Wall Corporation is proposing a second tower at 1552 Esquimalt Avenue in West Vancouver—a 19-storey, 139-unit strata building on part of an existing Ambleside Tower property.
According to a staff report from the District of West Vancouver, the new building would sit on a newly subdivided lot and be temporarily secured as rental housing for six years. The existing 20-storey rental tower, built in 1969, would remain on a separate lot and be secured as rental in perpetuity.
However, staff say the proposal does not comply with the Official Community Plan (OCP), which requires that new rental housing introduced through infill development be secured “in perpetuity” rather than for a limited term. “The preliminary development proposal does not comply with the policy direction of the OCP,” the staff report states. Staff have recommended that the proposal be revised before proceeding.
The site is between Esquimalt and Duchess avenues, bounded by 15th Street and a rear lane. The current building, Ambleside Tower, contains 185 unsecured rental units. It also includes a four-level underground parkade, rooftop tennis court, and a surface lot.
The proposal follows several previous development attempts going back to 2016. That year, the applicant submitted an initial plan but put it on hold until the OCP update. A 17-storey, 131-unit rental building was proposed in 2019, followed by a two-building, seven-storey plan in 2021. Each version drew public feedback and was revised, but the project was paused again in 2022 pending the outcome of the Ambleside Local Area Plan, which was adopted in 2024. The current application was submitted in January 2025.
What is proposed:
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A 19-storey building with 139 strata units, secured as rentals for six years
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Reconfiguration of the parkade to serve both buildings, with a total of 205 parking stalls (including seven for carshare)
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488 bicycle spaces and new landscaping and amenity areas
- Units from 410 to 570 sq. ft. for one-bedrooms, 605 to 658 sq. ft. for two-bedrooms, and over 1,100 sq. ft. for townhouse-style three- and four-bedroom units.
“The proposal is for a strata infill building where the strata units would be secured for rental for six years, contrary to policy,” staff wrote. They note that the proposal does meet the requirement to secure the existing rental units in perpetuity, but not the requirement for new rental housing to be long-term.
The proposal comes up for discussion at a council meeting on May 26.
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