Another big development in New West?

Another group wants to bring a master-planned community to New West, but it’s important to underscore the proposal is in the very early stages.

On Monday, New West council will look at whether to say OK to city staff passing on a letter to the proponents, so that both groups can consider next steps. The site in question—called “Lower Twelfth New West” in submitted documents—includes 111-115 Twelfth St., 118 Eleventh St., and 1136 Queens Ave. Much of the site is located on the flood plain.

Word of this potential development comes not long after council looked at a proposal by EDGAR Development to bring its new vision to Columbia Square. The two would essentially be a crosswalk apart from one another.

The new space would include ultra-light industrial, residential, retail and, service commercial uses. This style of development is something the city refers to as ‘atypical’ in its report.

As it stands, the pitch for Lower Twelfth New West by Arcadis IBI Group and Weststone Group includes one 20-storey office high-rise and four residential high-rise buildings ranging from 20 to 32 storeys in height. Office space would be at about 200,000 sq. ft., retail and ultra-light industrial space would be at 85,000 sq. ft., and residential space would encompass 1,100,000 sq. ft.

“The residential floor space includes 20% inclusionary housing and 3% market rental housing,” notes the report.

The developers are also looking to purchase about 33,000 sq. ft. of City road rights of way.

Staff say that this letter to the applicants would ask the developers to work with the city through internal workshops to come up with a mutually beneficial master plan.

Here are some of the things staff want from the proponent:

• Further analysis. The staff report notes that the area in question wasn’t necessarily meant for this kind of development. It says it would like to work on a foundational analysis to assess the needs and impacts of the use of the space—particularly in this context—as well as the strengths and opportunities in the area. Key economic and financial drivers would also be considered.

• A closer look at density. Staff say that the area is “considered appropriate for further consideration of higher density and taller buildings,” but there are still some informational gaps. For instance, how close it is to other high-density spaces Downtown, or whether there are other opportunities to up with the current council and strategic plans for our city.
  

• Housing. The early proposal hasn’t said what kind of rental rates, ownership, or financing would be used for the residential units. “For master planned, multi-unit residential applications, which are larger than a single one-or two-tower development, the City generally seeks a tenure mix that includes about one-third to almost one-half rental units.” The applicants want 23% of the spaces combined to be rentals, but staff want that percentage higher.
  

• Selling road rights. The city doesn’t have much land to part with, so it’s not keen on selling road rights. It does say it’d be open to a fair land exchange with the proponents.

There are also questions around pedestrian connectivity, improving the tree canopy in the area, and engineering servicing.

As for why the developers are looking at this area, they say in their submission that New West is at the “precipice of change.”

“This project…is an ideal catalyst and the primary site for the execution of this area vision. This proposal presents an innovative, flexible, and future-proofed site concept that takes leadership on the city’s climate and creative goals.”

The report on this potential development can be viewed online.