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Posted Jul 7, 2022, 6:21 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2018
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Small step forward in the plan to revitalize the Scott Road corridor in North Delta/Surrey.
Delta residents to get first glimpse of new Scott Road highrise
June 6th, 2022
https://www.northdeltareporter.com/n...road-highrise/
Quote:
Delta residents can now register to get a first look at the soon-to-be-built highrise slated for the corner of 93A Avenue and Scott Road.
On Friday (June 3), the project’s developer, BM Group, held a grand opening celebration for the Walker House sales centre. Located at 9365 Scott Rd., the centre features a scale model of the project’s 29-storey tower as well as a full-scale and fully furnished mock up of one of the project’s two-bedroom units.
Once built, the mixed-use development in North Delta’s Townline area will include 264 market strata residential units — 52 studio, 105 one-bedroom and 107 two-bedroom — over 3,110 sq. ft. of commercial space, 3,660 sq. ft. of common indoor amenity space and 13,153 sq. ft. of common outdoor amenity space. The highrise is only the second ever approved in the city. The first, the 37-storey Delta Rise at 80th and Scott, was completed in May of 2017.
A six-storey building to be built on the west side of the property will contain 50 rental units on the first five floors (13 studio, 20 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom), 580 sq. ft. of common indoor amenity space on the sixth floor, and 6,070 sq. ft. of common outdoor amenity space. In a first for Delta, the rental units will be secured for 20 years through a site-specific rezoning, including 10 units locked in at below-market rates.
The project will also include a dedicated 3,775 sq. ft. childcare facility large enough for 30 children — 2,335 sq. ft. indoors, 1,440 sq. ft. outdoors — with ownership to be transferred to the city at no cost as part of the developer’s community benefits package.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better partnership than what we got and the support we got from Delta,” BM Group chairman Balraj Mann said Friday.
“We are emotionally attached to this area. I grew up here (…) I used to take the bus from here, right in front of this building,” he said, adding the project is especially important to the area’s South Asian community as it sits in the middle of the “Punjabi Bazaar” portion of Scott Road.
Mann said the project will mean a lot for the neighbourhood, especially young families looking to stay in the area.
“I know the need for the next generation like our kids. I think Delta residents, this will be a place for them,” he told the Reporter. “This project has a little bit of everything, with smaller units, bigger units, there’s also a rental component, there’s a daycare on the premises, lots of amenities. So it means a lot. I think we’re hoping that most of the product will be purchased by the people in the neighbourhood and their families.”
Mann also said he hopes the project will be the first of many that will transform the Townline neighbourhood “for the betterment of Delta, North Delta residents and the surrounding areas.”
“I think somebody had to take the lead. It’s risky when you do something for the first time,” he said. “I think we made a decision that will [encourage others to] take that initiative, and we’re feeling pretty positive about this.”
Mayor George Harvie said he was happy to finally see development happening in the Townline area, and called Walker House a flagship project that will spur on others.
“It’s going to be such a value-added asset to our community,” Harvie said. “More housing, that’s what we need, and more different types of housing.”
The mayor thanked Mann and his staff for “making this a quick, easy turn-over for us,” before jokingly reminding Mann of his promise to build 10 more such projects.
Speaking with the Reporter, the mayor said he was impressed by what he saw at Friday’s opening.
“I couldn’t say enough about the company involved. They’re good builders, and when you look at the suite here and what they’re offering, it’s amazing. The views are amazing, the daycare is also amazing, the other amenities, and some of the affordable housing options too. So really pleased and I can’t wait until it’s actually available for the public.”
Harvie also said revitalizing Scott Road is one of his top priorities should he be re-elected mayor on Oct. 15.
Sales manager Nagib Karim with Rennie & Associates Realty said the sales centre will be open to the public “in a few weeks,” with Delta residents given first priority to tour the facility and buy a unit.
“The reason behind this is we want to support the local Delta residents. It’s hard to find inventory in North Delta right now in this type of product, so they will have the first opportunity to come in and select a home,” Karim said.
Prices start in the “mid-$400,000” range, and it’s estimated the project will be completed in early 2026. Those interested can register for priority access at walkerhousedelta.com.
The project’s rental units will be available for lease just prior to completion, and prices have not yet been set.
Karim said local residents like to see a rental component to projects like this as they “stabilizes the asset.”
“The strata knows that BM Group is not just building this and walking away; they’re going to be your next-door neighbour, they’re going to be sharing the same backyard as you. So they have a vested interested in making sure that, every step of the way, 100 per cent quality is put into this, 100 per cent detail is brought into this. They don’t just want to build it and walk away. They’re name is also on it,” he said.
“[BM Group] are very hands-on with this project just because of what it means for the community. They are part of the community and have been for so many years, so having their roots established here, it really shows in what’s going to be delivered to the consumer.”
In October of 2020, the Mayor’s Housing Task Force for Scott Road released its recommendations for addressing housing and development challenges along the corridor and creating greater certainty about future development.
In its report, the task force identified the area — renamed the Townline Innovation District — as one that could accommodate the highest densities and tallest buildings, with the biggest located near 96th and tapering down towards 92nd.
The task force’s vision calls for a mix of live/work townhouses, mixed-use and residential structures up to six storeys in height, and mid- to highrise towers up to 18 storeys high, with the possibility of building up to 29 storeys when developers provide contributions towards community and neighbourhood improvements.
Several features and amenities would “contribute to the Townline Innovation District’s liveability,” including a centrally-located new park surrounded by active ground floor uses to help animate the space, a multi-use greenway trail along the railway corridor and 119B Street that would help link the district to other North Delta neighbourhoods, and a community space that could potentially include a daycare, recreation space, gym and/or youth centre.
“Innovation in design permeates this neighbourhood, with its industrial chic identity recalling the nearby railway and gritty historic uses,” the task force’s report says, noting the area is an ideal place to spearhead new construction materials and take advantage of the province’s push towards mass timber technologies for midrise and highrise buildings.
“While the district redevelops and evolves into a fully realized neighbourhood, existing affordable commercial and industrial properties will be prime locations to attract entrepreneurship, light industrial and creative artisan uses.”
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