39-storey rental towers with grocery store approved at Port Moody SkyTrain station | Daily Hive

39-storey rental towers with grocery store approved at Moody Centre SkyTrain station in Port Moody

April 2025 revised concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

Port Moody City Council has now approved a major redevelopment project within the Moody Centre Transit-Oriented Development Area Master Plan — a 23-acre area, comprised of multiple city blocks, on the south side of Moody Centre Station.

The development sites within this area plan are made up of approximately nine different property owners, including the provincial government, TransLink, and several private developers.

One of these private developers is PCI Developments, which received approval last week in a public hearing to redevelop the 2.9-acre site at 3006–3022 Spring St. and 60 Williams St. The site — currently occupied by surface vehicle parking and aging low-rise commercial and industrial buildings — is located immediately southeast of Moody Centre Station.

You might also like:

This station is served by SkyTrain Millennium Line and the West Coast Express commuter rail, and also functions as a major bus exchange for the Tri-Cities.

The project calls for two 454-ft-tall, mixed-use rental housing towers, each reaching a height of 39 storeys, plus one partial rooftop as an indoor and outdoor amenity space for residents.

60 Williams Street 3006-3020 Spring Street Vancouver SkyTrain Moody Centre Station PCI Developments

Site of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

3006–3022 Spring Street 60 Williams Street Port Moody Centre Station PCI rental towers april 2025

Site of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

Existing condition:

Site of 60 Williams Street and 3006-3020 Spring Street, Port Moody. (Google Maps)

Future condition:

April 2025 revised concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

Some sticking points expressed by public speakers during the public hearing include concerns relating to the added height and density beyond existing policies for the area, building shadowing, view obstructions, increased traffic congestion, and a perceived lack of public consultation, which was a shared sentiment by city councillor Haven Lurbiecki, who was the only vote in opposition.

“Let’s just put process aside for a moment and focus on these towers. The application is too tall and too dense and it’s not even housing that we need,” said Lurbiecki during the public hearing, suggesting that the predominance of market rental units in such projects is problematic.

“Last time I checked the main issues, people can’t afford rent. Why would we take this extra level of density and its cost to our community? It is not going to be paid for in the long run.”

City Councillor Kyla Knowles expressed disagreement with some members of the public who suggested limiting the site to 12-storey buildings — well below both the provincial government’s recently enacted transit-oriented development legislation, which sets a minimum of 20 storeys for such a site, and the 26 storeys permitted under the current Official Community Plan (OCP).

“The land being considered tonight is designated in our current OCP as intended for transit oriented development, which means that previous councils understood that this land should eventually become mixed use residential, given its location next to SkyTrain. I believe this was the right decision, and I appreciate that foresight, particularly in light of the housing crisis we’re dealing with now. Secured rental housing is a wonderful partial solution to this crisis,” said Knowles.

“Right now, this land is under-utilized despite being adjacent to Moody Centre SkyTrain Station, barren concrete and populated with dilapidated buildings, a desolate… This application will be a boon to businesses in Moody Center and contribute to economic growth and strength throughout the city.”

865 rental homes and a major grocery store

There will be a total of 865 secured purpose-built rental homes, including 821 market rental units and 44 below-market rental units. The overall unit size mix is 140 studios, 405 one-bedroom units, 87 one-bedroom units with a den, 179 two-bedroom units, and 54 three-bedroom units. In addition to the tower rooftop amenity spaces, residents will also have access to expansive indoor and outdoor amenity spaces on the lower rooftop of the complex’s base podium.

The two-storey base podium will be dedicated to over 56,000 sq. ft. of commercial uses, entailing a 41,400 sq. ft. grocery store on the second level and about 15,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space along the ground level fronting Spring Street. The chain for the grocery store has yet to be selected.

As a part of the retail/restaurant space component, there will be about 4,000 sq. ft. of ground-level retail space on the east end of the complex for the use of community arts organizations.

Overall, the total building floor area will reach about 679,000 sq. ft., establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 6.93 times larger than the size of the lot.

April 2025 revised concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

Within three underground levels, the project will include 400 vehicle parking stalls — a reduction from the originally proposed 595 — comprising 240 stalls for residents and 160 for commercial and visitor use. This reduction is made possible by provincial transit-oriented development legislation, which eliminates minimum parking requirements for residential uses within designated Transit-Oriented Areas. If the City’s minimum requirements were followed for a project of this size with such uses, it would need to provide 1,099 stalls.

