Plans for more than 150 townhouses can advance to the next stage thanks to a development permit approval from Nanaimo city council.
The nod was given at the Monday, July 10, council meeting for a 168-unit multi-family project, consisting of 22 three-storey townhouse buildings and a two-storey amenity building, to be constructed on a section of vacant land at 380 and 385 Watfield Rd., located between Third and Fourth streets in Harewood.
The development permit application was submitted by a numbered company.
“Through the re-zoning application the applicant committed to at least 50 per cent family-friendly housing,” said Jeremy Holm, director of development approvals. “In this case they’ve exceeded that pledge. What’s proposed here is 147 three-bedroom units and 21 four-bedroom units, which is quite a nice complement to family housing in the area.”
Three-bedroom units will range in size from about 1,360 to 1,450 square feet and four-bedroom units will have about 1,580 to 1,710 sq. ft.
All parking for the complex will be provided on-site, plus 14 visitor parking stalls, and the site will be well-connected to pedestrian and multi-use trails throughout the property, linking it to Fourth Street, Watfield and Howard avenues, and parkland is also included in the “phased development,” Holm said.
He said traffic from the townhouse development will primarily enter and exit through its main entrance on Fourth Street and also onto Third Street via Watfield Avenue, replying to a query by Coun. Sheryl Armstrong, who commented that there had been concerns expressed by neighbourhood residents over traffic volumes.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said he was pleased to see the project moving ahead and calculated that considering all the three- and four-bedroom units, the development could house approximately 525 people.
Council voted unanimously to approve the permit.
READ ALSO: Developer seeking re-zoning for 200 townhouses in Harewood in Nanaimo
Council also unanimously approved a development permit application submitted by Raymond de Beeld Architect Inc. for a three-storey, five-unit development at 582 Bradley St. and an application from Gustavo Da Roza of G3 Architecture Inc., on behalf of Bill Beadle of Barrington Townhomes Ltd. for a 26-unit, three-bedroom townhouse development at 3401 Barrington Rd. That development is a new phase of an existing strata development in the area.
READ ALSO: Nanaimo will be asked to meet provincial housing targets
chris.bush@nanaimobulletin.com
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