A host of new mixed-use developments, some of them massive in scale, are either proposed or approved for the formerly “small-town-feel” city of Port Moody.
The latest residential project is for a 230-unit rental apartment building at 3370 Dewdney Trunk Road. Developer PC Urban Properties presented its plans to the city’s advisory design panel in January, having last year acquired the site, which is currently home to a mobile home park with 17 pads.
If approved, it would bring the number of new rental units coming to the city to 372, after Woodbridge Properties recently received approval to build a six-storey development on St. Johns Street with 142 rental units.
Those are just two smaller developments out of the many new projects planned for the city. At one point last summer, the City was , many of which are now coming to fruition. Here is a selection of major projects planned for the city.
Coronation Park revitalization
A major part of the City’s official community plan is the . The land-use concept features a series of residential and mixed-use towers along Barnet Highway, Ioco Road and Guildford Way, with a mix of townhomes and apartments that would boost Coronation Park’s population from about 500 to nearly 4,500.
Westport Village
ճ on the former Andres Wines site is a 32-storey condo tower, a 21-storey condo tower and several mid-rise buildings, totalling 418 residential units, plus a hotel in central Port Moody.
St. John's Street
Port Moody residents got a chance January 31 at an open house to look at a , close to the Inlet Centre SkyTrain station. The large-scale project aims to build three residential towers of 20, 24, and 26 storeys, with a total of 601 homes, including 84 rental units. The towers would rise above low-rise podiums containing 50,104 square feet of commercial space.
Chisholm TV factory site
In December, the Patach Group presented a proposal for another at 50 Electronic Avenue. The project would consist of two six-storey condo buildings with a total of 358 residential units above and 16,941 sq. ft. of commercial space on the property, which runs along the south side of Murray Street from Electronic Avenue to Klahanie Drive.
Flavelle Mill yards
Further down the road, but at the forefront of many local residents’ minds, is the proposed massive redevelopment of a 34-acre sawmill industrial site on the Port Moody waterfront. The , by AP Group, calls for 11 residential towers from 19 storeys to 38 storeys high, with some low-rise residential, light industrial and retail – eventually totalling more than 3,300 homes and about 7,000 residents.
The City of Port Moody intends to spend several thousand dollars on an information campaign to inform residents about the range of new development in the city. However, the campaign has been who believe it will be politically sensitive in an election year.
City councillors and local residents alike have expressed concern over the scale of the city's development, with one resident to ask, "How is this council going to ensure Port Moody maintains the small-town feel with all this potential development?"