Stanley Park seawall replacement cost estimated at $250-300 million

Commissioners learned it will cost up to $300 million to replace eight-kilometres of the 10-kilometre Stanley Park seawall with a breakwater that can withstand future storms.

The Vancouver Park Board received an update Monday on the progress and cost of repairs from powerful storms that damaged the city’s waterfront last fall and winter, and fixing the battered infrastructure won’t be cheap.

Commissioners learned it will cost up to $300 million to replace eight-kilometres of the 10 kilometre Stanley Park seawall with a breakwater that can withstand future storms.

King tides combined with strong winds and storm surges in November 2021 and January 2022 resulted in significant damage to the Stanley Park seawall, Kits Pool area and Jericho Pier.

The shoreline destruction stretches from Prospect Point to Spanish Banks, with the heaviest damage along the Stanley Park seawall between Siwash Rock and Third Beach, Kitsilano Beach and Spanish Banks west.

The seawall section between Third Beach and Prospect Point has since been rebuilt, with archaeological oversight from the city’s three host nations.

The Park Board has spent $1.1 million on seawall and shoreline repairs to date, and expects it will spend another $1.2 million for a total of $2.3 million.

According to senior engineer Kate McIntyre, the 2023-2026 Capital Plan allocates $3.5 million for “proactive and reactive” repairs on Park Board sections of seawall and shoreline.

“The replacement cost of the approximately eight kilometres of seawall around Stanley Park, including all associated project costs – that could be between approximately $250 and $300 million,” McIntyre told commissioners.