Another midrise, mixed use condo building is coming to Lower Lonsdale.
Developer Fairborne Properties received second and third readings to a bylaw Monday night that will allow them to build 65 one-and two-bedroom condos above 7,200 square feet of commercial frontage at 117 - 135 West First St.
At 75 feet, the six-storey, wood-framed building fits within maximum height allowed in the official community plan.
In exchange for a small increase in density, Fairbourn is offering to restore and put heritage designation on the historic B.C. Telephone Commercial Building at 117 West First, currently home to flower shop Bella Doni and include 1,430 square feet of community amenity space fronting Rogers Plaza. City staff estimate the community space to have a value of $645,000.
The application includes a request for 146 parking spots - 24 more than the minimum required by city's zoning bylaw. Council members, mainly accustomed to being asked
by developers to reduce the total number of required spaces, struggled with the request. The reason for the extra spaces, according to the developer, is that the condos are likely going to be popular with "downsizers" moving from single-family homes and wanting to keep two vehicles.
Sacrificed in the project, however, is Bella Doni. Coowner Marie Noel spoke at the public hearing for the project to say her retail business would no longer be viable if she were forced to move away temporarily, uncertain about whether she could move back in. Noel had asked Fairborne to let her out of the lease
four months early to help offset the cost of paying rent in two locations but the most Fairborne was willing to offer was deducted rent during construction; as well, the Fairborne wasn't forthcoming about what the terms of a new lease would be, she said. "The $10,000 in foregone rent would have been a small contribution by the developer in a project this size, versus $10,000 cost to a small business like ours," she said.
Particularly stinging was that Fairborne used photos of Bella Doni in their marketing materials for other projects in the same neigbourhood, Noel said.
"We're sorry to have to leave Lower Lonsdale, but since we've been given the boot, we'll now work to protect our financial interests. We'll be closing the retail portion of our business and the close-out sale will officially start tomorrow at 10 a.m," she said.
Her words were influential for at least one member of council - Coun. Pam Bookham, the only one present to vote against the project. "I'm concerned about the fact that there isn't a happy story to tell about the Bella Doni business and the preservation of that heritage building, Bookham said.
The other concerns raised during a brief public hearing into the project: maintaining safety for pedestrians and neighbours of the building who use the lane that will serve as the main ingress and egress, the building's rather "plain" design, parking and the displacement of existing businesses.
But the project found five "yay" votes on council, including Coun. Craig Keating's. "I really think this is a positive solution for this site. It's a difficult site given that there's so much built up around it but I think we've got a win here in terms of design. We have a win in terms of the heritage building. We have a win in terms of community amenity space," Keating said.
