Statləw̓ District is a proposed development located in North Vancouver. The project is currently under review with Indigenous Services Canada as part of an ‘Addition to Reserve’ (ATR) process, led by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. More information on the ATR process can be found here. The proposed development went through a successful referendum with Tsleil-Waututh membership in July 2021. This will enable Statləw̓ District to proceed in the development process of creating a mixed-use community, where residents and visitors to the North Shore can live, work, play and learn.
The proposed Statləw̓ District will be a neighbourhood offering an innovative combination of real estate uses - including employment, residential, educational, recreational, retail and community services that will work together to deliver a vibrant development. This area will be connected to surrounding neighbourhoods through improved arterial streets and an active transportation network that will include bike lanes, walking paths, and the ability to incorporate bus rapid transit. Parks, plazas, open space, and natural areas will be integrated throughout, facilitating a livable and sustainable neighbourhood.
The Statləw̓ District site is located on Dollarton Highway, directly opposite the Pacific Environmental Science Centre and the Maplewood Flats Conservation Area. The site has offered many resources and industrial uses throughout history.
The 45-acre site is the location of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation ancestral village Squaw-uck/Maplewood North Lands, which sits between the two additional villages: Sleil-Waututh/Burrardview and Jol-gul-hook/Seymour Creek. The Nation’s people relied on the surrounding areas to obtain all the resources they needed to sustain themselves. Learn more about Tsleil-Waututh’s history on the North Shore and Burrard Inlet since time out of mind here.
In the early 1900s, the site was used for industrial logging, gravel extraction and port-related activities.
*Please see time-lapse photography in the gallery.
1926:
The beginnings of industrial development, including a barge canal through mud flats from the Burrard Inlet.*
1949:
By 1949, the area experienced increased gravel extraction on the site.*
1969:
The gravel pit is used extensively, while the surrounding area experiences significant industrial activity along the shorelines, and growth of suburbia on adjacent lands.*
1979:
The gravel pit closure has taken place and the site sees successional forest growth. Industrial uses remain south of Dollarton Road.*
2017:
The Maplewood site today. The Maplewood Flats (the land to the south of Statləw̓ District) have been designated as a conservation area and the Pacific Environmental Science Centre has been established.*
Future:
Statləw̓ District, offering opportunities to work, live, play and learn in a complete, integrated community.*
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The working name for this development has evolved over time based on different stages of the development process. The following references have all been used:
The development proudly reflects the legacy of the land and connection to the Tsleil-Waututh Nation through the community name ‘Statləw̓ District’.
The word ‘Statləw̓’ is the traditional Hən̓q̓əmin̓əm word for creek, or little river. Water is an important element for the Nation as People of the Inlet who settled around bodies of water that provided them with abundant resources and connected them to all the necessities of life.
The name Statləw̓ District is also a reference to the location of the proposed development which is bordered by McCartney Creek to the east, that winds towards the waters of the Burrard Inlet, and Maplewood Mudflats that are the south of the site – two very important fishing and harvesting locations for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation through their history on the land, since time out of mind.
The pronunciation of the word Statləw̓ – St(h)at-low.
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Photography Credit: Jeff Sisson, Tsleil-Waututh Nation