![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-29-23-article-image-openform-and-edc-break-ground-on-vancouver-apartment-projectjpg.jpg\")
\nOpenForm and EDC have broken ground on Easthill, the first residential project under the Rupert and Renfrew Statiion area plan in Vancouver. (Courtesy OpenForm)<\/p>\n
\nOpenForm and EDC have broken ground on Easthill, the first residential project under the Rupert and Renfrew Statiion area plan in Vancouver. (Courtesy OpenForm)<\/p>\n
OpenForm Properties<\/a> and Epta Development Corporation<\/a> (EDC) have broken ground on the 339-unit Easthill rental residential community at the northeast corner of Renfrew Street and East Broadway in Vancouver.<\/p>\n The Easthill site was assembled through the acquisition of single-family home lots and a commercial building in 2018. The site was owned by EDC, a real estate investor and property development company owned and operated by members of the Tsakumis family.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vancouver-headquartered EDC has been in operation since the 1980s and has been involved with developments in a variety of asset classes in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n OpenForm is a sister company to OpenRoad Auto<\/a>, one of the largest auto dealers in Western Canada. It\u2019s been involved with commercial, industrial and residential developments over the past nine years.<\/p>\n EDC\u2019s principals have long-standing relationships with OpenForm director Christian Chia and president Jason Turcotte, which made it a good fit for this development partnership. OpenForm is now the majority partner and project manager for the development.<\/p>\n Easthill has grown in scale<\/p>\n The Easthill site has gone through a number of proposed iterations over the years and has added density each time. The previous proposal before this latest one was for 15- and six-storey purpose-built rental apartments.<\/p>\n Both buildings have been scaled up. Easthill will be comprised of a 31-storey highrise and an eight-storey midrise building.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have approval in principle from council for the proposed 31-storey project,\u201d Turcotte told RENX. \u201cWe expect to get a jump on construction by leveraging the approval we already have in place, while layering in the next step of approval for the additional height.\u201d<\/p>\n Rupert and Renfrew Station Area Plan<\/p>\n The site is a five-minute walk from the elevated Renfrew station on the Millennium Line of the SkyTrain rapid transit system.<\/p>\n Easthill is the first development to be approved and to break ground under the\u00a0City of Vancouver<\/a>\u2019s Rupert and Renfrew Station Area Plan<\/a>, which was introduced to:\u00a0<\/p>\n offer more diverse and affordable housing options; What Easthill will offer<\/p>\n
\nenhance walking, cycling and transit connections;
\nprotect and restore Still Creek;
\ndeliver more shops and services to support easy access to daily needs;
\nprotect and preserve land for employment;
\nand expand public spaces and enhance social and cultural amenities.<\/p>\n