Commercial Drive Area Still Gritty Despite Gentrification

Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun

Published: Sunday, April 06, 2008

VANCOUVER - House prices in Vancouver's Commercial Drive area have tripled in the past decade, drawing yuppies to the now-million-dollar homes, yet some of the grittier problems in the city's vibrant urban village remain.

Homeless people sleep in alcoves. Crack dealers deal openly on street corners. On the periphery of the area, prostitutes still seek customers.

Nonetheless, people who live on "The Drive" say they love the ambience of the neighbourhood and its cafes, shops and diverse and eclectic art, people and music, according to a recent joint survey by the Grandview-Woodland Community Police Station and Simon Fraser University's Canadian Urban Research Studies.

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