A proposal has been submitted to build 85 homes on two Government Road properties in the North Yards neighbourhood.
Frame Properties, on behalf of Dayhu Investments Ltd., is seeking to rezone 39773 and 39777 Government Road from Multiple Unit Residential 2 (RM-2) to a site-specific comprehensive development zone.
The application proposes 40 three-bedroom townhomes and 45 purpose-built market-rental apartments. The townhomes would be three storeys tall, while the rental homes would be contained in a six-storey building fronting Government Road.
The rental building would include five studio apartments, 26 one-bedroom homes, 10 two-bedroom homes and four three-bedroom units, according to the project data submitted with the application.
The approximately two-acre property is located within the District’s Growth Management Boundary and near what the Official Community Plan identifies as the North Yards neighbourhood node. The applicant says the location is connected to transit, sidewalks and cycling routes and is suited to higher-density infill housing.
Plans show the apartment building along the road, with the townhomes arranged behind and beside it. The design uses pitched roofs, shingle-style siding and wood-toned cladding intended to give the larger development a more familiar residential appearance. Landscaped courtyards and an internal vehicle lane would run through the site.
The proposal would have a floor-space ratio of 0.97, compared with 0.80 under the existing RM-2 zone, and site coverage of 44 per cent rather than 40 per cent. The apartment building would reach a maximum height of 22 metres, while the townhomes would be up to 11 metres tall.
The developers are also requesting several zoning relaxations. Plans show 97 residential parking spaces, compared with 149 spaces otherwise required, and four visitor spaces, compared with 21. The applicant is also seeking a reduction in required common outdoor space, proposing 15,470 square feet rather than 36,596 square feet.
The submission says the reduced parking is intended to encourage alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle travel because the site is located along a transit route and is connected to existing walking and cycling infrastructure.
The properties are within a flood-hazard area. Project documents say occupiable portions of the buildings would be constructed above the required flood-construction level.
The application is at the rezoning stage, and the development has not yet been approved. It will require consideration by District Council.
