Commotion in Point Grey over what will replace grocery store

Major developments, such as big box grocery stores, can make or break a neighbourhood. If they disappear, they can throw a neighbourhood off balance. Vancouverites saw that happen when the iconic Woodward’s department store shuttered its downtown location.

For decades, a Safeway store had anchored Vancouver’s Point Grey Village retail district at 4545 West 10th Ave., but in 2018 the three-acre site was sold off and the store demolished. It has been a vacant lot ever since, awaiting redevelopment by the new owner, international development and investment company BentallGreenOak. Whatever happens at that site will be crucial to restoring vitality to the neighbourhood.