Bosa Development has been given the go-ahead to redevelop the Lynn Valley mall, though it’s likely more than a year before the wrecking ball will start swinging.
District of North Vancouver council voted unanimously June 15 to issue the development permit for Lynn Valley Centre, which will eventually include a 50,0000-square-foot commercial podium and 360 residential units in six towers between four and 12 storeys in height.
In exchange, the district is receiving $4.5 million- worth of community amenities in cash, affordable housing, public art and a widening of Lynn Valley Road at Highway 1.
Under the timeframe presented to council, the eastern side of project along Mountain Highway will be the first to go under construction with 116 of the units being built between the winter of 2016 and the spring of 2018. The rest, including 244 units and the commercial space where the old Zellers store once sat is slated to begin construction in the fall of 2016 and continue until the summer of 2018.
The remainder of the mall will be renovated sometime after.
Bosa has tweaked the project somewhat since winning its bid for rezoning in June 2014. The project will now have 39 fewer units and one of the towers will be one storey shorter.
Granting the development permit was a long time coming for members of council who reflected on the years spent developing the official community plan, the Lynn Valley town centre plan and the design guidelines for the development. The process was rocky at times but ultimately, made for good compromise in the final design, council members noted.
“I will say that I’m very pleased that we’ve finally arrived at a development permit for this project,” said Coun. Roger Bassam. “It just seemed to go on and on and on but ultimately, this is what the reward is. We’re going to have a new heart in the Lynn Valley town centre. I’m very excited to see this begin. I’ll be even more excited when it’s done.”
The project is intended to revitalize Lynn Valley.
“Most people under 40 support it. A few of us older people support it as well,” said Coun. Robin Hicks, also a Lynn Valley resident.
“It had a fairly volatile process but I think the end result is going to please everybody, even the doubters in the end.”
After praising the design, Coun. Lisa Muri said the project will be a test of the district’s construction mitigation plans.
