Heights District Groundbreaking Marks a New Phase for the Old Tower Mall Site

August 15, 2026

Dirt is moving on one of Vancouver’s most-watched redevelopment projects. The Heights District — a 205-acre transformation of the former Tower Mall area in central Vancouver — held a groundbreaking this summer marking the start of construction on infrastructure that will support the district’s first private development phases.

The city and its Heights Community Investment Committee, a group of Vancouver residents with a combined half-century of real estate development and financing experience, have already selected developers for the first two phases, known as Sites C, P, M, and O. Sites C and P, at East Mill Plain Boulevard and Devine Road, will bring 184 affordable housing units along with a market hall and community-serving commercial space; the City Council approved the disposition and development agreements for those sites in October 2025.

Road work is already underway. The city expects to start construction on improvements to the Mill Plain Boulevard and MacArthur Boulevard intersection this year, with the larger Grand Loop project — another federally funded piece of the puzzle — set to begin construction in spring 2027. City officials describe the broader vision as a walkable, 20-minute community, with additional projects including a civic plaza and four housing developments expected to add roughly 300 more affordable homes.

For contractors, this is a multi-year pipeline of public infrastructure work followed by a wave of private vertical construction — worth tracking closely for bid opportunities as each site phase reaches its RFP stage.

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