The sales centre for two new mixed-use buildings in Port Moody’s historic downtown will officially launch on Saturday, March 8.
North Vancouver-based Placemaker Communities received council’s approval in September 2023, to construct Mary Anne’s Place on 10 lots bounded by Clarke and Spring streets, between Kyle Street and the Queen’s Street plaza.
The six-storey project is named after Port Moody’s late beloved heritage advocate, Mary Anne Cooper, who died in 2021 at the age of 107.
Fittingly, the developer said it will honour her legacy by preserving and showcasing the former P. Burns butcher shop that was built in 1908. It will be moved from its current location on Clarke Street to the Queen’s Street plaza, where it’s expected to spark a revitalization of the community gathering space.
Helen Daniels, who operated the Gallery Bistro that was located on one of the lots to be redeveloped until it burned down in 2019, said the project is an appropriate tribute to her good friend.
“We believe this project will be a definite asset to Clarke Street,” she said.
Even Cezar Salaveria, whose GRIT café and gallery was displaced to accommodate the move of the old butcher shop, is on board. The business now shares the new sales centre that occupies the former Aroma restaurant.
He said Placemaker is “seeing value in what we’re doing at GRIT” by providing a gathering space that supports and promotes local artists.
Hesam Deihimi, the president of the development company, said it’s a great responsibility to build a new project in a heritage area.
“It’s a very special site,” he said.
When Mary Anne’s Place is complete, it will comprise 98 strata apartments in one building and 79 market rental units — including nine live-work studios — in the other. The two buildings, that are to be separated by a public mews, will also feature more than 24,000 square feet of commercial space on their ground floors.
The sales centre’s grand opening takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be live music, a caricature artists, and beverages from nearby Twin Sails and Brave breweries.
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