A new 103-unit apartment building that would add much-needed stock to Abbotsford’s rental market is one step closer to construction.
A rezoning proposal for the six-storey structure passed first and second reading at a July 17 council meeting. It now goes to a yet unscheduled public hearing.
The building would be purpose built for rentals on two currently wooded lots at the end of Eleanor Avenue off Marshall Road. The lots sit behind the shopping centre home to Save-On-Foods at Sumas Way and South Fraser Way.
The design of the building will see a three-storey end of the building facing existing homes on Eleanor, stepping up to six storeys on the other end.
City staff recommended approving the project, which would require rezoning the land from estate residential to mid rise apartment zoning, but falls within the municipality’s overall official community plan passed last year. City of Abbotsford staff have worked with the developer, Points West Architecture, on a plan to mitigate the effects of increased traffic on Eleanor.
It proposes extending South Fraser Way to connect with Eleanor behind the shopping centre. The plan also calls for widening Eleanor and adding a sidewalk, as well as a median on Marshall Road, which would restrict exit and entry to and from Eleanor to right turns only.
The developer plans to cut down 58 of the 74 trees currently on the property. Per city bylaw, the developer must plant 96 replacement trees but plans to plant 10 new trees and pay a $14,100 remedy instead.
The developer has also requested an exception to the city’s parking bylaw, saying it wants to build 145 spots, rather than the required 173. Points West hired a consultant to analyze a similar completed project on Campbell Avenue, it determined that property only uses 62 per cent of the required lots.
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