Mahon is the west-side neighbourhood built around Mahon Park, one of the oldest and largest parks in the City of North Vancouver. It is an older, mixed neighbourhood, roughly a third detached houses, a third small apartments and duplexes, and a third of its buildings dating from before the 1960s, which makes it very different from a uniform single-family street. Under the City's Ground-Oriented Zone, adopted December 8, 2025, most standard Mahon lots can now hold three to four homes, and lots close to the R2 Marine Drive RapidBus at the south edge can reach six. Venture Pacific works with Mahon homeowners as a general partner: you contribute the land, and we carry the design, the permit applications, the construction financing, and the construction risk. For a family that has owned near Mahon Park for years, that turns a single aging house into several homes without having to fund or manage the build.
- Zone
- Ground-Oriented (CNV)
- Units
- 3 to 4, up to 6 near Marine Dr
- Transit
- R2 RapidBus (Marine Dr edge)
- In effect
- December 8, 2025 (Bylaw 9137)
In short, Mahon is a west-side City of North Vancouver neighbourhood of older, mixed housing wrapped around Mahon Park. Under the Ground-Oriented Zone adopted December 8, 2025 (Bylaw 9137), most Mahon lots allow three to four homes, with up to six only on the southern lots near the R2 Marine Drive RapidBus. Venture Pacific partners with Mahon homeowners through a GP/LP structure, the owner contributes the land; Venture Pacific carries design, permits, financing, and construction.
What the Ground-Oriented Zone allows in Mahon
The City of North Vancouver's Ground-Oriented Zone sets unit counts by lot size and distance to frequent transit. Lots of 280 m² or smaller allow up to three homes; larger lots allow four; and lots within 400 metres of a frequent-transit stop can reach six. In Mahon, the frequent-transit route is the R2 Marine Drive RapidBus, which runs along Marine Drive at the southern edge of the neighbourhood, so the six-unit allowance realistically reaches only a thin band of the southernmost Mahon lots. Most of Mahon, which runs north from Marine Drive past Mahon Park toward 21st and 22nd Street, sits outside that band and is a three-to-four-home area.
That is an honest and useful distinction. A four-home project on a standard Mahon lot is still a meaningful change from a single house, and it fits the neighbourhood's low three-storey scale. Buildings are capped at three storeys, the floor-space ratio is 0.85 on standard lots and 1.0 near transit, and the near-transit lots also drop their minimum parking requirement. None of this needs a rezoning, the Ground-Oriented Zone is by-right, so a compliant design goes straight to permit rather than a council hearing.
Because so much of Mahon is already a mix of houses, duplexes, and small apartment buildings, a new multiplex here reads as infill among existing ground-oriented housing, not a sudden change to a uniform street. That existing variety is part of why the neighbourhood absorbs gentle density comfortably.
What this means for a Mahon homeowner
If you own an older detached house in Mahon, and much of the stock predates the 1960s, the Ground-Oriented Zone has changed what your lot can do. The question is no longer whether you are allowed to build more homes, but whether a project makes sense on your specific site. That is a feasibility question, and it is where an honest Mahon project starts.
Venture Pacific runs that review before anyone commits. We look at your lot's dimensions, whether it falls inside the Marine Drive transit band, any easements or setbacks that reduce the buildable area, and the pro forma math, then we talk about a partnership only once the numbers are clear.
- Free feasibility review: site analysis, unit-count confirmation, and a preliminary pro forma
- Design to CNV Ground-Oriented standards, an envelope and unit layout that fit Mahon's low-rise streets
- Permit management through the roughly three-to-five-month CNV review
- Construction financing arranged and carried by Venture Pacific, you bring the land, not capital
- Construction and quality control end to end, with the construction risk on us
Where multiplex projects fit in Mahon
Mahon is organized around Mahon Park, which stretches from near Marine Drive and West Keith Road in the south up to 21st Street West, with its main entrance and parking at 18th Street and Jones Avenue. The park holds a community running track, a baseball diamond, pickleball and volleyball courts, an off-leash dog area, a seasonal spray park, and a forested ravine, the kind of everyday amenity that makes ground-oriented family housing a natural fit on the surrounding blocks.
The strongest sites are the older detached lots on the streets around the park that are large enough for a four-home building, and the southern lots near Marine Drive that can reach six. Mahon is on the west side of the City, away from the Grand Boulevard, East 10th, and East 19th Street blocks the City held out for heritage review, so the neighbourhood as a whole sits in the by-right zone. Individual character homes still carry their own rules, though: the 1912 Sutherland Residence on Mahon Avenue, for example, is a listed heritage building. A feasibility review confirms whether your specific address carries any such constraint before design begins.
Questions about Mahon
How many homes can I build on my Mahon lot?
Under the City of North Vancouver's Ground-Oriented Zone, lots of 280 m² or smaller allow up to three homes, larger lots allow four, and lots within 400 metres of a frequent-transit stop can reach six. In Mahon, frequent transit runs along Marine Drive at the south edge, so most of the neighbourhood is a three-to-four-home area, with the six-home allowance reaching only the southernmost lots. We confirm the exact number for your address in a feasibility review.
Does my Mahon lot qualify for the six-unit allowance?
Only if it is close enough to the R2 Marine Drive RapidBus. The six-unit allowance applies to larger lots within 400 metres of a frequent-transit stop, and in Mahon that route runs along Marine Drive at the southern edge. Lots on the blocks nearest Marine Drive may qualify; lots farther north toward Mahon Park and 21st Street are more likely limited to four. The measured transit distance for your lot is something we confirm during feasibility rather than estimate.
My Mahon block is a mix of houses, duplexes, and small apartments. Can I still build a multiplex?
Yes. The Ground-Oriented Zone applies to residential lots by their size and transit distance, not by what your neighbours have built. Mahon's existing mix of detached houses, duplexes, and low-rise apartments is actually part of why a new ground-oriented multiplex fits in, it reads as infill among similar housing rather than a sudden change. What matters for your project is your own lot's dimensions and constraints.
Is Mahon affected by the City's heritage hold-outs?
As a neighbourhood, no. The roughly 410 lots the City held out for further heritage study are concentrated on the east side, parts of Grand Boulevard, East 10th Street, and East 19th Street, not in Mahon on the west side. That said, individual listed heritage homes exist within Mahon, such as the 1912 Sutherland Residence on Mahon Avenue, and a listed property carries its own rules. We check your specific address during feasibility.
What is the first step for a Mahon homeowner?
A free feasibility review. We measure your lot, confirm whether it falls inside the Marine Drive transit band, check for easements or setbacks that reduce the buildable area, and run a preliminary pro forma, before you commit to anything. That review tells you whether a three-, four-, or six-home project makes sense on your Mahon lot.
Nearby areas
Let's talk about your property
A conversation, not a commitment.
Whether you're curious about the multiplex value of your land or looking to partner on a missing-middle build, we're here to start the conversation.