North Vancouver's ICBC headquarters to become housing project development site

The head office of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia in North Vancouver will be transformed into an urban housing development with hundreds of homes near major transit hubs.

Premier David Eby says the province has reached an agreement to buy the Crown auto insurer's waterfront headquarters with plans to develop market and below-market homes close to transit and the SeaBus to Vancouver.

Eby says the agreement to turn the property into a mixed use residential area with ICBC was also reached with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations, and there are plans to work with the City of North Vancouver and TransLink to develop the property.

The development is part of the province's $394-million plan to build 10,000 homes near transit hubs over the next 10 to 15 years.

ICBC already announced that it would be vacating the North Vancouver building to a new smaller location in Vancouver's False Creek Flats neighbourhood.

The B.C. government passed legislation last December requiring municipalities to designate transit-oriented development areas near SkyTrain and major bus exchanges as part of the initiative to encourage more property development.

"Underused areas that are already well-connected to transit and close to services and amenities are the perfect places to build new homes," said Eby.

"The planning work will take place while ICBC begins its transition to their new site and completes it over the next two years."