51 Elliot Street

Project Update: At their regular meeting on April 22, 2024, New Westminster City Council gave three readings to the Zoning Amendment and Housing Agreement Bylaws. A recording of the meeting as well as a copy of the report can be found here.

What's being proposed?

Applications for rezoning and development permit have been received for a residential high-rise at 51 Elliot Street in the Downtown neighbourhood. The proposal is for a residential high-rise of 37 storeys. The application includes 287 strata residential units and an overall density of 7.25 Floor Space Ratio (FSR). The application proposes to provide 13 affordable housing units and a 392 sq. metre (4,220 sq. ft.) child care space, both which would be operated by not-for-profit operators.

The proposal is consistent with the site’s “Residential – Tower Apartments” designation in the Downtown Community Plan (DCP), which anticipates high-density residential uses as has been proposed in this application. The rezoning would change the current zoning of Apartment High-Rise (RM-6B) to a site-specific Comprehensive Development (CD) zoning to facilitate the development.

This is the final opportunity for public comment on the proposal prior to the application being forwarded to Council for consideration.

Click here to view drawings of the proposed development.

Summary of Revisions

Applicant-led consultation was held for this development proposal in June 2020. At this time, affordable housing operators had not been contacted about potential partnership opportunities within the development. Following discussion with operators and review by the City, opportunities were identified to provide affordable housing units that are larger in size (two and three-bedroom units) and more suitable to families and larger households. In addition, there were opportunities to make these units more affordable (lower rents) exceeding current policy affordability requirements by providing some units at rent geared to income and some units at 26%-37% below current affordability requirements.

While the general site plan remains similar to what was previously proposed, in order to provide some larger and more affordable units and to ensure careful consideration was given to the needs of the affordable housing operator (to ensure ongoing operational and financial feasibility) and balance amenities to ensure the overall project remains financially viable, it was necessary to make key revisions to the proposal. These changes are summarized in the table below:

*** Proposed Affordable Housing Details:

6 non-market units (2.1% of total units) at rent geared to income:

• 3 units with 2 bedrooms @ $570/mo (estimated, 2021)
• 3 units with 3 bedrooms @ $660/mo (estimated, 2021)

7 units (2.4% of total units) at 60% of Housing Income Limits:

• 5 units with 2 bedrooms @$1,035/mo (estimated, 2021) ($372 / 26% less than policy requirements)
• 2 units with 3 bedrooms @$1,200/mo (estimated, 2021) ($702 / 37% less than policy requirements)

How can I engage?

City-led consultation has now concluded. This was the final opportunity for public comment on the proposal prior to the application being forwarded to Council for consideration of approval. The final staff report to Council will include a summary of the feedback received during the City-led consultation process, as well as any feedback submitted directly to staff during the project review process.

There are multiple opportunities for the public to provide feedback through the application review process. The process typically includes applicant-led consultation, review by City committees, and City-led consultation. The review process is iterative and revisions are considered, based on feedback, throughout the process.

Applicant-led Consultation (2020)

The applicants hosted two virtual open houses in June 2020. Attendees were given an opportunity to learn more about the project, provide comments, and ask questions.

Click here to view a summary of the questions, comments, and responses.