It’s a tall one.
W.P.J. McCarthy and Company Ltd. are proposing a 72-storey mixed-use development right across the street from Metrotown mall at the corner of Kingsway and Nelson Street.
With 469 residential units, including strata, market rental and non-market rental units, the project would also feature more than 32,000 square metres of commercial space, including offices, retail and “community-oriented commercial uses,” according to a staff report going to council Jan. 14.
The site at 4900-4940 Kingsway and 6446-6450 Nelson Ave. is currently home to commercial retail and office buildings, surface parking and a city lane.
The development was originally considered as part of a master plan with several towers over the entire block, but this tower is now planned as an “independent site,” according to the report.
The proposal includes:
- 169 strata homes
- 170 market rental homes
- 130 non-market rental homes
City policy would require the developer to build 101 non-market rental units to be rented at affordable rates.
Forty-one would be rented at 20 per cent below the CMHC market median, and 60 per cent would be rented at the median.
The developer has proposed an additional 29 non-market units, exceeding the city’s requirement, but the staff report notes the company will keep an eye on whether that remains possible “given the dynamic nature of the market, and more specifically construction costs and development financing.”
Staff noted final unit types, sizes and floor plans could be “further refined.”
The city would allow a “portion” of the building’s one-bedroom strata units to be built at the same size as rental units, which staff said would provide “a range of unit floor plans and sizes for residents alongside the strong mix of larger two- and three-bedroom units.”
The number of proposed parking stalls includes:
- 659 commercial parking spaces (45 per cent EV ready)
- 112 strata residential (100 per cent EV ready)
- 100 market rental parking spaces (100 per cent EV ready)
- 67 non-market rental spaces (100 per cent EV ready)
- More than 1,250 bike parking spaces
The building would be required to be hooked up to the city’s future district energy system for heating and hot water.
Staff have recommended the project be forwarded to the next stage of the rezoning process.
If council approves it Tuesday, the project must still go through four more major approvals.
