Courtesy of “a lot of back and forth with the developers,” the city may have a template in acquiring a commitment for affordable apartment units in future projects.
According to Lou Pompilii, director of planning and building services for the city, a minimum of five apartment units deemed affordable will be included in the 14-storey, 162-unit apartment tower to be developed near the intersection of First Avenue and Talbot Street.
The developer had sought an amendment to the Community Improvement Plan which would have resulted in a tax incentive.
As a condition, the city sought a minimum of five affordable units as defined by the Community Improvement Plan.
According to Pompilii, “we negotiated an appropriate number (of affordable units). We started with four and settled on five. We don’t want any less than that.”
It does set a precedent, something Coun. Gary Clarke alluded to.
“It’s a great start, we now have a template for other developers.”
Mayor Joe Preston picked up on that point.
“Is this setting a pattern going forward for what we may want to do with any large apartment development? Perhaps the next council will have to take a hard look at is this the standard. Do we need this many affordable units?
“Can we rebate certain things back to the builder in order to attract large, market-rent apartment buildings to our community?”
Written by Ian McCallum
