Hogan's Alley

Hogan’s Alley Society

Hogan’s Alley Society is a non-profit organization committed to daylighting the presence of Black history in Vancouver and throughout British Columbia.

Learn more about Hogan’s Alley:

City Council has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Hogan's Alley Society (HAS) to deliver housing, public benefits, and amenities on the 898 Main Street block.

Background

Hogan’s Alley was another name for Park Lane in Strathcona, which ran between Union and Prior Streets from approximately Main Street to Jackson Avenue.

Hogan’s Alley was home to Vancouver's largest Black and African diaspora community. This community was displaced over decades by the City's actions, and finalized by the construction of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts in 1972.

Our commitment

The City recognizes that the MOU is only 1 step in building a stronger relationship with the broader Black and African diaspora communities. We see this work as crucial to the long-term success of our cultural redress efforts with Vancouver's Black and African diaspora communities.

The City is committed to working with Vancouver's cultural communities to acknowledge and address historical discrimination, identify and remove barriers to full participation, and celebrate their vibrant cultures.

History of our decisions leading to the creation of the viaducts
From 1931 to 1971, the City implemented a series of actions to encourage and pressure people to leave Hogan’s Alley, including:
- 1931: A bylaw zoned much of Hogan’s Alley and the surrounding area as industrial rather than residential.
- 1939: Hogan’s Alley is characterized as an undesirable neighbourhood and as a health hazard.
- 1950s to 1960s: The City stopped granting building and development permits in the area. The City generally neglected care of the infrastructure in the area and stopped funding improvements to roads.
- 1957: The City's 1957 redevelopment study identified Strathcona as one of the City's worst areas in need of redevelopment.
- 1967: City staff presented the proposed plan, the Vancouver Transportation Study, to City Council.
- 1967 to 1972: Land acquisition by the City was completed through sales or expropriations. The City financially compensated property owners, buildings were demolished, and the building of the viaducts was completed.

About the MOU

The City's approach to redress aims to work at a level of community impact. The Hogan’s Alley MOU recognizes and begins to address the harm to the development of the Black and African diaspora communities in Vancouver caused by the City through a series of actions; and policies over multiple decades that displaced the Black and African diaspora communities, impacting the communities’ overall presence and development in Vancouver..

The MOU confirms both parties' intention to work together in a cooperative and collaborative manner to enable the redevelopment of the 898 Main Street block to achieve the diverse public benefits identified in the vision of the Northeast False Creek Plan, including a cultural centre.

The MOU provides critical context for the next stages of the redevelopment which will include further discussions and negotiations of the terms of the lease, and work by HAS on engaging with the community and fundraising with senior government agencies, as well as developing detailed business, financial and development plans for the block.

Additional details
- The future cultural centre on Main Street is intended to be a focus for the Black community, while also being open and welcoming to all. There will also be a focus on culturally-centred retail and food, and to draw inspiration from the African diaspora in the design of the centre of the block.
- Similar to how the we work with other non-profit providers, the MOU envisions a long-term lease of the land to HAS, with HAS being responsible for all costs of the design, construction, programming, operation, maintenance, and capital rehabilitation of the facilities on the block.
- The physical redevelopment of the block will require the removal of the viaducts and the introduction of a new street network in line with the Northeast False Creek Plan, both of which are still several years away.
Related projects
- Anti-Black racism redress
- Northeast False Creek: Reconciliation and cultural redress
Northeast False Creek Plan

The 898 Main Street block is part of the Northeast False Creek Plan, which sets a long-term vision for the last remaining piece of large and undeveloped land in the downtown along False Creek, and includes a strong focus on cultural redress to the Black and African diaspora and the Chinese Canadian community, as well as reconciliation with local First Nations.

The Hogan’s Alley MOU is aligned with the NEFC Plan, and lays the foundation to deliver significant public benefits and amenities on the block including affordable housing, a cultural centre, childcare, artist production space, and public art.

Hogan's Alley

Hogan’s Alley Society

Background

Our commitment

History of our decisions leading to the creation of the viaducts

About the MOU

Additional details

Related projects

Contact information, partner agencies, and website policies