First United Launches $30-Million Campaign to Transform Its Downtown Eastside Site

The angular spire of First United is well-recognized on the skyline of Vancouver’s East Hastings Street. To those who drive past on their daily commute, it’s just a unique feature on an otherwise decaying building.

But to those who call the Downtown Eastside home, it’s a symbol.

Commonly referred to by local residents as “the church of the open door,” the First United building at 320 E. Hastings is a place of sanctuary and support in a neighbourhood that has been disproportionately impacted by the compounding COVID-19, overdose and homelessness crises.

First United has served the Downtown Eastside for over 135 years. Its reputation dates back to around 1918, when it opened its doors to those in need during the Spanish flu pandemic. Over the decades, as neighbourhood poverty increased, First United expanded its services to respond to the urgent needs of the Downtown Eastside community.

The non-profit organization is now dedicated to the provision of inclusive, low-barrier social services that support low-income, underhoused and homeless people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, ability or faith. Its current building, an aging church built in the 1960s, was never designed to support this important work and is falling apart at a time when demand for services is increasing.

To address the critical housing, health and social justice needs of the Downtown Eastside community, First United has partnered with the Lu’ma Native Housing Society to redevelop its site into a universally accessible, multi-storey, purpose-built space.

The base of the new building will offer four floors of amenities and services, nearly tripling the size of the building’s current program space.

Above, Lu’ma will operate seven floors (over 100 units) of safe, secure, below-market housing for Indigenous peoples. Tenants will have full access to First United’s amenities and services, including two meals a day through its meal program.

The total cost of the project is $65 million, with First United’s portion $30 million. First United has already secured nearly 75 per cent of the necessary funding to build its new home and is now publicly launching the First Forward Building Connections Campaign to fundraise the remaining amount.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that this project has received such tremendous support, from long-time volunteers and donors of First United to government officials, corporations and private individuals,” says First United executive director Carmen Lansdowne. “We’re excited to now welcome more people to make a contribution to help us move First Forward. It’s heartening to see how many people share our vision of a neighbourhood where every person’s worth is celebrated, and all people thrive.”

The new building will honour the Indigenous and spiritual roots of the land it occupies.

“Our building is reconciliation in action in a number of ways,” says Lansdowne. “Many people don’t know that the population of the Downtown Eastside is about 40 per cent self-identifying as Indigenous in background, as compared to only four per cent of the wider population in Greater Vancouver. Our commitment as an organization to reconciliation has informed the planning and design of our project.”

In addition to the housing partnership with Lu’ma, the project aims to create spaces that are safe, familiar and comfortable for Indigenous community members. Art by Indigenous artists will be incorporated on all levels of the building, interior and exterior. The interior is being designed by Nisga'a architect Luugigyoo Patrick Stewart.

Cultural consultant Xalek/Sekyu Siyam Chief Ian Campbell has also given significant support during the regulatory process and design development phase.

In January, Host Consulting, a trio of public art consultants from Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations, will launch a process to commission public art for the project, including carved art installations at the front entrance of the building.

Beyond form is function, and First United has paid attention to this as well. The building’s dedicated interfaith sacred space and outdoor gathering areas have been designed to be suitable and welcoming for traditional Indigenous ceremonies.

These and all other spaces in the building will be named after Indigenous leaders and the spiritual roots of the land rather than after donors, who will instead have the option of offering a dedication to these spaces — a policy that aims to decolonize this aspect of the fundraising and philanthropic space.

With the project set to break ground in early 2022, First United programs and services are being relocated to satellite locations throughout the Downtown Eastside where they will continue to operate until the new First United opens its doors in 2024.

Lansdowne is looking forward to that day.

“There’s a difference between saying, ‘All are welcome here,’ and, ‘This space was designed with you in mind.’ That’s really the approach we’ve tried to take; designing this building with the community that we serve in mind. Can you imagine the amount of dignity, compassion and care that we can provide with a purpose-built facility designed to meet their needs? It will be amazing.”

Watch the video about the new building project below.

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About First United

First United seeks a just society by nurturing each person’s spirit through low-barrier community services, housing, advocacy and healing in the face of the often-intersecting challenges of extreme poverty, historical and personal trauma, mental and physical illness and oppression in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

To receive updates about First United services, the First Forward Building Connections Campaign, the redevelopment and more, please sign up for First United’s newsletter.