A proposal for a huge condo complex on 240th Street shouldn’t hear many complaints from neighbours, because there aren’t any.
After three years of delay, a proposal for 167 townhomes and 11 new shops at 112th Avenue – an area of fields and streams – is up for final reading at council next week.
“It’s a lovely project,” Coun. Cheryl Ashlie said Monday at Maple Ridge council’s committee meeting.
She wanted to know, though, if there was any room for public art, possibly to be used in designing bicycle racks.
The proposal by Gold Leaf Enterprises is called Maple Heights Village and will begin with construction of the commercial section on the corner. A coffee shop is envisioned for the corner retail unit, while 16 rental apartments will be built above.
After that, work begins on townhomes, either two or three storeys in height, built on a site that’s more than nine acres in size.
A public multi-use pathway will run north-south along Rainbow Creek (a tributary to Kanaka Creek) and the western boundary of the site and will connect with existing trails, while other semi-public pathways will run throughout the complex. The aim is to make the storefronts in the complex reachable by foot rather than car, council heard.
Coun. Corisa Bell asked if it still was possible to attach covenants to the development to ensure owners used their garages, either conventional two-car garages or tandem types, for parking cars, not other purposes.
It’s likely too late for that requirement, staff said, noting that garage use will be tackled as a policy discussion next year.
The proposal originally went to council in 2009, when it received third reading. But the worldwide recession hit and the project was shelved for two years. Now, says a staff report, the proposal will go to council for final reading on Dec. 11.
The development will be built in four phases and almost $3 million in security deposits have been posted to ensure the project is built according to the agreement with the District of Maple Ridge.
As well, four acres of the site next to Rainbow Creek on the west side are being given to the district for conservation purposes, while native vegetation and bio swales to manage stormwater will be featured.
The townhouses will range between 1,500 and 2,030 sq. ft. and will have seven different designs. People will be encouraged to walk throughout the complex with pathways, while units facing 112th Avenue and 240th Street will have direct access to the sidewalk and street.
Other features will include a swing, a gazebo and a stormwater infiltration area with habitat features.
Council voted to send on the project to its meeting next week.