[North Vancouver] Local on Lonsdale | ??m | 20fl | Proposed

[Distill3d]

Looks like this was approved back in October. thedjraw noticed a fence around the existing site (Lonsdale and 17) tonight and mentioned it in a previous thread. having seen the work going on myself, i did a little leg work and dug this up...

Scaled-down Extra Foods tower wins council approval
James Weldon, North Shore News
Published: Sunday, October 26, 2008


Central Lonsdale will be getting a new tower after all with the decision by City of North Vancouver council Monday to give the proposed Extra Foods site redevelopment the green light.

The building will only be 180 feet (55 metres) as opposed to the 240 feet (73 metres) specified in the original plan. The drop in height puts the development within the limits of the official community plan -- which caps highrises at about 18 storeys -- but also comes at the expense of a number of below-market rental units and community amenities included in the initial proposal.
"We walked past $6 million in private sector investment in affordable housing in the City of North Vancouver," said Coun. Craig Keating, who supported the amended proposal with some reluctance. "I still think it's sad"

Council had originally approved a version of the project Sept. 8 that would have seen the 25,000 square-foot grocery store at Lonsdale Avenue and 17th Street replaced with a 200,000 sq. ft., 24-storey residential tower that would have been 60 feet above the OCP limit.

In return for that added height, the community would have gained around 8,800 sq. ft. of affordable housing (about a dozen units) and a public plaza.
But the city changed course Oct. 6 when Couns. Bob Fearnley, Bob Heywood and Barabara Perreault, who had originally voted in favour of the project, switched their votes to no and joined Coun. Pam Bookham who had opposed the scale of the project from the beginning.

Community opposition and the need to amend the official community plan had motivated their change of heart, they said. They also voiced concerns over the entrance to the proposed underground parking lot, which would have crossed the sidewalk on Lonsdale Avenue, raising safety issues.
The rejection meant the project was bounced back to city staff, who were instructed to work with the developer to come up with something more palatable. Last week staff submitted a new recommendation with several different options.

On Monday, council voted to adopt Option 2a, which called for the height reduction and a changed parking lot design. The new plan would see cars cross the Lonsdale Avenue sidewalk on their way into the parking garage but not on their way out, when their vision is most restricted.