Additionally, approximately 1,417 bicycle parking spaces will be provided.

The project’s design has been revised since its initial reveal, with one of the most notable changes being the base podium’s glass facade, which now features a public art overlay made of ceramic fritted glass. The design showcases a radial flora and fauna pattern in vibrant autumn colours, created by local artist Rebecca Bayer.

This is PCI’s latest collaboration with architectural design firm Perkins&Will, which also designed other prominent transit-oriented developments for the developer, such as Cambie Crossroads (Broadway-City Hall Station) and Marine Gateway (Marine Drive Station), as well as the future projects of the second phase of Marine Gateway and 455-565 Great Northern Way and 1850 Thornton Street (future Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station).

New pedestrian bridge over SkyTrain and CP railway, and a major transit plaza

In exchange for the increased density, PCI is also offering various major public benefits.

This includes a new north-south public pedestrian bridge over the SkyTrain tracks and Canadian Pacific railway, significantly improving accessibility and connectivity between the transit hub and the surrounding area — including developments to the north, Rocky Point Park, and other nearby waterfront areas.

Currently, the nearest ways to cross the tracks by foot from Moody Centre Station and PCI’s site is a six-minute walk east to the Moody Street overpass or a nine-minute walk east to the Klahanie Drive overpass.

The new pedestrian bridge, situated immediately east of the station, will be 148 ft. long and 13 ft. wide. On the south side, access to the bridge will be provided from the building’s second level, using the same staircase, escalator, and two elevators that lead to the grocery store. On the north side, there will be a staircase and two elevators.

The north end of the new pedestrian bridge will reach PCI’s other development site of 2933-3005 Murray St., where the developer has proposed to build a 12-storey, mass-timber, mixed-use rental housing building, which is also designed by Perkins&Will. This smaller project was first proposed in 2021, but for the time being the application is on hold to enable the developer to focus the progression of the much larger redevelopment to the south.

April 2025 revised concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

2021 concept of the 12-storey, mass-timber rental housing building at 2933-3005 Murray Street, Port Moody, including a portion of the north end of the pedestrian overpass. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

Upon completion, PCI will own and maintain the escalator, elevators, and the south staircase, while the City of Port Moody will own the bridge structure itself and the north staircase.

The pedestrian bridge carries an estimated construction cost of $14.4 million. To cover the significant cost, PCI will provide $415,000 from a development cost charge (DCC) contribution, the City will direct $10.99 million in density bonus payments from PCI to the bridge project, and the City will set aside $3 million from the roads DCCs.

PCI will also create a major public plaza immediately east of the development and just south of the station entrance, through a long-term lease agreement with the provincial government for the site at 60 Williams St.

This 26,000 sq. ft. public plaza will feature seating and some landscaping, as well as a one-storey, 1,800 sq. ft. pavilion building for a restaurant/cafe unit and a public washroom.

This plaza serves not only as a community gathering and event-friendly space and the entrance to the public transit hub, grocery store, and pedestrian bridge, but also discreetly conceals a portion of the building’s underground parkade.

On the east side of the development site, the project will daylight the north-south Dallas/Slaughterhouse Creek, which currently runs diagonally through the property in an underground culvert. The newly landscaped creek, located along the easternmost edge of the site, will eventually connect to a future daylighted creek segment to the north, adjacent to PCI’s future 12-storey mass timber building.

April 2025 revised concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

September 2024 revised concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Van der Zalm + Associates/PCI Developments)

Affordable units and public benefits: “We’ve been pushed to our limit”

Altogether, the City will receive a total of $25.1 million in development-related fees from this project. This includes $1.47 million in community amenity contributions (CACs), $16.1 million from the density bonus payment, and $7.54 million in development cost charges (DCCs). In addition, the developer is voluntarily contributing $1.25 million worth of in-kind public art through the frosted glass design on the base podium’s facade. A public art contribution is not required for rental housing projects.

Additional benefits also come from the developer voluntarily setting aside five per cent of the rental homes (44 units).

