Located in the heart of North Vancouver’s Maplewood neighbourhood, Maplewood Gardens is planned to be a vibrant residential community providing a spectrum of housing solutions to support the future growth of this Town Centre. This community of five buildings will offer much needed entry-level homes, affordable rental replacement homes, as well as market rental and down/right-sizing housing options. The new Maplewood Gardens will be well-serviced by the existing amenities at Northwoods Village and Stong's Market, plus its own commercial units fronting the area’s new highstreet – Seymour River Place.
The proposed redevelopment intends to expand on existing active recreational park space, enhancing available green spaces and environmentally sensitive features for future generations through its landscaped courtyard, and series of outdoor and covered amenities.
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Two-Bedroom Home in Replacement Rental Building
The Maplewood Gardens site is 4.9 acres, located just behind Northwoods Village and bordered by Old Dollarton Road to the north, Riverside Drive to the east, Front Street to the South, and Seymour River Place to the west.
Today there is an aging rental complex on site – Maplewood Gardens Apartments – with 58 rental apartments on the site consisting of 2-3 storey townhomes. There are also 8 industrial units in 2 buildings along Front Street, with over half of the space primarily used for storage.
Darwin has been conducting regular maintenance and improvements to the existing buildings, however they are over 50 years old and were experiencing significant wear and deterioration well before Darwin bought the property 5 years ago.
Darwin is proposing to replace the existing 58 market rental homes and 8 older industrial units currently onsite with 58 new below-market rental homes and 8 new retail units. In addition, there will be 121 market rental homes, 357 condominium units, and 17 live-work units. There will also be a large central courtyard taking up two-thirds of the site, as well as over 15,000sqft of amenities for residents, a new shared street for community events, and space for a B-Line bus stop.
Yes. Today there is an aging rental complex on site – Maplewood Gardens Apartments – with 58 rental apartments on the site consisting of 2-3 storey townhomes. There are also 8 industrial units in 2 buildings along Front Street, but over half of the units are untenanted and used for storage.
Darwin acquired the property in 2015 and has not raised rents in the 5 years since. We have been regularly communicating updates to our current residents, and have conducted 2 surveys to understand future housing needs. Darwin also hired an experienced tenant specialist, LPA Development Consultants, to act as a dedicated resource to assist with tenant needs.
No. There will be no displacement of current residents during construction or after project completion, unless residents decide they want to live elsewhere.
Darwin’s primary focus has always been to do the right thing for our existing residents – this has not changed in the 5 years we have owned the site. Darwin’s plan is to replace the 58 aging market rental units currently on the site with brand new below-market rental units at below-market rents for our residents.
To facilitate this and also to ensure no displacement of current residents, the project is proposed to be phased in such a way as to build the replacement rental homes first. This will minimize impact to our residents and ensure no one is displaced outside the Maplewood community. Residents will remain living in their current homes onsite while their new building is constructed on the same site. Once the replacement rental building is complete, residents can move in and only then will the existing residential buildings be demolished.
BC Housing is a partner on this project and will take over the management of the replacement rental building, including its 58 below-market homes for current tenants. Through a new BC Housing rental program, Darwin is able to offer these 58 brand-new homes at below-market rents to residents currently living in market rental apartments at Maplewood Gardens.
BC Housing’s involvement with the project also assures the District, the community, and residents that the conditions of the project proposal, including the below-market rents, will be carried out completely and correctly. This will be the first BC Housing project in the Maplewood area and the first time this new BC Housing below-market rental program is offered in the District.
Darwin’s proposal for Maplewood Gardens offers a number of resident and community benefits:
Yes – one-third of the 553 homes proposed will be purpose-built, secured rental housing. Of the 179 rental homes, 58 (or 10% of the total homes proposed) will be offered at below-market rates in partnership with BC Housing. Current Maplewood Gardens residents will have first access to these below-market replacement homes and the project is being phased to ensure there will be no displacement offsite during construction.
The project promotes a number of sustainability measures. These include:
The proposal includes many improvements to lessen traffic in the neighbourhood:
Construction of the Maplewood Gardens project will not begin until after the expected completion of the Highway 1 improvements currently underway. This means that the construction of this project will not worsen the current traffic situation on the highway and future residents of Maplewood Gardens will benefit from these improvements.
The proposal encourages more walking and cycling while reducing car dependency in many ways:
Construction on Phase 1 will not start until late 2022, dependent on Council approvals and staff processing time. This is after the construction of the Highway 1 improvements currently underway is anticipated to complete.
The proposal is 100% compliant with the District’s Official Community Plan and its Maplewood Area Plan. It complies with all policies in these documents, including height, density, and uses proposed. It is also being proposed in one of the Districts four Town Centres, which are areas projected for more growth and close to amenities including shops, services, transportation connections, and trails.
From Darwin's roots as a construction company founded in 1987, Darwin has grown to be one of the most active developers on the North Shore. With over 30 years of experience in construction and development, Darwin has more than 65 acres and 4.8 million square feet of residential, mixed-use and commercial projects in the planning or construction phase of development.
BC Housing manages a range of affordable housing options across the province. BC Housing also works in partnership with the private and non-profit sectors, other levels of government and community groups to develop a range of housing options. BC Housing will manage the replacement rental building built in the first phase of the project, which will include below-market units for the existing residents.
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