This was the scene in the 3400 block of West 41st Ave. on Dec. 12, 2025. A replacement for the apartment building that burned in 2024 was rising at the corner of 41st and Collingwood. Beside it, boarded-up houses were awaiting demolition to make way for an Amica seniors’ facility that will fill the rest of the block.
By Jan. 8, 2026, a couple more floors had been added to the apartment building and the two houses were gone. They were among nine single-family houses being removed for the seniors’ facility.
All 50 trees on the site had to be removed, plus six of 11 city trees. These piles contain some of their remains.
By Carol Volkart
A once-forested stretch of 41st Avenue is looking different these days as a six-storey apartment building rises and the rest of the block is being prepared for the construction of a seniors’ facility.
The apartment at the northeast corner of 41st and Collingwood is a rebuild of the one that burned to the ground in a spectacular August 2024 fire. First approved by city council in 2021 and taking the place of four single-family homes, it will be 72 feet high and provide 114 secured market rental units.
Right beside the new apartment building, the forest of trees that once covered 10 parcels all the way to Blenheim has been cut down. All but three of the nine single-family homes that once nestled in those woods were gone as of the first week of January. In future, the rest of the block between Blenheim and Collingwood will be filled by an 85-foot-high seniors’ facility with 232 units.
The facility, to be operated by Amica Seniors Living, was approved unanimously by Vancouver city council in April of 2024.
Community opinion on the project was strongly divided, with some arguing the facility was badly needed in an area with an aging population, and others saying it was too big, too high and would adversely affect the neighbours.
A major concern was the loss of the many mature trees on the site, and the impact on the wide variety of birds and other wildlife that lived there.
A March 2024 city report said all 50 on-site trees plus six of 11 city trees would be removed “due to conflict with the building footprint, north lane development and future public realm design.” Five city trees were to be retained, and 24 trees adjacent to the site would need neighbours’ consent before removal.
As for the future, “the proposal anticipates substantial replacement trees on three sides of the site, with 71 new trees on-site and 18 new city trees,” the report said. “The final number of new trees will be determined through the development permit process.”
This was the scene at the Blenheim end of the site on Dec. 12. Three of the houses were still there as of Jan. 8.
50 chopped trees make for a lot of debris.
One of nine boarded-up homes to be replaced by the new seniors’ facility.
Another of the older homes slated for demolition.
A series of signs like this at the corner of Blenheim and 41st explain the removal of boulevard trees for construction.
Image of new Amica seniors’ facility in the 3400 block of West 41st as shown in city reports.