“We’ve stuck to our proposal and what we think is a really ambitious development plan and a unique set of community amenities. We are now at a place where I can generally and truthfully say that we’ve been pushed to our limit. We cannot feasibly offer anything more in this development than what’s presented,” said Tim Grant, the president of PCI, told City Council during the public hearing, emphasizing the high degree of the community amenities provided and the maximum possible extent of the affordable rental housing component.

The project has evolved over the years in response to feedback from the public, City staff, and City Council.

“We’ve done our very best to address the feedback we’ve heard to date. And I think we’ve really made the effort to put our best foot forward. And we’re hopeful that this will be sufficient to be able to carry forward,” continued Grant.

Brad Howard, PCI’s director of development, shared that it is not financially feasible to provide more below-market rental homes or additional family-sized units without a significant reduction in fees and amenities. Furthermore, he adds, the provided vehicle parking supply has already been reduced to the furthest extent possible, based on the building’s expected needs.

City Council urged PCI to potentially pursue provincial and federal programs to further improvement the affordability of some of the rental homes, but Howard noted that the project needs to pass more regulatory hurdles before they can engage senior governments.

April 2025 revised concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

2023 concept of 3006-3022 Spring Street and 60 Williams Street, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

In light of these constraints, city councillors Kyla Knowles, Callan Morrison, and Diana Dilworth, and emphasized the importance of weighing benefits against compromises, reframing the debate as a matter of tradeoffs.

“We’d all love to have [shorter] 26-storey buildings plus all the amenities that PCI is offering here. And honestly, if that was an option, that would be my vote, but it’s not,” said Knowles.

“Given the high cost of building right now, shorter buildings at this location would give us less or no park and open space, no road improvements, no amenities, no daylit creek, no public washrooms, no below-market units, no pedestrian overpass, no artist spaces, no car shares, no stores, restaurants and offices, no money for purchasing parks and improving city infrastructure, just to name a few,” said Knowles.

Morrison noted, “I’m satisfied with the level of engagement that has been done by the developer to address so many needs of our community… I also believe our Council negotiated in good faith to get the absolute maximum we could out of this project for our community. And I am satisfied that our citizens have gotten everything we can while still maintaining an economically viable project that will get built, which is a key factor in the ever changing and challenging landscape of providing housing in Canada.”

And Dilworth added, “They’re making a significant investment in our community, and that’s what we need. We need to work in partnership with those that are building our residential and our commercial and our industrial neighbourhoods, rather than just continually attacking them.”

As noted, one of the project’s most significant public benefits is the incorporation of a new pedestrian bridge.

However, city councillor Haven Lurbiecki voiced concerns that her opposition to the project also extends to the amenity of the new pedestrian bridge.

She suggested that the anticipated population growth in the area, combined with the improved accessibility the bridge would bring, could place undue pressure on Rocky Point Park.

“The other benefit that’s being touted is the walkways Rocky Point Park. Well, a reality check on that,” quipped Lurbiecki.

“Without city-led plans to significantly expand Rocky Point Park, that bridge is a cost to our community because it’s a pathway to reduce quality of life when the over 10,000 people that will be moving into Moody Center alone are accessing our overcrowded park. We’ve already approved 6,000 units of housing, 9,000 in the pipeline, and there are almost all condos.”

3060-3092 Spring Street 80-85 Electronic Avenue Port Moody Beedie SkyTrain

Artistic rendering of 3060-3092 Spring Street and 80-85 Electronic Avenue, Port Moody. (Perkins&Will/Beedie Living)

Immediately to the east of PCI’s site, Beedie Living has a proposal to redevelop the 3.8-acre site of 3060-3092 Spring St. and 80-85 Electronic Ave. into a similarly sized project with three residential towers of 32 storeys, 36 storeys, and 39 storeys, containing 927 strata market ownership condominium homes and 46,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space, and featuring a major public plaza. Beedie’s project is also designed by Perkins&Will.

And just to the west, next to PCI’s transit plaza, the provincial government is in the process of planning a two-acre, mixed-use redevelopment with hundreds of rental homes, a childcare facility, healthcare services, educational opportunities, and retail/restaurant uses. The provincial government has yet to reveal its proposal details and design concepts.

Most recently, Anthem Properties revealed its proposal to redevelop 2914 St. Johns St. — immediately south of the station’s main park-and-ride lot — into a 26-storey tower with over 300 rental homes, retail/restaurant space, and a public plaza.

You might also like: