McAllister apartment’s extra storey gets high marks from PoCo council

It’s grown up in the last few years.

Three years after being approved as a five-storey, 63-unit project, a proposed apartment building at 2245 McAllister Avenue is now set to be six storeys and 80 units, following a unanimous vote from Port Coquitlam council Tuesday.

The prospect of 17 additional housing units in the city’s downtown won unanimous support from council; with one councillor suggesting the project could have been more substantial.

“This seems like a great location for even more density,” said Coun. Paige Petriw.

The revised project, “still keeps within the flavour of the downtown,” summarized Coun. Darrell Penner.

The project’s density is greater than what is “typically permitted” by the city. Based on a rate of $50 for every additional square foot, the developer would be asked to pay the city about $712,290, according to the staff report.

The project is also slated to include about 19,967 square feet of ground floor commercial space.

“Happy to see this coming forward, happy to see more housing for people,” said Coun. Steve Darling.

Parking

Petriw was supportive of the proposed reduction in parking stalls.

Instead of building an extra 27 parking stalls, Quarry Rock Developments would pay the city $1.08 million. The developer would also include extra storage and a maintenance facility for bicycles, a car share program, and one-year transit pass subsidy for residents, as well as a total of 92 parking spots.

“If there is anywhere where we are going to have less parking I think this is the ideal location,” Petriw said.

Penner concurred, suggesting many residents wouldn’t need to leave the neighbourhood for their daily needs.

The site, which was previously a parking lot, is within 300 metres of several bus stops and about 550 metres from the West Coast Express, according to a city staff report.