Port Moody residents will find out Tuesday, Dec. 3, if they’ll get a chance to weigh in on a development proposal that would bring three high-rise condo towers and a six-storey transitional housing facility for women to the city’s downtown.
That’s when a special online meeting of council considers second reading of amendments to the city’s official community plan and two zoning bylaws required for the project, by Vancouver-based Beedie Living, to proceed.
If approved, the proposal would go to a public hearing prior to a further assessment by council.
Beedie is seeking to build 981 new homes in the three towers of 32, 34 and 38 storeys at the corner of Electronic Avenue and Spring Street, just east of the Moody Centre SkyTrain station. There would also be up to 72,118 sq. ft. of commercial and office space as well as a childcare facility for up to 107 kids.
In a report, senior planner Dejan Teodorovic and Wesley Woo, Port Moody’s manager of development planning, said the company has made some adjustments to the unit mix of the condo towers since council last saw the proposal in July. Those include the elimination of 58 studio apartments while the number of one bedrooms increased by 24.
As well, there be 28 more one-bedroom plus den units, nine more two-bedroom plus den apartments and three more with three bedrooms. Two-bedroom units have decreased by six.
Many would be larger than initially proposed.
The report said Beedie is also close to finalizing an agreement with the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation that would make 20 units in the project’s first phase available as non-market rental housing.
The three towers would be tied together by a large plaza that will serve as a kind of outdoor living room for the development as well as the community. It would be constructed as part of the project’s second of two phases.
The company is also proposing a community garden on the rooftop of the west commercial podium.
The six-storey transitional housing facility would be located further west along Spring, near Moody Street. Teodorovic and Woo said in their report it would provide “safe, affordable housing” for six to 18 months for women and children escaping abusive situations.
The facility would be built as part of the project’s first phase, they added, and it’s likely the first to be completed.
The report noted Beedie’s plan to extend Spring Street eastward to Buller Street from where it currently ends at Electronic Avenue would also play “a crucial role in enhancing connectivity” within the Moody Centre neighbourhood.
If the project is approved, Tedorovic and Woo said it would bring a “significant" financial contribution to the city of about $27.9 million.
During first reading last July, several councillors expressed optimism about the way Beedie’s proposal was shaping up.
“This is addressing a spectrum of housing,” said Coun. Diana Dilworth, lauding the transitional housing and non-market rental units.
Mayor Meghan Lahti praised the inclusion of a childcare facility as well as the office spaces.
But Coun. Haven Lurbiecki said the proposal’s bells and whistlers are just a distraction to steer the community’s attention from its scale and density.
“People do not want this,” she said.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and can be viewed online.
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in the Tri-Cities? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 Want to stay updated on Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra news? Sign up for our free daily newsletter.
💬 Words missing in an article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
