ACTIVATE DTES COMMERCIAL RENT AFFORDABILITY CASE STUDIES

Read the report: Community-Serving Commercial Rental Affordability Case Studies (PDF)

Activate DTES is composed of Community Impact Real Estate Society, Exchange Inner City and Hessey Consulting + Architecture and is funded by the City of Vancouver Special Enterprise Program (SEP). Activate DTES aims to support community-serving organizations in achieving secure tenure in vacant storefronts in the Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES).

For community-serving organizations, Vancouver’s lack of affordable commercial space poses a significant challenge. Often these organizations lack the revenue necessary to pay market-based rent. Considerations like community economic development, meeting the needs of local community members, and equity development are not significant factors when filling market-based commercial vacancies.

This report explores four different models of creating commercial rental affordability (CRA) for community-serving organizations. The four models and their illustrative case studies are:

● Affordable Workspace Programme (Islington, UK)

● Cultural Space Agency (Seattle, USA)

● Meanwhile Space CIC (London, UK)

● Anchorage Community Land Trust (Anchorage, USA)

This report was authored by Maya Korbynn for Activate DTES.