The controversial redevelopment of the Lynn Valley Centre is back with a fresh face, ready for a new round of public vetting.
Under Bosa Development Corporation's new plan, presented at an informal meeting at the mall on Thursday night, the developer is looking to build 379 new condo units in seven buildings, including two 12-storey towers with ground level commercial storefronts, an eight-storey tower and a series of four-to six-storey lowrises.
Bosa's previous proposal envisioned 14-and 22-storey residential towers along with two six-storey buildings, bringing 439 units of housing.
"I heard loud and clear what people wanted was a mountain village and a mountain village is what I'm trying to deliver," said Mark Sager, Bosa's point man for the project and former West Vancouver mayor. "It is not finished. This is not a formal public information meeting. This is not part of the formal process at all. It is simply: 'Here's where I'm at. Here are my thoughts. What do you think so far?'" Many aspects of the plan are preliminary and liable to change at council's discretion, Sager said. But with the Bosa towers being shorter than the nearby Kiwanis Lynn Manor and the proposal coming well under the density allowed in the official community plan, he feels they are on the right track.
The new proposal isn't being received warmly by the North Shore Alliance for Sensible Development, a residents' group which disagrees with both the height of the buildings and the timing of the announcement.
Hazen Colbert, a spokesman for the group, said Sager and Bosa should have waited to see the results of a survey and series of consultation meetings the District of North Vancouver held in June and July on what any new development should look like.
"We think that it's best to wait until that preferred option has been agreed to by council. We think that approach will facilitate successful redevelopment in Lynn Valley," he said.
As for the height, the alliance's position is that five storeys should be the limit, Colbert said.
Five storeys would make the project totally unviable and lead the developer to re-lease the empty Zellers space and abandon plans to buy the old district library, said Sager.
