The site of the former Mussallem Motors car dealership will be the new home of two apartment buildings with 255 units, and street-level businesses, and the project is working its way through city hall.
Both buildings will be six storeys tall, and will offer 3,200 square meters of ground-floor commercial space.
“I’m happy to see this come back to council, it’s been a long time, and this piece of property is the entrance to our community, so it’s going to be really nice to see it actually go from a surface parking lot to a beautiful commercial apartment building,” said Coun. Judy Dueck. “It is a really key entrance to our community, so I’m very excited to see this.”
City council gave first and second readings to the the bylaw amendments needed to redevelop the 10 properties on Lougheed Highway at 223rd Street, with some of the lots also facing Selkirk Avenue. It is a 0.68 hectare (1.68 acre) site.
Mussallem Motors, dominated the corner for decades, until a November 2017 fire destroyed the building.
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Former Maple Ridge mayor Solomon Mussallem founded the business in 1919, when it was named Haney Garage Ltd. on 224th Street, south of Lougheed Highway. He moved the business to the most recent location in 1947.
The property was sold to the Surrey-based Apna Group in 2019 for $10.1 million.
The new development is intended to contribute to a pedestrian-oriented district with boutique-style shopping in the Town Centre area, according to city staff.
There will be two levels of underground parking providing 356 spaces, and another 73 at ground level, for a total of 429 stalls. There will also be a large, outdoor common courtyard between the two buildings.
The plans call for 36 studio suites, 44 one bedroom apartments, 135 two bedroom units, and 40 with three bedrooms.
The developers must provide the city a $1.1 million community amenity contribution, and another $400,000 for a density bonus.
The next step will be for the developers to hold public hearings about the project.
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