Real estate: TransLink to partner with PCI on a mixed-use development at West Broadway and Arbutus

TransLink is getting into the real estate game — and we’re not talking SkyTrain platforms.

The regional transit agency has signed a partnershipdeal with PCI Developments to build a planned mixed-used development near the future Arbutus SkyTrain station.

The plan for the development at West Broadway and Arbutus calls for street-level retail spaces and 200 rental units, with 20 per cent of the residences set aside at below-market rates for moderate-income families.

The development is next to the future terminus of the Broadway subway, with a bus loop and the Arbutus greenway mixed-use walking and cycling path beside it. It’s the first project under TransLink’s real estate development program.

The idea is to provide much-needed housing choices near transit and to create a source of long-term funding for TransLink to expand services.