The Globe and Mail

A massive building project in downtown Vancouver hopes to integrate drug addicts, businesses and middle-income earners in one of Canada's most disturbing neighbourhoods. The $200-million redevelopment plan for the abandoned Woodward's store building in the Downtown Eastside slum is edgy, say urban renewal experts. The complex will be mixed use, with low-income housing beside tony market-priced lofts and condos. The site is being prepared and construction is slated to be finished in 2009, but planners are already thinking about the need for awareness courses to teach neighbours how to live together.