It’s another case of out with the old and in with the new as City of North Vancouver council has voted to tear down two old three-storey walkups in Central Lonsdale and replace them with a much larger purpose-built rental building.
North Lake Ventures is planning to build 107 units of rental housing at 141 and 147 East 21st St. in a single six-storey building, after demolishing two older buildings from 1957 and 1960 containing 34 existing apartments.
The city is granting the developer extra density for the site because it will be used for adding more rental units. The city has a long-standing goal to replenish its rental stock as it comes under risk of redevelopment into condo units, which developers prefer building for a faster return on investment.
By way of amenities, the building comes with garden plots, increased bicycle parking and a children’s play area outside.
Unlike most other redevelopments, long-term tenants who are being evicted will be given first right of refusal to move into the building when it is complete. Though a single-bedroom suite would be much smaller than the ones in the 1950s era buildings, the rental rates should be comparable, according to the developer.
The rental rates will likely be around $2.25 per square foot. However, determining the exact rental rates for the suites, which range from 400-square foot bachelor apartments to 1,000-square foot three-bedroom units, are impossible to predict, the developer told attendees at a public information meeting in September.
Coun. Holly Back cast her vote in favour of the project after noting it fills a housing need for a demographic that largely finds itself priced out of ownership and forced to rent in a building erected while John Diefenbaker was Prime Minister.
“To have a purpose-built rental building is extremely important for our young people that do want a nice place to live and don’t want to live in a 50-year-old three-storey walkup. They want to be proud of where they live,” she said.
Seniors looking to downsize will also find the development attractive due to its short walk from Lonsdale and the Silver Harbour Seniors Centre.
While the market has seen a slight shift toward building rental developments in the last year, it’s a trend that won’t last, Mayor Darrell Mussatto said.
“I don’t know how long interest rates are going to stay down like this, how long this market is going to stay for making it favourable for rental. My understanding is we’re in a little period for two to three years where we’re going to see this kind of development and then that period will be over,” he said. “I think we need to take advantage where we can.”
The vote passed 5-1, with Coun. Pam Bookham casting the lone vote against.
For Bookham, the project had many good points, like the option for previous tenants to move back in, and bad points, like its “rather pedestrian” design and its reduced setbacks eating up green space.
But ultimately, Bookham said she worried about the people who would be displaced if other apartment landlords come seeking the same types of redevelopment.
“This is coming at a cost and it’s coming at a cost to the most vulnerable people in our community and we have not provided an answer for these individuals. I think that’s a failing on our part,” she said. “If we don’t have a plan for the people who are displaced, than we ought not be going down this road any further.”
Coun. Craig Keating left the council chamber for the discussion to hold a conference call. Keating did not respond to a request to confirm the call was made as president of the B.C. NDP., as suggested by party members on social media.
