A proposed duplex for the northern side of Port Coquitlam is being praised for its design.
On Tuesday, Oct. 17, the city's committee in council unanimously advanced the bid by Juan Duque to build the duplex at 3609 St. Thomas St. — a corner lot close to Sun Valley Park.
Council will consider first and second reading of the rezoning application at its Oct. 24 meeting before a public hearing is held.
"This is one of the nicest developments I have seen in quite some time," Coun. Dean Washington said, noting that the entrances face different streets: St. Thomas Street and Patricia Avenue.
"It looks pretty spectacular."
His comments were echoed by Coun. Darrell Penner, who called it a "great design" and encouraged developers to follow suit.
If approved, the planned infill would see the existing two-storey detached house razed, and upgrades to the frontage and servicing.
Each of the two units would have four bedrooms and three bathrooms with a den, and a two-car garage.
And, because the lot is in the floodplain, there would only be a crawlspace allowed below ground — meaning there would be no secondary suites, said Bruce Irvine, PoCo's director of planning and development.
Of the four trees on site, all would be cut down except for a Western red cedar while three more trees on the municipal boulevard along St. Thomas Street would also get the axe due to their poor conditions, Irvine said.
