Vancouver laneway apartments are set to be the first of it’s kind.

Vancouver could be setting a new trend. They recently announced 4 new laneway apartment buildings in the West End. Consisting of 47 units in total. They are the very first of it’s kind and developers are hoping to see this as the next big trend. The goal is to eventually produce 1000 new homes in the Downtown Vancouver area, specifically the West End.

Laneway housing has always been popular for families on a budget and they hope these projects will do the same. The city is requiring half of them to be either 2 or 3 bedrooms that are accessible on the ground floor. The project aims to be an alternative for families who want to stay in the city but are looking for a cheaper alternative.

My only concern is that everyone already has a negative reputation on alleys. So when your target audience is families it makes me wonder just how safe they’re going to feel walking down an alley at night to get to their front door. Or what about all the crime that potentially happens right outside your front door while you’re sleeping. The developers say they hope to work with the city to landscape and beautify the alleys. My only doubt is how much can you really do to make an alley look good. So i’m a little concerned that these are marketed towards families.

However, I know from reading all the comments out there that the overall feedback is positive. I’ll agree and say this is a huge move for Vancouver. Ultimately anything in Vancouver can sell so I don’t see that being an issue. I think it will be interesting to see how they turn out and exactly who ends up moving into them. My biggest concern is that ultimately you’re living in an alley where garbage trucks are going to have to squeeze their way through.  If the developers and the city can work together and truly revamp the alleys I don’t see any reason why this new development can’t be a success here in Vancouver.