{"id":1213,"date":"2018-01-25T00:24:54","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T00:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chrisbrownrealestate.ca\/blog\/?p=1213"},"modified":"2018-01-25T00:27:22","modified_gmt":"2018-01-25T00:27:22","slug":"city-of-north-van-approves-condos-for-telus-site-crest-by-adera-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisbrownrealestate.ca\/blog\/city-of-north-van-approves-condos-for-telus-site-crest-by-adera-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"City of North Van approves condos in Central Lonsdale \/\/ Crest by Adera Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A design rendering of the 179-unit residential development at 150 East Eighth St. as it will look upon completion.<\/p><\/div>\n

City of North Vancouver council voted on Monday to allow for 179 condo units at 150 East Eighth St.<\/p>\n

Despite neighbourhood outcry over a shortage of parking and an excess of density, four out of seven councillors favoured construction of two six-storey buildings as well as 17 ground-floor townhomes.<\/p>\n

Besides being \u201c13 townhouses wide,\u201d one six-storey building becomes seven storeys where the sloping site reaches its lowest point, noted neighbour Linda Hayes.<\/p>\n

The site resembles a right-angle triangle with the longer sides running along East 11th and Eighth streets and the point jutting towards Lonsdale Avenue.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s mass and height will leave neighbours \u201cdwarfed\u201d while failing to provide housing the city needs, Hayes argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a market condo building, not affordable housing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s a theory that greater density will breed affordability, the North Shore\u2019s increase in density hasn\u2019t provided \u201cany marked improvement in affordability,\u201d Coun. Don Bell noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a changing demographic on the North Shore that is worrying to me,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing people being driven away because of economics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mayor Darrell Mussatto conceded that developer Crest Adera will sell the units for \u201cas much as they can,\u201d but he countered that the project is still more affordable than buying a single-family home.<\/p>\n

The project is near the 229 and 230 bus routes, close to shops, and a quick hop from the Green Necklace cycling route.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to put density somewhere, this is the place you\u2019re going to put it,\u201d Mussatto said.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s guidelines allow a maximum of six storeys on the site \u2013 measured from the highest point of the lot. Those parameters limit floor space ratio \u2013 which measures the project\u2019s total floor area against its lot size \u2013 to 2.6, which includes a 1.0 FSR bonus.<\/p>\n

The developer is slated to pay $8.1 million for that extra density, of which $1.6 million is earmarked for the city\u2019s affordable reserve fund and $6.5 million for the civic amenity reserve fund.<\/p>\n

That money \u201ccan go right to Harry Jerome,\u201d Mussatto said, noting the high cost of the forthcoming recreation centre.<\/p>\n

The financial arrangement didn\u2019t persuade Coun. Rod Clark to support the development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want cash in lieu,\u201d he said. \u201cI want the affordable housing units.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s preliminary application included 12 units at below-market rates. That component was scrapped.<\/p>\n

Clark suggested the development was \u201cshoehorning density in an area that\u2019s already pretty dense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project includes 235 parking spots, including 30 spaces for Telus employees who will work in the building on the eastern side of the site.<\/p>\n

The extra density will exacerbate a parking scarcity that has sent many customers into the large parking lots around Park Royal in West Vancouver, said Coun. Pam Bookham.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been hearing a lot from our business owners about the challenges of providing adequate street parking for their customers,\u201d she said, mentioning the challenges faced by customers at the Club 16 fitness centre on Lonsdale.<\/p>\n

If North Vancouver wants to support a small business community, as opposed to a mall, \u201cwe need more people,\u201d Coun. Linda Buchanan argued.<\/p>\n

Buchanan also took issue with her council colleagues calling for affordable rental.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is pretty rich for some councillors to say we need more purpose rental building when they in fact (voted against) a purpose rental building two blocks up the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

The market development is essential for North Vancouverites who want to own rather than rent, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese young people in our community need to have hope that they can actually afford to buy something in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coun. Holly Back praised the developer for providing ample parking and an off-leash dog park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see how this six-storey building is going to overshadow anything,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Telus building has been pretty ugly there for the last 50 years so thank you for beautifying the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

While housing prices have risen amid an \u201cunprecedented building boom,\u201d Coun. Craig Keating reminded the packed chamber about the delicate nature of council\u2019s responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not sit here in front of council and say, \u2018I\u2019m the councillor who\u2019s going to help everybody\u2019s housing prices go down,\u2019 because if you own the house you don\u2019t like that idea,\u201d he said, adding that it\u2019s a different matter for residents hoping to buy homes.<\/p>\n

The project should, \u201chelp us replace the single-family home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Council\u2019s decision was supported by Philip Tarrant, who described himself as a millennial in support of density.<\/p>\n

\u201cDensity is the only way my generation can afford to live and buy homes on the North Shore,\u201d he said. \u201cAdera will take an under-utilized property in a great location and turn it into 179 new homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The units range between 600 and 1,900 square feet.<\/p>\n

Crest Adera is also on the hook for $635,000 worth of in-kind contributions, including a dog park facilitated by moving the cul-de-sac eastward, public art, and the relocation of the grizzly bear sculpture on Lonsdale Avenue and Eighth Street.<\/p>\n

Original article:\u00a0http:\/\/www.nsnews.com\/news\/city-of-north-van-approves-condos-for-telus-site-1.23153078<\/p>\n