Moncton gives green light to two 17-storey riverfront towers
Developer says groundwork for the buildings will begin late this year
Moncton city council has approved the Gateway Towers project, which will see a pair of mixed-use, 17-storey towers rise by the city's riverfront.
After a public hearing Monday night, council voted 7-3 for bylaw changes that would allow the Gateway Towers to go ahead on land south of Assomption Boulevard along Riverfront Park.
Work will start in December and could take about 3½ years to complete, developer John Lafford said.
Sackville-based J.N. Lafford Realty Inc. has said the development will have about 380 residential units split between the two towers, and two levels of indoor parking along with commercial spaces on the main level.
"I was pretty hopeful throughout," Lafford said after the council meeting.
"We are in a time when we need housing, and we are also in a time where a developer has to build in places where people want to live."
Residents opposed to the towers were also at the meeting and raised concerns that the development would set a precedent for more tall buildings, limiting access to the riverfront. The Gateway Towers project is supposed to have a public right-of-way to the park.
Lafford said the chosen location is where people would want to live healthy lives with access to nature.
"This development is less impactful, less harmful to the environment than a sprawling development," he said.
Helene Branch, who opposed the towers, said she was disappointed by the council's decision, although the three votes against the project did exceed her expectation.
She said she hopes that concerns raised by opponents of the project got through to councillors so that this development doesn't open doors to more commercial buildings along the riverfront.
"Maybe we will finally get a guarantee that the rest of the Riverfront Park will remain untouched and unblemished by buildings of that kind," Branch said.
Martin Mei, property manager at Hub City Property Management, spoke in favour of the development, citing the city's low apartment vacancy rate.
"I am very pro of this project," he said.
Mei said he works with local organizations to provide affordable housing to community members.
Gateway Towers will attract young professionals who are willing to pay higher rent, creating new vacancies in other buildings with more affordable units, he said.
Mayor Dawn Arnold said the city has always wanted "a real gateway to our riverfront."
Arnold said that in her conversations with young people in the community, she's heard they want to see more amenities along the riverfront.
"They want to be able to get an ice cream or get a coffee. We have a beautiful river and we have just never had any amenities along it."
Most of the Gateway Towers site covers land was already owned by Lafford and had the necessary zoning for development
Earlier this summer, council voted to sell some municipally owned land to the developer.
Bill Budd, the city's director of planning and development, described the land the city is selling as a "ditch area" that has been "problematic" because of homeless encampments in the past.
The Gateway Towers project is valued at $90 million, and 10 to 25 per cent of the residential units may be considered affordable housing, according to city staff.
Council approved the second and third readings for the bylaw amendments with 19 conditions, Budd said. The developer has to abide by the conditions to be able to build on the land.
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