A vacant lot in the heart of downtown Vancouver, known locally as Block 10, could be turned into a 250-unit apartment building with a grocery store, city officials announced Monday.
Gramor Development of Tualatin, Ore., the same company currently developing the city’s waterfront, submitted a proposal to turn the empty block cater-corner from Esther Short Park into a mixed-use development with housing and ground floor retail, including a grocery store.
Gramor’s proposal for the long-vacant site, bordered by Columbia, Washington, Eighth and Ninth streets, includes underground and above-ground parking.
The city’s economic development division also received a proposal from LSW Architects, which called for building a K-5 public urban school of arts and innovation. LSW’s proposal also suggested space for early learning and childcare, a business innovation center, room for a nonprofit organization and a community assembly space.
Teresa Brum, the city’s economic development division manager, said Gramor’s proposal aligned more with the city’s goals, particularly bringing in a grocery store.
“There is a huge pent-up demand and excitement from the community,” Brum said about having a downtown grocery store.
Housing construction has been booming downtown, and Brum said the city has 600 more residential units in the pipeline in that area. Coupled with a 3 percent vacancy rate, she believes there is sufficient demand for a grocery store. Although there are several convenience stores, there is no full-service grocer within walking distance of downtown.
Brum’s department presented the proposals to the Vancouver City Council at a workshop Monday night and requested the council’s approval to move forward and negotiate with Gramor.
Vancouver city councilors gave the go-ahead to enter into negotiations with Gramor, but they wanted assurances that a grocery store would be built.
“We want to make sure if we go down this road, this is what we get, because market conditions and economic conditions could change a lot,” Councilor Jack Burkman said, adding that the city has “two good options here.”
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt echoed those sentiments, saying he wanted to ensure that the agreement and schedule with the developer were ironclad.
“Getting our community really excited about the potential for the grocer downtown, the last thing we want to do is have a letdown,” Leavitt said.
Barry Cain, the president of Gramor, said he’s confident the location will support a full-service grocery store. The proposal includes space for a 30,000-square-foot store. Cain said he has not identified a particular store yet, but his company has worked with a variety of stores in previous developments including New Seasons, Market of Choice, Fred Meyer and Safeway.
“Nobody has done more with grocery-store development than us,” Cain said.
Cain believes the market is strong enough now to justify a grocery store, but with the waterfront project and other downtown development coming online, the demand will increase.
“If it’s the right type of store, people will get off the freeway to go there,” Cain said. “It’s a very convenient stop, and I think multiple stores will want to go there. We will have choices.”
The apartments in Gramor’s proposal are a variety of studio and one- and two-bedroom units. It also calls for 277 parking spaces between two lower levels. Cain estimated construction would start in the second quarter of 2018.
The city is hoping to work with LSW Architects to find another location for its proposal.
Block 10 is the last empty block from the five-block Lucky Lager Brewery site. The city bought the property in 1993. The 1-acre lot was appraised at $3.2 million, Brum said.
The other brewery blocks were developed into Heritage Place, a mixed residential/retail property that includes Starbucks and Subway, and Vancouvercenter, which has a mix of offices, a restaurant and residential space, plus a large public parking garage.
Two years ago, the city issued a “request for proposals” to develop Block 10 and got no response.
In 2013, Vancouver’s Downtown Association revamped the gravel lot, spending about $15,000 on plants, flower beds, bicycle racks and flagpoles flying a rainbow.
The site has been used for multiple purposes over Vancouver’s nearly 200-year history. In the 1800s, the site was used for homes, housed a blacksmith shop and painting facility. In the 1900s, it was home to a bicycle shop, grocery store, hardware store, machine shop, gas station and auto repair shop.
