Port Moody approves Woodland Park redevelopment with over 2,000 homes

Woodland Park redevelopment at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive, Port Moody. (Acton Ostry Archtects/Edgar Development)

A neighbourhood-sized redevelopment incorporating a major BC Housing non-market rental housing component was approved by Port Moody City Council during a public hearing on Tuesday evening.

City council passed the third reading for amendments to the official community plan and zoning of the 24-acre, L-shaped Woodland Park site at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive — located in the general vicinity west of the intersection of Barnet Highway and Clark Road, and just east of the Suncor Energy facility. The property has steep slopes along its eastern perimeter.

See also:

“We are very happy that the City of Port Moody has demonstrated its support for affordable housing in their community,” said Peter Edgar, president of Edgar Development, in a statement.

“Our partnership with BC Housing can serve as a template for how to bring together different housing options in one location, while rejuvenating a neighbourhood over time. I want to thank Council, staff, BC Housing, and everyone who has supported this project.”

woodland park 1142 cecile drive 300 angela drive port moody

Site of Woodland Park redevelopment at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive, Port Moody. (Acton Ostry Archtects/Edgar Development)

Currently, the site is occupied by 19 low-rise buildings, constructed in the 1960s, containing 200 townhomes.

The redevelopment, spearheaded by Edgar and designed by Acton Ostry Architects, will incorporate up to 2,053 homes, inclusive of a density transfer to accommodate a new connector road just to the east linking the dense redevelopment to Barnet Highway. This includes up to 1,596 strata homes, 132 secured market rental homes, and 325 below-market rental homes.

The entire redevelopment will be built in seven phases through 2036, with construction on the first phase starting in 2022.

2021 concept for the Woodland Park redevelopment at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive, Port Moody. (Acton Ostry Archtects/Edgar Development)

BC Housing will completely fund the significant below-market rental housing component with $140 million in construction financing. To achieve this, the developer is providing five acres of land to the provincial government for free.

All below-market rental buildings — totalling 290,000 sq ft of total floor area — will be constructed over the first and second phases, with the provincial government as the owner and a non-profit housing provider as the operator.

The third phase of the redevelopment will include Edgar’s secured market rental housing component. The municipal government has also mandated that strata owners will not be restricted from renting their units.

With the below-market and market rental units combined, rental housing accounts for more than a fifth of the total number of homes at the redevelopment.

The building heights will be between six storeys and 19 storeys, with the tallest buildings at the southernmost parcel of the site terraced. Initial concepts called for towers as high as 26 storeys for this parcel, but this is no longer being considered.

2021 concept for the Woodland Park redevelopment at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive, Port Moody. (Acton Ostry Archtects/Edgar Development)

Woodland Park will also have 19,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space, including a grocery store. As well, the developer will construct a 12,000 sq ft childcare facility with a capacity for 93 kids.

The total amount of green and open spaces will be 8.1 acres, including two new public parks, a 1.5-km-long multi-use trail, and 5.2 acres of protected and enhanced environmentally sensitive areas.

As well, a road alignment just east of the southernmost parcel of the site will be funded by the developer at cost of $30 million — covering both the land acquisition outside of the Woodland Park site and the $7 million construction cost. This road realignment project will cover 5.1 acres, but the developer plans to dedicate both the new road and the unused 4.6 acres to the municipal government, which includes riparian areas, urban forest, and potentially developable land, including the potential site for a new replacement fire hall facility. The density transfer into Woodland Park comes from this site.

2021 concept for the Woodland Park redevelopment at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive, Port Moody. (Acton Ostry Archtects/Edgar Development)

A development of this size would typically be expected to pay $10.3 million in cash community amenity contributions to the municipal government, but that has been partially waived as Edgar is providing $167 million in in-kind public benefits, including the free land to BC Housing.

Based on one estimate, upon full completion, the redevelopment could generate $5 million in new annual property tax revenue for the city.

While the project provides a significant infusion of housing supply, this level of density is not considered transit-oriented project, which has been noted as a challenge by both city and TransLink staff. The site is about a 30-minute walk or five-minute drive to Moody Centre Station, served by both SkyTrain and the West Coast Express.

However, the site is directly served by the No. 180 bus route between SkyTrain Lougheed Town Centre Station and Moody Centre Station. TransLink has suggested pedestrian pathways should be optimized to shorten the walking distance to bus stops and offer more direction connections to the frequent bus routes to the east.

During the deliberations, city council also approved motions by Mayor Rob Vagramov that directs city staff to work with TransLink on exploring the feasibility of building an additional SkyTrain station west of Moody Centre Station to serve the new density, and explore cost estimates and potential funding options. This is expected to be a consideration for city council’s adoption of the bylaw scheduled for October 2021.

The developer has indicated there will be upgrades to pedestrian and cycling facilities, as well as transportation demand management measures such as car-share spaces. All vehicle parking for the redevelopment will be underground.

Site of Woodland Park redevelopment at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive, Port Moody. (Acton Ostry Archtects/Edgar Development)

2021 concept for the Woodland Park redevelopment at 1142 Cecile Drive and 300 Angela Drive, Port Moody. (Acton Ostry Archtects/Edgar Development)

Woodland Park is one of four neighbourhood-sized, high-density redevelopments planned for Port Moody.

In 2018, the city approved the Flavelle sawmill waterfront mixed-use redevelopment of 3.6 million sq ft of total floor area, including 3.26 million sq ft for residential space — enough to house 7,000 people.

The municipal government is in the process of reviewing a proposal by a consortium — comprised of developers, property owners, the provincial government, and TransLink — to redevelop 23 acres of city blocks that surround Moody Centre Station into a mixed-use neighbourhood with over a dozen towers reach up to 36 storeys. There could be over 4,100 homes, including up to 3,300 condominiums, 385 market rental homes, and 450 below-market rental homes, as well as ample retail, restaurant, office, post-secondary, and creative industrial spaces.

At the eastern end of Port Moody, there is also a proposal by Wesgroup to redevelop the 15-acre Coronation Park neighbourhood — currently occupied by about 60 single-family homes — next to SkyTrain Inlet Centre Station into towers up to 40 storeys with nearly 3,000 homes.

All four redevelopments combined could potentially double Port Moody’s current population of about 35,000 residents.

See also:

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with clarifications on CACs and the additional bylaw vote in October 2021.