34-storey tower with 424 rental homes proposed near SkyTrain's Braid Station
Local developer Wesgroup is proposing to construct a 390-ft-tall, 34-storey rental residential tower on an under-utilized site near SkyTrain’s Braid Station in New Westminster.
A revised rezoning application designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects for 100 Braid Street — replacing a 1930-built warehouse building with an art gallery next to the new Urban Academy School — calls for 424 units of secured market rental housing.
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It will have a unit mix of 57 studios, 260 one-bedroom units, 86 two-bedroom units, and 21 three-bedroom units. Some of these units will be townhouses.
The developer is also seeking funding from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to have some units set at “less-than-market rates,” short of New Westminster’s definition of “below market.”
Site of 100 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Google Maps)
2020 artistic rendering of 100 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Wesgroup)
Additionally, 4,252 sq. ft. of replacement dedicated art gallery and studio space with below-market commercial rents will be offered. There will be 422 vehicle parking stalls, including 40 stalls for the private elementary and high school, and nine stalls for the art gallery.
This represents a significant increase in density and change in use from the 2016-approved rezoning for the site, when Wesgroup proposed a 213-ft-tall, 21-storey tower with 202,550 sq. ft. of condominiums and a 60,000 sq. ft. school building. Urban Academy partnered with the developer to provide the school with a new replacement home, which opened just last year.
Cancelled 2016-approved rezoning
Cancelled 2016-approved artistic rendering of 100 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Wesgroup)
2020 revised rezoning
2020 artistic rendering of 100 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Wesgroup)
The revised rezoning will have a total floor area of 310,000 sq. ft., creating a floor space ratio (FSR) of 6.6 times the size of the 47,000-sq-ft lot — up from the previous rezoning’s FSR of 4.39.
“Wesgroup believes this project will bring significant benefit to the City with the inclusion of secured market rental units, and great benefit to the surrounding neighbourhood as we introduce a new dedicated art gallery and studio space for local artists,” reads the developer’s application letter to the city.
“We also believe the site plan will work very effectively with Urban Academy as we both share driveways, pedestrian walkways, and outdoor courtyard space.”
2020 artistic rendering of 100 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Wesgroup)
2020 artistic rendering of 100 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Wesgroup)
2020 site plan of 100 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Wesgroup)
This redevelopment is immediately south of QuadReal Property Group’s Sapperton Green proposal for 97 Braid Street — the 38-acre industrial complex, located immediately to the north, with an Amazon fulfilment centre.
They have envisioned 4.46 million sq. ft. of residential space, 750,000 sq. ft. of office space, 150,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and a 35,000-sq-ft community centre, plus public parks and other open outdoor spaces. If approved, this project will be built over 20 to 30 years.
February 2020 artistic rendering of Sapperton Green at 97 Braid Street, New Westminster. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership / QuadReal Properties)