The sale of two city-owned properties will help fill a hole in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter.
At a meeting Monday, Jan. 15, Bill Corsan, the city’s director of corporate and business development, presented a report regarding the sale of 350 and 398 Franklyn streets to Camargue Properties Inc./ Le Groupe Denux, which intends to build a multi-family residential complex with commercial space on 0.17 hectares that currently serve as parking lots.
The price for the land, which faces Franklyn, Wesley and Robson streets, is $1.6 million and the offer from Camargue followed an expression of interest put out by the city last summer. Submitted proposals were presented to council at an in-camera meeting in October.
Corsan said Carmargue’s project aligns with other downtown projects, such as Commercial Street revitalization and the Terminal Avenue transit exchange.
“One of council’s priorities is to see the redevelopment of key sites in the downtown core and, with that, bringing new investment and more residents living in the downtown core,” Corsan said.
The developer proposes ground-floor retail units on Wesley Street in addition to the residential component. A percentage of the residential units, depending on Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation criteria and negotiations with the city, will be adaptable and accessible and at least 10 per cent will be affordable units.
Camargue has also asked to be included in the downtown revitalization tax exemption program. One of its conditions to the purchase is that the city approves a development permit and housing agreement by Aug. 30 to allow the company time to arrange financing by Nov. 29.
The property is expected to transfer ownership by Dec. 19, but the city also has an option-to-purchase agreement in place that allows it to buy back the property if the bulk of development isn’t achieved within two years of the transfer of title.
Bryan Gartner, senior project architect with ACE Architecture, said in his presentation to council that he grew up in Nanaimo so developing the property is exciting for him.
“It’s just up the street from A&B Sound where I waited in line for the latest Walkman or Discman that came out at the time,” he said.
Gartner said the build concept and the layout aligns with the downtown development plan of four or five storeys. He said the project will include about 28 two-bedroom suites, 20 one-bedroom units and eight micro-units, which approximately equals the permitted density.
Parking, located under the complex, will include a mix of 43 standard- and small-size vehicle stalls.
Some of the development’s energy needs will be supplied by large solar panel arrays on the roofs of the complex, which will be essentially two buildings with the upper floors connected by a “terrace/amenity space” and green space around and between the buildings at ground level. The amenities spaces, Gartner said, could include a work space, yoga studio, gym and even a children’s playroom.
Council voted unanimously to approve the sale of 350 and 398 Franklyn streets for $1.6 million.
At the same meeting, city council also approved, with councillors Tyler Brown and Ben Geselbracht opposed, a tax exemption for a development at 420 Albert St. where the developer, 420 Albert Holdings, has bought an existing office building and plans to convert it into 23 residential rental micro units. The term of the tax exemption is from 2024 to the end of 2033.
“The tax exemption on this project would be the difference between its current value as an office building and the change in value to go into the 23 micro units,” Corsan said.
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