Controversial Rize Complex Can Proceed
April 17, 2012Controversial Rize Complex Can Proceed ... The Courier
Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier
City council gave the go-ahead Tuesday to a controversial rezoning application to redevelop a city block in Mount Pleasant into a $150 million mixed-use complex featuring a 19-storey residential tower.
The 9-1 vote, which was led by the ruling Vision Vancouver party, means Rize Alliance Properties Ltd. can apply for a development permit and complete a detailed design of the project.
Six Vision councillors, Mayor Gregor Robertson and NPA councillors George Affleck and Elizabeth Ball voted in favour of the proposal. Vision Coun. Tim Stevenson abstained from voting after missing three nights of public hearings.
Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr cast the one dissenting vote, arguing the proposal didn’t fit with Mount Pleasant’s community plan, which was approved in November 2010.
“It’s too high, it’s too dense, it’s not permeable,” said Carr, who unsuccessfully attempted to have the developer revise its plan.
Though council’s vote was resounding, some were troubled by the initial design of the project, with Vision Coun. Raymond Louie calling for improvements and Vision Coun. Andrea Reimer describing the complex as “ugly.”
The plan calls for building heights of five storeys, nine storeys and a 19-storey tower. The 1.25-acre trapezoid-shaped site is in the heart of Mount Pleasant and will include 241 condos and two levels of commercial space. (Read More Here ... Controversial Rize Complex Can Proceed ... The Courier )
