A new city of Coquitlam fund set up to collect developers' cash for a future recreation centre in Burquitlam will soon have $665,000 in the kitty.
On Monday, city council voted 6-1 to approve Intracorp's bid to build 107 townhomes and a five-storey, 99-unit apartment block on Foster Avenue.
As the project is the first to fall under Coquitlam's Transit-Oriented Development Strategy (TDS) for new housing near the Evergreen Line, the company will pay community amenity contributions (CAC) totalling $600,000 for a rec centre.
Also on Monday, city council voted 6-1 to change a development permit for Bosa to increase the density and height for towers on the Safeway land in Burquitlam.
Although council approved the project in 2010 (prior to the TDS being adopted last July), city staff said Bosa is voluntarily paying $65,000 in CAC for the rec facility - a complex that Burquitlam residents have been wanting the municipality to build for years to meet the growing demand.
On Tuesday, Raul Allueva, Coquitlam's development services manager, told The Tri-City News the site of rec centre "hasn't been determined at this point but it will be part of the update of the Burquitlam-Lougheed Neighbourhood Plan process."
Bosa's new proposal for the Burquitlam Plaza site involves increasing Tower 1 from 24 to 26 storeys and Tower 2 from 26 to 28 storeys, resulting in 111 more units (from 331 to 446). As well, the commercial space will go up by 305 sq. ft. and the number of parking stalls will rise from 661 to 777.
The hikes will also mean about $500,000 more under the city's density bonus system, totalling around $1 million from Bosa for public amenities supporting the transit service and the Burquitlam Evergreen station area. The project will also generate development cost charges (DCC) to pay for infrastructure - i.e., curbs, sidewalks, gutters - around Coquitlam.
As for Intracorp's bid, which will also bring in DCC and extra parkland for the city, Mayor Richard Stewart on Monday praised the company for going "above and beyond the call for parking."
Coquitlam's TDS for the core and shoulder areas - that is, within a 400 m and 800 m walking distance to the closest Evergreen station - requires developers provide 1.35 stalls for every two-bedroom unit.
Stewart also said he liked the layout and design of the townhomes planned to front Foster, saying, "I think we are in for a very good project."
