Sitting on the hill, overlooking downtown it's one of the city's oldest communities
While it began its life as a bustling, blue collar community, the tide turned in the 1900s to the point where parts of this community were as troubled as any anywhere else in Canada. The Downtown Eastside is at the North West corner of Mount Pleasant and today, while it’s in transition, this is still one of the rougher, edgier neighbourhoods in Vancouver.
Mount Pleasant sits right at the heart of the city, just on the outskirts of the downtown core. It consists of a few of the first neighborhoods in the city, each unique but all lively and full of character. When the Township of Granville began to grow, it spread in the direction of Mount Pleasant. There was logging, light industry and homes that sprung up to the South and East of that original settlement.
While it began its life as a bustling, blue collar community, the tide turned in the 1900s to the point where parts of this community were as troubled as any anywhere else in Canada. The Downtown Eastside is at the North West corner of Mount Pleasant and today, while it’s in transition, this is still one of the rougher, edgier neighborhoods in Vancouver.
In the immediate vicinity we find two other very distinct parts of Mount Pleasant, Chinatown and Strathcona. The second largest Chinatown outside of Asia, this is a very old community which is primarily oriented to business and food but is also starting to see increases in residential options. Stratchona is one of the more unique and distinct neighborhoods in the city. The residents tend to value proximity to downtown and are comfortable with a little more urban and gritty environment.
At the south end of Mount Pleasant, as we venture up the hill that leads away from the False Creek Flats, the demographic becomes younger and a little more transient. This is the base of Main street and so there are a lot of shared values with the people that live a little further up along Main as well.
THE MARKET
The housing options in Mount Pleasant veer significantly to condo options. The one area that is dominated by houses still is the North Eastern section that is Strathcona. This area has a lot of single family homes that tend to be older character homes and often on smaller lots. While there are few condos here, there are certainly lots of duplexes and townhouses.
There are limited housing options historically in Chinatown, but what options exist are predominantly condos. At the edge of downtown Vancouver, this is an area where we will likely see further development in the future (specifically along Main St).
Further south, centered around the Main Street Skytrain station is a zone of newer condo development. This zone is one of the better value areas you’ll find in central Vancouver…as there are many quality buildings with large square footage at a reasonable price. New development continues in this zone and there is room for significant change with the imminent removal of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts.
At the southern end, the housing options are mostly older condos. There is a sprinkling of loft options, a few newer townhouse developments and some high quality new condo developments on Main Street. However, the majority of what is at hand are older wood-frame condominiums.
