Seven-story, commercial, residential building planned for Vancouver city blockSubscriber Exclusive

By Sarah Wolf, Columbian staff writer

Published: February 3, 2022, 6:05am

A new mixed-use building is planned for the Vancouver block that sits between 15th and 16th streets and Columbia and Washington streets. (Rendering contributed by PLS Engineering)

A new mixed-use development is planned for an entire city block, turning what was a series of buildings into a single mixed-use mid-rise between downtown Vancouver and Uptown Village.

“The proposal will revitalize a block within the city center, providing additional housing options and commercial uses,” reads project planning documents that were submitted to the city.

The development is proposed for the block that sits between West 15th and 16th streets and between Washington and Columbia streets.

The building will be seven stories tall and include 200 apartments and seven guest suites. There will be two levels of underground parking. It is not planned to exceed the area’s maximum height restriction, which is 75 feet. There will be 18,600 square feet of commercial, retail or office space on the building’s ground floor.

The nearly 1.1 acre lot has been home to automotive and motorcycle repair businesses and a single family home.

The building will have sidewalks around it, improved streetscapes and street trees. Trash and recycling will be fully enclosed inside the building.

The development proposes having 305 parking spaces, 25 for commercial use and 280 for residential use.

The block was purchased by 1500 Block Land Investors, LLC for $3.2 million in October 2019, though it is being developed by Lee-Way Development Co., of which the company’s owner Tim Lee is the lead developer.

Before being purchased by the 1500 Block Land Investors, the property was owned by the Hidden Family, who have a long history in the city. The great-grandfather of the two brothers who sold the property, Lowell Hidden, founded Hidden Brick Co. in 1871. The company’s bricks were used in the construction of Mother Joseph’s Providence Academy. The family owned the academy until 2015, at which time it was sold to The Historic Trust.

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