It’s worth putting a highrise in Central Lonsdale to put $17 million in the city’s coffers.
That was the consensus in City of North Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»chambers Monday night as council voted 6-1 to approve an 18-storey, 162-unit strata building with a seven-storey podium on East 13th Street between Lonsdale and St. Georges avenues.
Coun. Holly Back previously opposed the development, citing a neighbourhood suffering “construction fatigue.” However, noting construction won’t overlap with other major projects nearby, Back threw her support behind the project Monday.
“This is the hub of our city and we need a project like this,” she said, emphasizing the need to turn Central Lonsdale into a lively, walkable neighbourhood.
Back noted the public hearing was dominated by project supporters, which ranged from city residents to young professionals and real estate agents based in Downtown Vancouver.
The change will make the city more exciting, promised West Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»resident Golnaz Navabi.
“I’m so excited to see North Van looking like a city,” she said. “If we expect a very quiet life than we have to move to suburbs.”
Three employers who spoke to council suggested the project would ease the challenge of finding workers willing to brave daily gridlock to earn a living on the North Shore.
However, engineer Nick Bryant called council’s attention to a dangerous and “badly bottlenecked” rear laneway that would be the sole access for the new project. Bryant and another neighbour lobbied council to examine 13th Street as an access point as opposed to the lane.
Coun. Don Bell was the lone voice of opposition during council debate.
“What really bothers me though is the loss of office space,” he said, noting the total office space would drop from approximately 50,000 to 31,718 square feet.
Bell also said the city didn’t have a strong need for more condos in Central Lonsdale.
The proposal won support from Coun. Rod Clark, who explained that the opposition that filled up his email inbox failed to materialize in council chambers.
The site’s floor space ratio – which measures a development’s total floor area against its lot size – was previously zoned for an FSR of 3.0. To reach a 4.95 FSR, Millennium Northmount Properties will spend $6.4 million on a 1.0 FSR density bonus and approximately $10.7 million to buy 41,302 square feet from a city owned site for $260 per square foot.
Approximately $3 million will likely be added to the city’s affordable housing fund as a result, which is “nothing to sneeze at,” Clark noted.
“We’re going to have one block in the city that’ll be equivalent to downtown Vancouver,” he said.
Mayoralty candidate Kerry Morris took aim at Millennium Northmount Properties, accusing the developer of: “arguably a bad financial track record.”
Calling Millennium a “quality developer,” Clark said he was not concerned about those allegations.
Mayor Darrell Mussatto joined Clark in defending Millennium as a good developer.
Calling the area “basically the centre of the North Shore,” Mussatto said it was the right place for density.
The project also won support from Coun. Linda Buchanan, who previously suggested the old medical building has likely come to the end of its life.
The area needs redevelopment, and postponing isn’t likely to make redevelopment any easier or more affordable, Buchanan said, citing the importance of the project’s seven ground floor commercial retail units, totalling 18,331 square feet.
By raising the maximum height of the building from 150 to 187 feet, the developer will be able to reduce mass and maintain sunlight in the public realm, according to a city staff report.
The site is currently occupied by the Northmount Medical building and an ICBC building, which are nine- and four-storeys.
The development was approved 6-1 with Coun. Don Bell in opposition.
