Tower rising at Richmond Centre

Maria Rantanen

The first tower at Richmond Centre is rising as the south end of the shopping mall is transformed into a residential/ retail complex

The developer, Cadillac-Fairview, is demolishing a total of about 260,000 square feet of the mall, which includes the Sears building that’s already gone However, the plan includes building more retail along No 3 Road

When fully built out, there will be 2,200 residential units in 12 towers at the south end of the mall. This will include 150 affordable rental units and 200 market rentals, amounting to about 10 per cent of the total square footage.

When Richmond Centre was originally rezoned in the 1980s city council didn’t have a policy requiring affordable rentals like it does now

But, in 2018, when Cadillac-Fairview, the owners, came with a proposal to start construction, they promised to

Build 10 Per Cent Rental

Currently,thepolicyisthatanynewdevelopments in City Centre must have 15 per cent dedicated as affordable rentals

The mall redevelopment plans also include new roads through the development, including two named for Richmond RCMP Const Jimmy Ng who was killed when he was struck on the side of the road by a speeding car in 2002.

These will be called Cst Jimmy Ng Road and Cst. Jimmy Ng Place.

Retails shops will be built facing No 3 Road, and there will be improved pedestrian crossings to the Canada Line Station

*Thisispartofaseriescalled“Richmond underConstruction”Letusknowifthere’s a neighbourhood undergoing transformation that the News could feature.

Pedestrians feel ‘bullied’ by cars

Many Richmond pedestrians don’t feel safe walking and rolling through Richmond

In fact, in a recent survey, one third rated their safety in intersections as very low.

Over a year, the Richmond Poverty Reduction Coalition (RPRC) did interviews with 109 people, of whom 73 per cent didn’t drive regularly, to see how they felt as pedestrians in Richmond

The interviews were compiled into a report that was presented to city council

In the study, RPRC used the principle of “Vision Zero,” a movement that started in the 1990s to bring pedestrian injuries and deaths to zero According to the BC Coroners Services, 26 pedestrians died in Richmond between 2012 and 2021

In the RPRC survey, 60 per cent of respondents said cars made them feel rushed or unsafe in intersections And

33 per cent rated Richmond drivers’ respect for pedestrians at one or two out of five

“We heard words like ‘entitled’ and ‘bullying’ in descriptions of Richmond drivers who have shown a real lack of concern for pedestrians or self-awareness of speed,” the report read

Maria Rantanen/

Richmond News

“We’re working on it”

This is what Richmond-Steveston MLA Kelly Greene had to say about the rebuild of the long-term care home Lions Manor that closed nine years ago and moved to a hotel on Bridgeport Road

While Greene said the reconstruction project is a “priority” for the provincial government, the News wasn’t given any details on a timeline, cost or what it will look like

The business case for rebuilding the Lions Manor on Fentiman Place was submitted by Vancouver Coastal Health a year ago, and Greene said it’s now with the Ministry of Health for consideration

“I know how important (Lions Manor) isforresidentsofRichmond-Steveston,”

Greene told the News, adding it’s important for people to “age in place.”

The Lions Manor in Steveston closed nine years ago after it was no longer deemed safe.