Three bids to build 274 homes in Burquitlam — on properties located a block from each other, on both sides of Coquitlam’s Como Lake Avenue — will go out for comment next month.
On Monday night (Jan. 17), Coquitlam council unanimously granted first reading to move the applications to public hearings on Feb. 7. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at city hall; participants can Zoom in remotely.
SOL ADERA
The biggest of the three proposals is for the corner of Como Lake Avenue and Robinson Street, where Sol Adera Projects Ltd. and RED Sol Limited Partnership plan 201 units, including 92 condos and 109 rental suites, according to city documents.
Adera also plans 13,283 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor amenity space including multi-purpose rooms, an outdoor dining section, rooftop gardens, a playground and lounge seating.
As well, it plans to transition its loading bay into an outdoor sports court when space isn’t being used.
In his report to council, Andrew Merrill, Coquitlam’s director of development services, wrote that 30 onsite trees and hedges will be cut for the development and replaced with 59 trees. And hybrid mass timber (cross laminated timber) is set to be used for the floor, roof and elevation core systems.
If approved, the development would generate $2.2 million in development cost charges (DCC), as well as $401,000 in voluntary community amenity contributions (CAC) for the city.
KADIUM REGAN
Meanwhile, a bid that council postponed last month due to the unsightliness of the development properties will also move to public hearing after it got first reading for rezoning.
Kadium Regan Development Ltd. wants to build 50 townhouse units in five buildings — at 704, 706 and 710 Grover Ave. and 701, 705 and 709 Regan Ave.
Its townhousing plan calls for 11 back-to-back units and 39 stacked units around a central courtyard.
Merrill wrote in his report that 13 mature trees onsite, three city trees plus three offsite trees (on neighbours’ properties) will be chopped and replaced with 60 trees.
If approved, the city would stand to gain $637,000 in DCC and $128,000 in CAC.
On Monday, Mayor Richard Stewart thanked Kadium for being responsive to the property mess.
“We truly appreciate when the development community understands the need for good and respectful relationships with neighbourhoods that they’re doing business in,” the mayor said, noting that Kadium has since signed the city’s Good Neighbour Development Policy Agreement.
DOMUS PROJECTS
Finally, on the north side of Como Lake, Domus Projects is seeking to build stacked townhouses at 724, 726 and 728 Lea Ave. — with two of the three buildings having private rooftop decks.
If greenlighted following the Feb. 7 public hearing, three homes on the lots would be razed to consolidate a single-family property with a duplex parcel.
According to Merrill’s report, the bid calls for three townhouse buildings over an underground parkade for 23 stratified homes.
As well, 19 onsite trees or hedges will be cut, plus 11 offsite trees; another three offsite trees may also get the chop, though Domus plans 19 replacement trees.
The project will also include 29 bike storage lockers in the parkade. Responding to a question from Coun. Chris Wilson about eBike safety, Merrill said he would check with Domus on the “robustness” of the lockers.
Jaime Boan, Coquitlam’s general manager of engineering and public works, told council the city’s new parking design guidelines require 10 per cent of bike spaces to have an electrical outlet in new residential developments, while the number is 20 per cent for non-residential.
If the Domus bid is OK’d, the city would stand to gain $371,000 in DCC and $68,000 in CAC.
