The proponent seeking to build a 12-storey rental tower attached to an Ismaili cultural centre in Port Moody says the project is “not economically feasible” if half the 128 apartments are to be made available at below-market rates as it originally pitched.
Instead, developer Anthem Properties is proposing 115 of the apartments be market rentals while 13 would have their rents set at 20 per cent below median rates in the Tri-Cities area as determined by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Council will consider first and second readings of amendments to the city’s zoning and official community plan bylaws that would allow the project on the northwest corner of St. Johns and Moray streets to proceed at its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Another change to the proposal since it was presented to Port Moody’s land use and city initiatives and planning committees and advisory design panel in early 2023 includes a boost in the number of two- and three-bedroom apartments from 21 to 42. As well, the developer is assuring all of the residential units will be made available to the general public, assuaging earlier concerns expressed during committee discussions that the rental building could become “faith-based.”
The apartments comprise:
- 21 studio units with an average size of 352 sq. ft.
- 65 one-bedroom units with an average size of 508 sq. ft.
- 32 two-bedroom units with an average size of 814 sq. ft.
- 10 three-bedroom units with an average size of 955 sq. ft.
Half the apartments would be adaptable.
The 12-storey tower sits atop a six-storey parking structure, four of which would be above ground because of the property’s steep slope.
The 45,818-sq. ft. Ismaili cultural centre, or Jamat Khana, would serve as a gathering place and worship destination, replacing a former cultural space further west along St. Johns Street at James Road that had to be closed because of structural problems. There are about 20,000 Ismaili Muslims living in British Columbia
The building would feature Mashrabiya latticework screens that are characteristic of Islamic architecture shrouding its exterior as well as a landscaped courtyard on its roof.
