You can change the name, but you can’t change our history.
For over a decade, 105 Keefer has been at the center of the fight for Chinatown’s future. Developer Beedie Living wants luxury condos here. Our community keeps saying the same thing: we need affordable homes for people, not investments for profit.
This isn’t just about one building. It’s about a thriving Chinatown and DTES where low-income seniors can age in place and where unhoused residents, workers, and youth can find homes. Our neighbourhood is not for speculation.
Want to take action? Head down to the Act Now section.
Beedie rebranded 105 Keefer as 570 Columbia to erase a decade of resistance. Same project—new label—and bolder asks:
Fuelled by greed, Beedie applied for rezoning to increase the size of their condo development–we fought against their applications every time. After four failed rezoning attempts, Beedie tried to bypass the City Council by going straight to the Development Permit Board (DPB). They stripped out social housing entirely. Over 200 people spoke against the project. For the first time in decades, the DPB said “no”. This was a historic win for Chinatown and for the housing justice movement as a whole in Vancouver.
Beedie spent millions of dollars going through the legal process to overturn the decision. Their money took them all the way to the BC Supreme Court, who ordered the DPB to rehear the case.
The project came back. Over 500 seniors, tenants, and residents from Chinatown and the DTES filled a community town hall and voted “no” to condos and unanimously “yes” to 100% social housing. For a month, people rallied outside City Hall. Despite hearing numerous speeches in opposition, the DPB granted Beedie a permit “with conditions.” However, the fight reinvigorated residents and organizers to build a more sustained movement.
Quick facts you can share with neighbors, media, or anyone curious about 105 Keefer / 570 Columbia.
Truth Condos raise rents and property taxes, pushing out the very people who keep Chinatown vibrant. Real revitalization = affordable homes and services that serve the community.
Truth If homes aren’t affordable, they deepen the crisis. Luxury condos often sit empty as investments. We need community-serving, affordable housing—homes for people, not profit.
Truth That erases thousands of low-income seniors, workers, families, and neighbors who already live here and rely on Chinatown every day.
We stopped Beedie in 2017. We stood together again in 2023. In 2025, the fight continues!