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Austin towers scaled back to meet city regs

After feedback, Beedie changed highrise proposal
Two towers proposed for the Safeway site on Austin Avenue in Coquitlam are expected to receive final approval after the developer revised the project to meet the neighbourhood’s building height requirements.

Two towers proposed for the Safeway site on Austin Avenue in Coquitlam are expected to receive final approval after the developer revised the project to meet the neighbourhood’s building height requirements. 

Beedie Living initially put forward plans for a 26-storey tower on the west side of the property and a 27-storey tower on the east side — both exceeding the 25-storey cap included in the Austin Heights neighbourhood plan approved last year.

A staff report said the company believed the city should consider topography and measure the height from the north side along Ridgeway Avenue at the top of the property’s slope.

While staff supported the variance, councillors were critical of the proposal when the project was introduced at first reading last month. But following Beedie’s revisions to 25 storeys, council approved the plans unanimously after Monday’s public hearing. 

“I was certainly happy the developer came back with the lower height,” said Coun. Craig Hodge. Exceeding the floor limits in the first tower proposal to come before council since the adoption of the height moratorium “wouldn’t have sent a very good message.”

With the expected approval of the towers, council now needs to turn its attention to improving amenities in the neighbourhood, including Blue Mountain Park, to accommodate the increase in population, Hodge added.

The reduction in building heights is not the only thing that changed in Beedie’s proposal between first reading last month and Monday’s public hearing. The developer has increased the number of below-market units, which will be built for people with accessibility issues, from 10 in the initial proposal to 12 in the plans approved on Monday.

Jim McIntyre, the city’s general manager of planning and development, said the company is partnering with the Vancouver Resource Society (VRS) to provide the units, which “support independence and inclusion in the community,” according to a staff report.

The document went on to state that VRS “is well-established in the Lower Mainland” and currently operates 742 units in 36 different properties. The company will not seek funds from the city’s affordable housing reserve fund, which partners with developers and non-profits to create below-market housing opportunities. 

Beedie also sought a variance to allow a portion of the parking lot for the east tower to be above ground because water table issues would make the cost of underground parking prohibitive. The above-grade parking would be hidden by residential and commercial uses or screened with metal panelling.

The two towers will bookend a new Safeway store, which is scheduled to open next summer. Part of the project would be on land formerly occupied by a Chevron gas station.

gmckenna@tricitynews.com

@gmckennaTC