More rental and condo housing are in the pipeline to provide places for people to live in Maple Ridge.
One of the largest projects will contain 330 condos in three, five-storey buildings on property that fronts Brown Avenue and 223rd Street.
Platinum Enterprises is applying for rezoning and the application is currently before council, awaiting only a traffic study before being considered for final approval.
Nearby on 122nd Avenue, Amacon has completed Ridgewood Place. That is one of two rental apartment buildings Amacon is building on the site of the Sunrise and Sorrento apartment buildings.
Amacon has just completed Ridgewood, on the former site of Sunrise, on 122nd Avenue, which was damaged by fire in 2015.
In all, 288 rental apartments will be built, with tenants in the nearby Sorrento Apartments building given first choice at units in Amacon’s new building, with rents $100 more than what they paid in the old building.
Once the Sorrento building is empty, construction will start on Amacon’s second new rental apartment building.
Construction by Swiss Real Group, of one of the major projects for the downtown, is starting within days on Dewdney Trunk Road, on the site of Haney Plaza.
Jeremy Towning, with Swiss Real, said demolition is starting now, with a sales centre to be built in September and actual construction beginning this fall.
A total of 192 new residential units, including 49 rental suites, is planned for the first phase of the multi-year project.
SwissReal Group is developing the site at Plaza Street, between Brown Avenue and Dewdney Trunk Road, which is only the first of a seven-phase project, with more than 800 condos and apartments that will stretch from Haney Plaza to 224th Street.
Another major project that will add new rental suites to the market is being planned for just north of city hall, on Edge Street and 121st Avenue.
Townline wants to build two, five-storey, purpose-built rental buildings that will contain 212 rental suites. The address of the project is 12155 Edge St., which is across the street from Eric Langton elementary.
Most of the units, (138) will be one-bedroom with dens, while 36 will be two-bedrooms and 38 will be one bedroom.
A staff report notes that the location is flat and has been vacant for many years. The plan is to have the new buildings create a courtyard located atop underground parking, which will include 64 bicycle parking spaces.
The city’s housing action plan, passed in 2014, says that rental housing is a priority. However, there is no mandatory requirement for the provision of rental units.
Council, in June, decided against allowing developers to add affordable housing units in return for increasing the density of a project. Instead, council ordered a staff report to look at requiring developers to pay more in cash contributions in order to create a fund that will allow the city to buy land for partnering with agencies to provide social housing.
Another project planned for 11907 – 223rd St., proposes a six-storey building containing 51 units, while 36 new condos are planned for 11587 – 223rd St. and 22300 River Rd., in the Port Haney area.
pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
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