A beloved Vancouver bowling alley has received a reprieve from the wrecking ball.
On Monday, Vancouver’s development permit board nixed Cressey Development’s proposal to build a five-storey condo and commercial building on the site of the Varsity Ridge Bowling Alley and the Ridge Theatre on Arbutus and West 15th Avenue.
The message from the board to the developer was essentially “if you want more floors, you will have to work with the neighbours,” said Mel Luhan, one of the many residents who have been fighting to preserve the five-pin bowling alley, located in the building’s basement.
The rejected proposal was for a five-storey 52-unit condo building with a grocery store on the ground floor and three levels of underground parking.
Cressey still has permission to build a four-storey building.
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During the meeting, the board acknowledged the widespread community support for the bowling alley, which is used by about 12,000 students and more than 350 seniors and is considered a gathering place in the neighbourhood.
“The board made it clear that it was disappointed the developer had not been able to accommodate this important neighbourhood feature in its scheme,” Brian Jackson, planning and development manager for the city, told The Province in an email.
It also noted it cannot compel the developer to retain the bowling alley.
A Cressey spokesman had previously said it is not feasible to keep the theatre and bowling alley in the new development.
Luhan said residents will reach out to Cressey in the hopes it considers keeping the bowling alley.
The community needs the bowling alley more than a grocery store, said Luhan, pointing out that there had been three different grocery stores on the site in the last few years, all of which failed.
“We hope they got the message from the board, sit down and talk to us and come up with something that’s a win-win for the community and for the developer,” said Luhan.
Varsity Ridge is only one of four bowling alleys in Vancouver.
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