Dan Fumano: A local entrepreneur with a history of turning weird spaces into cultural hubs is pitching a big vision to transform Granville Island

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For the better part of a decade, one of Vancouver’s most iconic places has had a gaping hole in its heart: the 125,000 square feet of vacant space left behind when the Emily Carr University of Art and Design departed Granville Island in 2017.

Several interested parties — from local entrepreneurs to foreign corporations — have explored the idea of taking over the two-storey former Emily Carr building at 1399 Johnston St. and, this week, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the federal agency that owns Granville Island, formally launched a procurement process seeking proposals for the future of the space.

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At least one local company has been waiting years for this moment.

The Narrow Group, which owns and operates art spaces as well as bars and restaurants in Vancouver, shared with Postmedia News its vision to convert the century-old former industrial site into a massive “arts campus” providing 200 studio spaces for artists, along with restaurants, art-focused retailers, a brew pub, cafe, theatre and galleries.

Narrow Group owner David Duprey said he first brought his idea to local CMHC representatives about three years ago, and has spoken with them often since. They seemed receptive, Duprey said, but told him he’d need to wait for the procurement process so they could submit a formal proposal.

On Wednesday, CMHC issued what bureaucrats call an RFEOI — a “request for expressions of interest” — seeking proposals for “reimagining” the space into an “arts and innovation hub.”

Granville Island general manager Tom Lancaster said Wednesday’s news “doesn’t sound like much, because the outside world hears ‘RFEOI’ and they think, ‘Oh what’s that?’ But this is an epic step.”

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