Vancouver Police opening major patrol operations hub at Woodward's, while exploring training academy at former London Drugs space

London Drugs at Woodward’s. (Kenneth Chan)

 Kenneth Chan at the DailyHive.com

on January 30 2026, 9:53 am Read All 32 Comments

Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is expanding its operational presence in Gastown, the Downtown Eastside, and Chinatown by establishing a new operational hub at the Woodward’s complex. This should not be confused with the recently opened Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre located at street level within the same complex.

Currently, renovations are underway on an office space of about 10,000 sq. ft. to create the VPD’s headquarters for District 5.

VPD’s patrol operations across the city of Vancouver are divided into geographical areas. In September 2025, the VPD and Mayor Ken Sim announced the creation of the brand-new additional District 5 spanning Gastown, the Downtown Eastside, Chinatown, and Hastings Crossing. Sim says District 5 builds on the success of the VPD’s Task Force Barrage operations, which were first launched in February 2025 to target criminal activity concentrated primarily in the Downtown Eastside.

District 5 is achieved by rejigging the geographical boundaries of the existing areas of District 1 (downtown Vancouver peninsula) and District 2 (Strathcona, Grandview-Woodland, and Hastings-Sunrise). The other existing areas of District 3 span the Vancouver Eastside south of District 2, while District 4 generally covers the entire Vancouver Westside.

In an email in response to an inquiry, VPD Sergeant Steve Addison told Daily Hive Urbanized the aim is to have officers deploy from the new District 5 headquarters at Woodward’s within weeks.

“Our new District 5 headquarters will allow our officers to better serve the needs of the neighbourhood, which continues to face significant public safety issues that are negatively impacting businesses and residents,” said Addison.

“More police presence in that area will lead to improvements in safety in Gastown, Chinatown, Hastings Crossing, and the Downtown Eastside.”

District 5’s physical presence in Woodward’s is in addition to the Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre, which is a volunteer-driven facility that opened in July 2025 within the former TD Bank space in the complex. This separate centre mainly focuses on crime prevention and community outreach initiatives.

It is no coincidence that the VPD has selected Woodward’s as the site for these facilities, given increasing crime and public safety concerns in the surrounding area, including among the complex’s anchor businesses. Those concerns were reflected in London Drugs’ recent decision to close its long-standing Woodward’s store after more than 15 years of operation, with the retailer citing growing safety risks to retail staff, sharply rising security and loss prevention costs, and mounting financial losses that had become unsustainable for a location that never turned an annual profit. London Drugs’ last day of business at Woodward’s is Feb. 1, 2026.

Similarly, TD Bank closed its longtime location at Woodward’s in 2024 due to staff safety concerns and repeat acts of major vandalism, which involved the smashing of the bank’s storefront windows.

London Drugs at Woodward’s. (Kenneth Chan)

There is a possibility that the policing presence at Woodward’s could grow far larger beyond the District 5 headquarters office and the street-level community policing centre.

Upon inquiry, Mayor Sim told Daily Hive Urbanized the London Drugs space, once vacated by the retailer, could potentially become a Justice Institute of British Columbia dedicated training academy for police officers.

“That would certainly be an option we would explore,” said Sim.

“There could be a lot of benefits to having Vancouver’s police training academy located in the same building as the headquarters for the District 5, the new policing district for the Downtown Eastside and surrounding neighbourhoods. District 5 builds off the success of Task Force Barrage and will be a game-changer for the surrounding community.”

Addison also noted that the VPD is exploring potential opportunities to obtain additional space at Woodward’s that could be used for training purposes, but was not able to elaborate any further at this early stage.

In recent weeks, significant concerns have emerged over the potential impacts of a prolonged vacancy at the former London Drugs space, which has long provided steady foot traffic and served as an anchor not only for Woodward’s but also as an economic activity generator for the broader Gastown and Downtown Eastside areas.

London Drugs’ space spans roughly 26,000 sq. ft. across two levels. After its closure, the 16,000 sq. ft. Nester’s Market grocery store will be Woodward’s remaining anchor business. Another major anchor tenant in the complex is Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts, which occupies roughly 150,000 sq. ft. of space.

Sim says Vancouver having its own police training academy would enable an increase in class sizes, potentially opening up the Justice Institute’s training spots for other municipal police forces, including the Surrey Police Service. But he asserts the provincial government has been dragging its feet on enabling such initiatives.

“The Province has been slow to show urgency. They have not provided a clear timeline or indication that they intend to move any more quickly,” said Sim.

“Vancouver has the ability to train its own officers, and we can get started immediately. Every delay means a less safe Vancouver, a less safe Surrey, and a less safe Lower Mainland, right before the World Cup.”

The VPD’s existing major facility just east of the intersection of Main Street and East Cordova Street — in the core of the Downtown Eastside — will continue to be used by the department for other purposes, including jail staff, traffic officers, and court-liaison staff. It is also currently home to the VPD’s Downtown Eastside beat officers.

The VPD’s Graveley Street complex near Vancouver’s eastern municipal boundary serves administrative and investigative operations, while the complex at the south end of the Cambie Street Bridge is the VPD’s main citywide headquarters office.