On October 29, UBC began a public engagement process seeking feedback from the UBC community on its planned updates to the Wesbrook Place Neighbourhood Plan (WPNP).
These updates constitute one of UBC’s first major steps in implementing Campus Vision 2050, the university's long-term land use plan for the UBC Vancouver Campus.
UBC is seeking input across three broad categories of planned updates – green spaces, housing and transit. The planned updates focus on Wesbrook Place South, a new community starting at Gray Avenue and running along Binning Road.
Associate Vice President of Campus + Community Planning (C+CP) Michael White told The Ubyssey in an interview that the updates focus on adding things important to people to have “a good, happy, livable neighbourhood.”
“We don't just plan for housing, we plan [for] complete communities,” White said.
Green spaces
UBC plans to update the WPNP to expand Research Park and create a new ecological park.
Research Park has already been partially opened to the public, and is meant as a multi-use space with its inclusions of a playground, community garden and outdoor recreational spaces.
UBC also plans to add a new ecological park at the southern end of the Wesbrook South zone, in and around Powerline trail. According to the published WPNP update slides, this park is ecosystem oriented, with aims “to protect and enhance local ecosystems” and offer both educational and recreational opportunities.
The open space implementation for both parks will be guided by UBC’s biodiversity and rainwater management strategies and contribute to meeting the overall Usable Neighbourhood Open Space requirement for Wesbrook as defined by UBC’s Land Use Plan.
Housing
UBC also aims to add capacity for an additional 4,600 residents through the creation of residential towers along Binning Road and Binning Avenue. Depending on feedback, UBC will create five or six towers at either 29 or 26 storeys.
“There's choices around fewer, taller towers to provide more open space, or shorter, more towers [with] less open space,” White explained.
“There's trade-offs that we can make.”
Plans for the 30,000 square feet of retail space also include an allocation for a new child care facility. If built, this new facility would bring the total of child care spaces in Wesbrook up to three, with Wesbrook YMCA Child Care Centre completed in 2020 and UBC’s partnership with the provincial government already set to create more childcare spaces starting fall 2026.
With the updates, White also said 40 per cent (up from 30 per cent) of living spaces in Wesbrook Neighbourhood would be rental housing. Twenty five of that 40 per cent would be available at discounted, below-market rates for faculty and staff, while the remaining 15 per cent of rentals would prioritize students, faculty and staff at market rates.
White said UBC uses the revenue generated by market-rate rentals to help further finance student housing.
“The revenue from that goes to the university, and the university uses that to build student housing. So it's all related [to affordability.]”
Transit and amenities
C+CP also plans to update the WPNP to include tactical improvements to Wesbrook for movement and access.
Among the updates include the construction of additional pedestrian and bike paths as well as a new northbound right turn lane on Wesbrook Mall onto 16th Avenue. White said the addition of this turn lane would help alleviate congestion at the roundabout, particularly for buses like the 49 and R4 whose routes include the roundabout.
“The changes at West 16th at Binning are about pedestrian safety, cyclist safety and [lessening] congestion,” said White.
White also spoke on the need to expand police, fire and ambulance services on campus, and said C+CP is actively working with the province to do so.
Engagement efforts
C+CP is seeking feedback on its proposed updates until November 15th, with a second round of engagement planned to happen early next year.
The engagement process includes a survey and two community workshops at the Wesbrook Community Centre where C+CP will be elaborating on the update and where community members can provide feedback. C+CP is also hosting a walking tour.
Registration for the walking tour on November 7 is open, as is the registration for the community workshop on November 12.
White also said the C+CP is hosting a series of pop ups throughout Wesbrook so staff can answer questions and provide information, and that C+CP plans to consult with both AMS and GSS advisory committees.
“The team goes and talks to the AMS … [and asks] ‘What do you think future students are going to be interested in?’” said White.
The C+CP engagement window runs for three weeks, with a draft combining all the feedback UBC receives planned for presentation around February of the new year.
“With that final feedback from the community, they'll refine the plan, and it'll eventually go to the Board of Governors for approval in June.”
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