A Vancouver-based developer has some work ahead if it’s to build three new condo towers in Port Moody, according to a staff report.
Beedie Living is seeking amendments to the city’s zoning and official community plan bylaws to construct 972 units in three Moody Centre residential towers of 32, 34 and 38 storeys at 3060-3092 Spring St. along with a separate six-storey women’s transition facility with 40 apartments further west at 2806 Spring St..
But in a report to be presented to Port Moody’s land use committee at its meeting on Monday, Feb. 5, senior development planner Bita Jamalpour said the project falls short in several areas.
She said the 93 three-bedroom units proposed for the three condo towers is less than the city’s requirement that at least 10 per cent of the total units have three or more bedrooms.
As well, Jamalpour said, the 40 non-market apartments in the six-storey transition facility doesn’t attain the six per cent affordable housing of a project’s total residential floor area set by the city’s inclusionary zoning policy. She said a proposal by Beedie to make up the difference by designating 25 units in the eastern-most of the three condo towers as non-market still has to be fleshed out.
Jamalpour said Beedie’s proposal also doesn’t provide enough jobs.
She said while the project would eat up almost a quarter of the total development area in the Moody Centre transit-oriented neighbourhood, the 385 jobs staff estimate could be accommodated in its proposed retail and office spaces in the tower’s podiums are about 240 shy of the minimum expected as a proportion of the city’s target to see at least 2,800 jobs created in the area.
The jobs would “help foster a complete community and contribute to Port Moody’s share of projected regional employment," the report added.
Jamalpour said Beedie is exploring ways to increase the amount of employment spaces.
Other components of the project that still need to be nailed down include its public art plan, the design and ownership of a large plaza the developer considers to be its “living room” and a provision for childcare spaces. Although, Jamalpour added, another anticipated project nearby could include enough spaces to meet the neighbourhood’s needs.
In its application documents, Beedie said the development would result in amenity contributions to Port Moody worth more than $23 million, along with $3.6 million in actual cash. The company said it would also generate $2.1 million a year in property taxes.
But Monday’s assessment by the land use committee isn’t binding.
It is the project’s first step in its journey to refine its scope and elements that also includes evaluations by the city’s advisory design panel that is comprised of industry professionals with expertise in architecture, engineering and landscaping followed by a presentation to council’s city initiatives and planning committee.
Reshaping Port Moody's skyline
Beedie’s proposal comes on the heels of other large projects that could reshape Port Moody’s skyline in the years to come.
One, by PCI Developments, would see the construction of two 39-storey towers with 857 rental apartments further west along Spring Street, adjacent to the Moody Centre SkyTrain station. If approved, they would be the city’s tallest towers.
The proposal was reviewed by the city’s advisory design panel in October.
PCI was the first developer of a consortium of companies and property owners that includes Anthem Properties, Woodbridge Homes, TransLink and the provincial government to pitch a concrete proposal to transform 23 acres of light industrial and commercial properties around the transit station into a dense, mixed-use urban neighbourhood.
As well, the owner of the old Flavelle sawmill site on Port Moody’s waterfront, next to Rocky Point Park, filed a pre-application Jan. 7 to develop the 34-acre property. Details, however, have yet to be made publicly available.
The mill ceased operations in 2020 after more than 100 years.
The closure came two years after council approved amendments to its zoning and official community plan bylaws to pave the way for a redevelopment project that would include 3,400 new residential units in 11 towers ranging from 16 to 38 storeys along with live-work units and 60 to 70 rental apartments in a low-rise building, retail, office and light industrial spaces and even a possible hotel and congregate care facility.
Since its closure, all the mill’s equipment has been removed and the property has seen some filming activity.
