A 45-unit condo project with a unique waterfall feature will make for a “distinctive” entry to the western end of Port Moody.
Tuesday, council passed third reading of zoning bylaw amendments required for the development at the corner of the Barnet Highway between St. Johns and Clarke streets to proceed.
Coun. Hunter Madsen praised the proposal by Langley-based Springcreek Developments Ltd. as a “remarkably lovely architectural concept,” adding “that particular corner as the western gateway into the city needed to have something special there.”
At an earlier public hearing, council heard some residents express concerns about the potential for traffic problems in that part of the city — especially if and when other proposed projects like the Westport development at the old Andrés Wine site, as well as the massive redevelopment of nearby Woodland Park — also proceed.
But councillors seemed unfazed by those worries, and Springcreek’s Kal Srih reassured them adjustments his company had made since its original proposal — like the addition of dedicated parking spaces for parents dropping off kids at the 79-space daycare that’s part of the project, as well as its proximity to transit and a bike route — would mitigate any congestion.
The development, Srih said, now “ticks all the boxes” on council’s wish list, with more than half the units having two or more bedrooms to accommodate families plus the daycare and planned office space creating more than 30 jobs.
As well, Srih added, the company’s offering of six units on a rent-to-own program in which qualified purchasers can put two years worth of rent payments toward their downpayment helps address housing affordability issues.
As for the waterfall, it will cascade five storeys down the side of the building into a reflecting pool on a 2,000 sq. ft. plaza at the corner of Barnet and St. Johns that will be available for public use.
But only part of it will be actual water, as some of the torrent will be a hologram behind glass.
Srih said the feature will provide a “different sense of entry” to Port Moody that animates a historically “ugly” location.
Previously the site of a gas station and two single family homes, the properties where the complex is to be built are now mostly overgrown, with a portion of South Schoolhouse Creek running through them; the watercourse will be protected by a 15 metre riparian zone.
Addressing concerns expressed by council about the ongoing maintenance of the waterfall, Srih said a plan would have to be developed with the building’s strata council once it’s in place, “otherwise it will fall to bits.”
He admitted, though, it’s uncharted territory as yet.
Srih said construction could begin by the spring of 2023, with completion up two years later.
