from Portland are interested in building projects in Vancouver.

The number of commercial projects slated for the city of Vancouver remains fairly low, Eiken told the councilors, with an average of about two a month.

With the number of pending land-use applications and building permits in the queue, Eiken said he expects his staff will remain busy for the foreseeable future.

Eiken also highlighted some of the major development projects currently underway.

He mentioned the Banfield Pet Hospital, a $23 million private investment to move the company’s headquarters from Portland to east Vancouver. He encouraged the council members to visit Clark College’s 70,000-square-foot science, technology, engineering and math building.

And he mentioned the waterfront development, expected to launch soon, which will include apartment, office and retail buildings, plus a restaurant and possibly a hotel.

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Columbian Political Writer