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What's happening in Strathcona?

A look at building activity and permit wait times in Strathcona, compared against the rest of Vancouver.

Faster than average

Building permits in Strathcona took about 61 days recently — quicker than the citywide 72.

1The story

In plain terms: Strathcona has seen 1,099 building permits on record. In the last few years, a typical permit here took about 61 days, versus 72 days citywide — so it's a bit faster than the average neighborhood. Permit activity peaked around 2021.

2The evidence
61d
typical permit here (recent)
72d
citywide typical
1,099
permits on record

Typical permit wait time in Strathcona

Each bar is Strathcona's typical wait; the dashed line is the citywide average for that era.
citywide avg201741.5d201863d201978.5d202062d202161.5d202284d202372.5d202472d202560d202652d

Building activity, by year

Number of building permits issued each year.
2017962018135201913820201212021140202210520231042024752025106202679
3Permit radar — last 12 months

Monthly permit activity

Building permits issued per month in Strathcona.
cantOct cant9 cant cantNov cant10 cant cantDec cant10 cant cantJan cant8 cant cantFeb cant8 cant cantMar cant6 cant cantApr cant5 cant cantMay cant6 cant cantJun cant11 cant cantJul cant14 cant cantAug cant4 cant cantSep cant5 cant cantOct cant12

What's been approved recently

The 5 most recent building permits in Strathcona.
Date Type Address
2026-10-16Addition / Alteration520 ALEXANDER STREET, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C7
2026-10-16Demolition / Deconstruction476 ALEXANDER STREET, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C5
2026-10-16Demolition / Deconstruction496 ALEXANDER STREET, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C5
2026-10-16Demolition / Deconstruction418 ALEXANDER STREET, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C5
2026-10-16Demolition / Deconstruction450 ALEXANDER STREET, Vancouver, BC V6A 1C5

Permit types (last 12 mo)

Addition / Alteration · 94 (87%)Demolition / Deconstruction · 9 (8%)New Building · 3 (3%)Temporary Building / Structure · 2 (2%)
4The fine print
How we calculated this
We filtered the City of Vancouver's building-permit records to those tagged 'Strathcona' (the city's own local-area classification) and measured how long each took from application to approval, using the median. We compare that against the citywide median for the same years. This is our own analysis of public records.
City of Vancouver open data — Issued Building Permits · as of 2026-10-21 · Vancouver Promise Tracker — your slice of the city's public records.