E-bikes, co-working offices, a yoga space, ping pong tables and a sky lounge deck.
Those are some of the perks to be offered to future residents of a proposed tower and rental building to rise near the Burquitlam SkyTrain station.
Last month, city council gave first reading to the rezoning bid by Strand to construct a 29-storey condo tower and a six-storey rental block on five properties: 618, 622 and 626 Claremont St. and 631 and 633 Gardena Dr.
The high-density application is the second for the Oakdale neighbourhood, after city council recently adopted the Oakdale Plan to grow the single-family home area.
The Strand bid, if approved following a public hearing on Oct. 18, will see five houses razed for the development, which will be built to BC Energy Step Code 2 level. As well, part of the Gardena Drive cul-de-sac will close, in part, and a new east–west lane will be built along the southern property line.
According to a city report, the proposed concrete tower — fronting Claremont Street — will have 246 market condos of which 23 (or 10 per cent) are three-bedroom units and 49 are adaptable units.
For the wood-framed rental building — fronting Gardena Drive — the plan is for 103 suites of which 89 are market and 14 are below-market; six of the rental units will have three bedrooms and 18 are adaptable. The developer is currently working with BC Housing to operate the below-market rental suites, city staff say.
Among the amenities planned are:
- for the condo tower: 13,604 sq. ft. of common space for a bike repair room, fitness area, co-working space and a sky lounge on the top floor with a kitchen
- for the rental building: 5,632 sq. ft. of common space for a guest unit, bike repair room, multi-purpose room, fitness area, garden, a barbecue area, yoga space, sky lounge deck, ping pong tables and a playground
As well, six levels of underground parking — with stalls equipped with Level 2 EV charges — and 449 bike spots will be installed.
Asked by Coun. Chris Wilson about the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures, Andrew Merrill, Coquitlam’s director of development services, said e-bikes are allowed under city policies that were updated this year.
The total value of the TDM measures that Strand is proposing in the form of pre-loaded Compass cards and e-bikes is $383,900.
“These TDM measures are very important because we’re requiring less parking spots as a result,” Wilson told council on Sept. 27.
If OK’d, the city stands to gain $7.1 million in density bonuses, $4.2 million in development cost charges and $314,000 in community amenity contributions.
The first high-density bid for the Oakdale neighbourhood was the Marcon tower at the northwest corner of Clarke Road and Como Lake Avenue; that application is now at third reading, following a public hearing.
• To comment on the Strand’s application on Oct. 18, visit coquitlam.ca/publichearing. The meeting at Coquitlam city hall starts at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
