HOW much is parking worth in Ambleside? That's one of the questions being deliberated by West Vancouver council in its consideration of an application that would add 14,145 square feet of office space to a Bellevue Avenue building.
If approved, the office space addition would raise the building's floor area ratio from 1.44 to 2.14. FAR measures a building's total floor space against the size of its lot. The site currently allows for a maximum FAR of 1.75.
If approved, the building would go from three to four storeys, with both the second and third storeys getting bulkier.
In order to earn that boost in height and density, the developer is offering up 15 laneway spaces previously used as employee parking for public parking. The project also includes 57 underground parking spaces which would be available for public use after 5 p.m. on weekdays. As many as 40 of those spots would also become public on weekends.
Trading parking for extra density did not sit well with councilwatcher George Pajari at Monday night's council meeting, who suggested the extra office space is worth $700,000. That figure is based on the sum of $50 per square foot typically paid when dense buildings have a commercial component.
"If you're up to 99.99 per cent commercial you pay $50 a square foot," Pajari said. "So why would anyone think that it should drop to zero as soon as you hit 100 per cent commercial?" While the parking spots have value, the project is still a bad proposition for the district, according to Pajari.
"I urge you to reject the gift of $500,000 for office space for a paltry few parking spots."
Both Heather Mersey and Ambleside Dundarave Ratepayers Association director Keith Pople suggested the development should include a cash contribution.
When accounting for the cost of creating underground parking and the value of surface parking, the spots are worth approximately $720,000, according to district planner Geri Boyle. She stipulated that a precise methodology was not used in her calculations, which were based on a value of $10,000 for each spot.
Council voted unanimously to move the project forward, calling on staff to draft a rezoning bylaw to be considered when council reconvenes in September.
Because residential developments can be as much as triple the value of office space projects as far as developers are concerned, the district has a scarcity of office space, according to Mayor Michael Smith.
"We are short of what I would call high quality office space in West Van, desperately short, and this really is a prime building for
office space," he said.
The extra office space will bring in extra workers who will add to the local economy, according to Coun. Michael Lewis.
"A benefit that we haven't spoken of tonight. .. is the potential for bringing into Ambleside that many more workers on a day-to-day basis who are actually going to use the shops and the restaurants in Ambleside, and probably make a much larger contribution to our economy each year than we are going to collect from additional taxes."
"We get a revitalized building in the heart of our Ambleside core," agreed Coun. Mary-Ann Booth.
The project also received support from Coun. Craig Cameron. "Parking is worth more than gold in West Vancouver," he said.
Coun. Nora Gambioli did not attend the meeting.
