A proposal to build a pair of six-storey mixed-use buildings will dramatically alter the streetscape of Port Moody’s downtown along Clarke Street, between the Queens Street Plaza and Kyle Street.
But the historic P. Burns & Co. butcher store that is now home to GRIT café would be preserved and moved to the corner of Queens and Spring streets.
Council is to get its first preliminary look at the proposal by GBL Architects on Tuesday (Feb. 15).
In a report, Port Moody senior development planner Kevin Jones said the project will include 177 residential units, of which 78 will be market rental, as well as 16,000 sq. ft. of commercial space along Clarke Street.
The two buildings would be separated by a pedestrian mews connecting Clarke and Spring streets midway between Queens and Kyle.
Jones noted while four of the seven lots that comprise the site currently have commercial buildings on them, more than half the total property is vacant.
One of the empty areas is where the Gallery Bistro once stood, before it was destroyed by a fire in 2019.
Jones said a staff review of the project identified the relocation of the historic butcher shop building to Spring Street adjacent to the Queens Street Plaza as an opportunity to enliven that pedestrian area, although the report also suggested it would be preferable to keep it along Clarke Street, perhaps as part of the mews.
In order for the project to be be built, it would require amendments to the city’s official community plan that currently only allows three-storey structures in the area as well as a heritage revitalization agreement for the restoration and protection of the old butcher shop.
