Coquitlam approves Inlet Street apartment project

While it wasn’t quite as affordable as some might have preferred, Coquitlam council unanimously approved a pair of six-storey apartments on Monday.

Set to be built at 1184 Inlet Street approximately 900 metres east of the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain station, the 197-unit market rental project is set to replace 17 townhouses. The owners of the strata townhouses voted to sell the property to Anthem development company in 2021.

The eleven-fold density increase was praised by a few speakers during a brief public hearing on the project.

One neighbour discussed poverty, residents who live in their cars, as well as the need for more housing options.

“These people don’t have anywhere to live,” Tara Marinkovic said. “They have jobs but they just can’t find affordable rental properties.”

The project should: “go a long way in supporting some of these vulnerable populations,” Marinkovic told council.

Noting the development is slated to be market rental, Coun. Matt Djonlic asked the developer if there was any consideration given to including some below-market units.

There was no requirement for affordable housing when the developer bought the site, explained Anthem Properties director of development Ryan Vanderham. He added that Anthem is building below-market elsewhere in the city.

The answer didn’t seem to satisfy Coun. Dennis Marsden.

“An answer of: ‘Well, you don’t require it,’ . . . is never a good one,” Marsden said. “Saying: ‘You didn’t ask for it’ is really just calling on councils to get ridiculously prescriptive in what we require.”

Non-market or below market housing is always welcome, Marsden said.

“I’d really like to see the industry step up a little bit more,” he concluded.

In order to build the rental housing cities “desperately need,” municipalities need subsidies from senior levels of government, responded Mayor Richard Stewart.

“About 95 percent of the housing produced today will be market, either condo or rental. We need subsidies for the others,” he said.

The project got high marks from Coun. Teri Towner, who praised the project’s unit mix and noted that two large trees are set to be preserved.

“I’m pleased that the two gigantic sequoias are being retained, and hopefully they survive the redevelopment of that site,” Towner said.

Breakdown

• One-bedroom units: 105 (28 with den)
• Two-bedroom units: 67
• Three-bedroom units: 25

The one-bedroom units range in size from 422 square feet for the project’s two junior units to 602 square feet for a one-bedroom with a den.

The project’s floor area ratio, which measures a development’s total floor space against its lot size, is 2.53.

The development is set to include 204 parking spots in an underground parkade.

Rather than provide childcare for 10 children, Anthem has proposed paying into Coquitlam’s childcare fund.

If approved, the developer is set to pay the city approximately $4.592 million, as well as $4,000 to help handle transportation demand in the area.

The project requires one more formal vote from council before construction can begin.