Revisions to the design of a six-storey, 99-unit redevelopment on the former Gorge Pointe Pub site in Esquimalt have allowed the proposal to move to a public hearing.
Esquimalt council earlier this month approved sending Abstract Developments’ plan for the residential and commercial building at 1075 Tillicum Rd. to a public hearing.
Councillors last month said the developer needed to make some changes to the plan’s massing, the amount of commercial space, parking and upper floor setbacks.
In response, Abstract has altered the building’s design to break up the roof line by setting back the middle section of the north and Tillicum sides of the top two floors.
Making the northwest corner a more prominent feature of the building would help make its edges less dominant, an Abstract representative told council at its April 4 meeting.
The developer has increased the ground-floor commercial space from 120 to 160 square metres. However, that still falls short of Esquimalt’s request for 75 per cent of the Tillicum Road frontage to be dedicated for business space.
READ: Esquimalt gets first look at 6-storey proposal for former Gorge Pointe Pub site
The developer has said the project will take advantage of the existing transportation corridor, while also bringing a stretch of greenspace, a wider sidewalk and street trees to the busy roadway.
In exchange for an increased density allowance, the developer would put nearly $110,000 towards active transportation and pedestrian improvements at or near the site.
The building’s 99 units, down from the previously planned 100, would range from studios to three-bedroom spaces. Abstract told council on April 4 the larger units would be guaranteed one of the 89 parking stalls. The proposal also includes 100 bike parking spaces, bus passes for every resident that opts out of a parking space and every unit getting a membership for an onsite Modo vehicle.
The building also looks to have a rooftop patio with a barbeque area and a lushly-landscaped courtyard.
A date for the public hearing has not been set.
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