Maple Ridge council encouraged developers to bring them more details about a proposed 35-storey tower on Brown Avenue, while expressing skepticism that the project would go ahead.
Council passed first reading Tuesday as a first step in approving a 244-unit, 35-storey tower on Brown Avenue. It would be by far the highest building in the city.
Coun. Craig Speirs got behind the plan, noting there are other high-rise proposals in the downtown area, albeit not as high.
“If this goes ahead … it will really set the tone for the downtown, and we need to densify where we can, and this is where we can,” Speirs added.
“I can imagine the view from there would just be fantastic.”
Speirs noted council needs more information about the proposed tower, and that would be dealt with beyond first reading, which offers only a “generalized concept.”
Coun. Tyler Shymkiw said council needs more discussion about the heights of buildings it wants downtown, and does not want to see a 35-storey building as a “one-off.”
He said high-rise buildings have been criticized for their lack of sustainability, and other cities are moving toward six storey and mid-rise buildings.
Shymkiw also told council that emerging research shows negative mental health effects from denser urban centres, which can be associated with higher rates of depression and schizophrenia. He said there are growing questions about whether high rises offer a healthy way to live.
He added that although the views may be good inside the tower, it will block sight lines for other buildings downtown. He said the city tower’s view of the Golden Ears mountains could be blocked, for example.
“We’ve seen tower proposals here for the last 10 or 15 years, and they never seem to go anywhere, he added.”
Mayor Nicole Read echoed that sentiment.
“I don’t know how likely it is that this application is going to advance at all,” she said. “But if this is a serious development application, there may be an opportunity to work with the developer and bring the number of levels – the height – down a bit.”
Some development proposals get to council for an approval of the project in principal, but the projects don’t proceed due to a lack of investors or other reasons.
Read said density in the town centre is important for business and good transit.
The proposed building would have a four-storey podium with parking on each, facing the lane, and four townhouse units facing Brown Avenue. Below ground there would be another two levels of parking.
The project would bring $760,000 in amenity contribution to the city.