Your old Vancouver Specials are fading away

Good morning, Vancouver. Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast.

It was a quiet 24 hours on the emergency front, which means we can turn our attention to the persistent, slow-motion changes happening across the city. On May 15, 2026, the City of Vancouver issued a demolition permit, BP-2025-02972, for a pre-1950s single-detached house at 4053 W 32nd Avenue. Another demolition permit, BP-2026-00282, was issued for a similar pre-1950s structure at 5406 Prince Edward Street on the same day. Each demolition is valued at $40,000. These aren't just old houses; these are often the Vancouver Specials, a distinct architectural style from the mid-20th century that once defined so many neighbourhoods from Killarney to Dunbar.

We're also seeing new construction permits being issued, like DB-2025-02364 for a new two-storey duplex at 2035 E 6th Avenue, valued at $699,977.50. It includes a detached accessory building. The steady replacement of these older, sometimes more affordable, structures with newer, larger builds continues to reshape the city's housing landscape. It raises the question of what Vancouver gains, and what it loses, with each new permit.

What to watch for: the continued erosion of architectural heritage in favour of density, and what that does to the character of our neighbourhoods.

Kenji Nakashima, MiTL Sports Desk, Vancouver.

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