Oppose high rise buildings in Steveston!

A pair of high-rise towers and a new city park could soon be built on the Steveston waterfront if the latest rezoning application for a contentious property is approved.

The Onni Group of Companies is proposing to build two residential towers—one 10 storeys, the other 12 storeys—on its Bayview Street property, east of No. 1 Road. As part of the plan, which would bring 200 new homes to the village, Onni would donate over half its 1.41-hectare site to the city.

“Through the last rezoning, what we have continued to hear is that the community and council would love more acreage on the waterfront for public use,” said Onni’s Chris Evans.” They want public space on the water, and this obviously achieves that.”

Evans said the city would net two acres of waterfront land under the proposal, giving Richmond the chance “to create a lasting legacy on the waterfront in Steveston.”

The rezoning plan for the narrow strip of land has yet to be considered by city council’s planning committee.

For years Onni has attempted to rezone the last of its Imperial Landing parcels to allow for more residential space and to open up the restrictive industrial zoning to allow for a range of commercial tenants on the ground floor. But Onni has faced a backlash from scores of residents and politicians over its past plans.

Current zoning allows six buildings to a maximum height of four storeys, with ground-floor space reserved for commercial tenants that support the maritime industry.

Under the latest high-rise proposal, the entire development would be residential and contained in two buildings near Phoenix Pond. Onni has also pledged to donate $500,000 to the Steveston Community Centre.

Coun. Harold Steves said land at Britannia Heritage Shipyard went through a similar process.

A developer had zoning to build three-storey apartments on the site, but the city allowed high-rises instead, in exchange for land. Incidently, the developer only built the structures to six storeys due to market conditions at the time.

“Britannia is a major park and heritage site,” he said. “It wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t proposed those two high-rise buildings on that site—that never got built.”

The tallest building in Steveston today is the eight-storey Lions Manor behind the Steveston Community Centre, according to Steves.

Steves said river views of apartment dwellers behind Onni’s proposed high-rises would be blocked even with the smaller structures allowed under the current zoning.

“It’s an interesting concept and we’ll see what the public has to say about it, but if it’s anything like the Britannia thing they’ll go for it.”

Onni is also developing a trio of high-rises across from the Richmond Olympic Oval.