Съветът на Ванкувър да гласува за съживяване на Granville Strip в опит на Таймс Скуеър

Общинският съвет на Ванкувър ще гласоподава в сряда на 20-годишен проект за възкръсване на развлекателния регион Granville.

The plan envisions the area as a leading cultural and tourist destination, providing a Times Square experience with large digital billboards at Robson Street.

It proposes gradually working towards a year-round pedestrian zone and also calls for more rental housing and hotel spaces, along with replacing aging SRO buildings with self-contained housing units.

It also proposes relocating bus service to Howe and Seymour streets and new residential uses will be restricted to minimize noise conflicts with expanded entertainment activities.

The vote comes as the neighbourhood struggles with public safety issues and a storefront vacancy rate of nearly 30 per cent.

In March, bar owners on the Granville Strip claimed the province’s decision to purchase a former Howard Johnson hotel to house the homeless changed Granville Street overnight.

In June 2020, the province bought the former 110-room hotel at 1176 Granville St. for $55 million to house people who’d been living in encampments, including individuals with serious substance use and mental health challenges.