More market rental housing comes to New West

What’s been described as a very empty lot near Cariboo and 14th Streets will be home to 15 market rental units with eight surface-level parking spaces and 24 spots for bike parking.

The five-storey building, set to be built at 1321 Cariboo St., passed with relative ease, with no speakers signed up for Thursday night’s public hearing. Two non-registered speakers shared their thoughts, with one of them expressing their support for the project.

The second person, going by the name of Wallace, said he was disappointed to see no supportive or low-income housing in the plans for the space.

“With 15 secured market rentals in a five-storey building, could not a couple of them be split up and be social-level rental? I would hope that the City of New Westminster consider the drastic need for lesser market rentals, and make it a requirement that a portion of the building be committed to be social housing,” said Wallace, who suggested two of the 15 units be used for that purpose.

City of New West development planner Dilys Huang said the applicant proposed the project under the city’s secured market housing policy, which means there aren’t any stipulations for a certain percentage of social housing.

Robert Billard, the architect for the project, said the site was quite small, and initially there had been considerations to include social housing.

“We had initially gone in with 19 units for this site, we were requested to make further steps back, and that six storeys was not appropriate for this site,” he said, noting that trying to include social housing at this stage would not be feasible.

“It took more than two years to get to this point; it was appropriate to get the project moving and accept the parameters we were given,” Billard said.

The project was approved with support from mayor and council during Thursday night’s public hearing and council meeting.