Is It Time to Fight for Dunbar Street?

The well-loved Dunbar Produce store in the 4300 block of Dunbar has been closed for many years, and grows progressively shabbier.

By Carol Volkart

As the city moves ahead with plans to create new “villages” throughout Vancouver, including four in our area, spare a thought for what Dunbar residents have always considered their own village – Dunbar Street itself.

While a few brave and imaginative entrepreneurs continue to launch new businesses here, vacancies and underused lots have sapped the life out of many blocks once bustling with pedestrians and shoppers.

It’s not a new problem. In 2020, The Vancouver Sun’s Douglas Todd wrote a two-part series about the hollowing out of west side retail, especially in Dunbar and Point Grey. Officials he spoke to blamed skyrocketing commercial property values, taxes and rents; a shrinking and aging population; a high level of vacant or underused homes; a high degree of foreign ownership; unaffordable prices for families, and changes in shopping habits.

But Dunbar had already been declining for years, and things aren’t getting better. The villages plan, by encouraging new retail areas within a short walk of Dunbar Street, is likely to make it worse. For a city officially dedicated to “complete neighbourhoods,” it’s an odd strategy to let existing retail areas die while promoting new ones elsewhere.

It’s true that the city does have longer-term plans for Dunbar Street. Under the Vancouver Plan, it’s slated to become a “neighbourhood centre,” allowing up to six-storey buildings on the main street and up to 12 within a block or two. But given the high land values in this area, experts have questioned who will be able to afford the new units –investors, absentee owners, or families who may actually shop locally?

Whatever happens, it’s clear that our main shopping street is going to be struggling along in uncertainty for years to come. Which raises the question: Is it time for us to start standing up for it?

We do elect city councillors who are supposed to represent us. Should we press them to hold off on the “villages” that are likely to undermine Dunbar Street?  Should we push for vacancy taxes on commercial property, the same as for vacant residential? Should retail spaces in new apartment buildings be required to include small businesses instead of mainly chain operations? How about financial breaks, incentives, or even tax-structure changes to encourage mom and pop businesses?

A recent tour of Dunbar Street from 16^th to 41^st provided a showcase of what’s dragging our main drag down. Take a look, and imagine how a thriving streetscape would look instead:

Jethro’s was once a  popular restaurant with lineups for breakfast in the 3400 block.

Dunbar Vacuum and the HOB, which once drew plenty of shoppers to the 3400 block, are now long gone.

Another of those empty storefronts in the 3400 block.

Papered-over windows help give the block a deserted feel.

Former Vancity branch in the 4400 block became a BMO outlet, which then moved across Dunbar, leaving a long empty block for sale or lease.

Once, long ago, this was a little BMO branch in the 4300 block.

The 4500 block has its share of empty storefronts.

The popular Cheese Inn in the 4500 block closed in November of 2024 and remains empty.

The next-door Cake Bae is also closed and the property for lease.

Toward 41st, there’s an undeveloped lot in the 5600 block of Dunbar.

Advertisement for the future in the 5600 block.

Back down to the 3400 block, there’s another undeveloped lot.

In the 3200 block at the corner of 16th,  the Golden Rug Company is closing and the property is for sale.

This 3200-block store is also closed. So many vacancies make for a very quiet street.