people+place

How Granville Island came to be

Over the years, Granville Island has received much attention by urban planners, developers, architects and place-makers as a successful model for brownfield redevelopment. Truly successful places— those that appeal to our minds, hearts and souls— offer us a way to connect with each other. These places develop over time and organically. Great place are more about emotion than they are about economics and design. Granville Island is one of those special places, created because of necessity and a unique sense of what the community needed at the time. It is doubtful that “Granville Island ” can be replicated somewhere else today, and further, whether one would want to replicate it in any regard. Granville Island is so much a function of its time, the people who saw a vision for what it could become, and some unique conditions that allowed it to develop as it did. Nevertheless, many of the elements and processes used at Granville Island are applicable to other sites. To better understand Granville Island in its present state, lets now look at how it came to be.

 Granville Island originally comprised two sand bars in Vancouver’s False Creek, which were used by local First Nations people as places to meet and to collect shellfish. In 1916 the Vancouver Harbour Commission, a federal entity, built a seawall around the sand bars and created 41 acres of land to be used by industry. The Harbour Commission leased parcels of land to tenants who built their factories and mills in post and beam structures clad in corrugated tin. For 40 years industry thrived on the Island while the city of Vancouver grew around it. By the 1960s, many of the industries began to move away due to changing market conditions. Those that remained were dirty. The Island became an eyesore while the waters of False Creek became heavily polluted. The public’s sense of “the environment” was increasing and they wanted something done to clean up the Island and False Creek, and indeed both the City of Vancouver and the Federal Government agreed.

 The Government of Canada transferred the management and redevelopment of the Island to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in 1973. This occurred at a time when CMHC was developing the south shore of False Creek for housing. The Federal Government appointed a group of influential, and innovative people to a new body known as the “Granville Island Trust,” to assist CMHC in implementing a plan for the future. A budget of $20 million was allocated for the redevelopment. While the City of Vancouver and the Trust couldn’t initially agree on a vision for the Island, they eventually came to a compromise and a basic concept came together. This vision is articulated in a plan known as the “Granville Island Reference Document. ” The document still acts as the chief formal agreement between the City and the Federal Government, which provides a regulatory framework for the Island.

 A fundamental principal was that Granville Island would be “a people place,” reflective of its industrial maritime heritage. The Reference Document establishes some broad guidelines: the Island is accessible to everyone, re-uses existing buildings, allocates space for a variety of land uses (limiting retail to arts and crafts, maritime products and a pubic market). However, unlike most land use plans, it does not establish any zoning or other criteria for urban works such as street profiles. Nor does it prescribe how the vision shall be implemented. This permissive regulatory framework was acceptable to the City of Vancouver because Granville Island is federal land. If the land was privately owned, City zoning would have applied. This framework, along with the limited government funding for redevelopment, set the stage for Granville Island to develop in a unique and organic manner.

 The redevelopment of Granville Island commenced in 1975 and was essentially completed with the opening of the public market in 1979 (though one could argue that its redevelopment still continues in an incremental manner to this day). Another principal that was established at this time was that Granville Island would emerge from both public and private investment. The cost to implement the vision exceeded the $20 million budgeted by the federal government. It was determined that the federal funds could best be used for infrastructural projects such as replacing underground services, building new seawalls, roads, street lighting and providing other unifying design elements. Some of these funds were also needed to reacquire industrial leases that still had many years before their expiry. However, not all leases could be reacquired, as the money available simply wasn’t sufficient. This explains why a concrete plant is still located on Granville Island.

 The public sector was invited to bid on development opportunities relating to specific sites. The successful bidders were offered long-term leases. The old post and beam tin clad buildings were turned over to the developers in an as-is condition. Therefore the new tenants had to make significant investments to bring the buildings to code and the projects to market. CMHC imposed strict requirements for design and use of space to ensure that the principal of creating a “people place” was not compromised. CMHC design requirements ensure that the industrial maritime heritage is respected. Similarly, building use is strictly controlled by lease agreements so that all activities are harmonious.

 Early tenants included those from the public sector (the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, False Creek Community Centre), those from the not-for-profit sector (Arts Club Theatre), and those from the private sector (The Creekhouse, Granville Island Brewery, Bridges Restaurant, Maritime Market, Kid’s Only Market and Granville Island Hotel), as well as many independent artisans who occupied CMHC buildings. These and other enterprises have made their home on Granville Island together with the Public Market, which was developed and is operated by CMHC. Their diversity and has contributed to the unique experience that we know as Granville Island.

Lino Siracusa

Lino Siracusa was the Executive Director of Granville Island from 2004 to 2011. He is currently a real estate consultant and Placemaker.