Imagine a Granville Island-style row of pocket retailers, some marine-themed, selling their wares next to a coffee shop where tired shoppers sip their java while watching boaters on the Mamquam Blind Channel before walking a few blocks home. This is the vision developers of the proposed Waterfront Landing community hope Squamish residents and potential buyers see.
Representatives for Bosa and Kingswood Properties showcased their “unique marine Squamish” vision for the land located at 1500 Highway 99 at an open house on Nov. 9 at the Squamish Adventure Centre that was attended by about 60 curious residents.
“You don’t need to get in your car. You can go get groceries, go to a café, walk downtown… that is the huge advantage of this site,” said Benn Duffell, senior development manager with Bosa Properties in describing the walk-ability envisioned for the proposed community.
Proposed are about 950 units, a mix of townhouses and condominiums in four to six storey buildings.
When council members at a committee of the whole discussed an earlier version of the proposal last month, a need for more commercial was stressed so the project team has been working to incorporate more employment space, Duffell said.
“We are coming back with a revised application,” he said, adding he couldn’t commit to a square footage that will be proposed because that is still to be determined.
“We just want to make sure it is in the right place on the site and that we are not detracting from the downtown core.”
Mayor Patricia Heintzman said she recognizes it is a balance, but incorporating commercial is something many District of Squamish strategies aim for.
“Whether it is the Employment Lands Strategy, Downtown Neighbourhood Plan, Official Community Plan, all are really driving toward more commercial,” she said. “Whether that it is office space, retail hubs, some light manufacturing, we definitely need to make sure we are thinking about that for the long term.”
Duffell said the developers are working with a consultant to incorporate more commercial on the site.
Other features of the proposal are a boardwalk and marina, a kayak launch and storage facility, a public outdoor plaza and a waterfront park.
A footbridge would connect Waterfront Landing to downtown Squamish and Duffell said talks are underway with Squamish developer Michael Hutchison’s Squamish Blue Pacific Developments regarding having the footbridge land amid the Sirocco project on the other side of the Mamquam Blind Channel.
“We are talking to the right parties and we feel really good about it,” Duffell said.
Heintzman said she likes the way the project uses the waterfront and provides a walking and biking connection to downtown, she said.
“I do like the connectivity they are working on there,” she said.
Duffell said he anticipates first reading of an Official Community Plan amendment will be before council in January, with a public hearing in the spring. Ideally, units would be up for presale in the summer of 2017, he said.
