DELTA-The story in the Surrey Now said, Delta doesn’t want to be Burnaby….and they are right….Delta doesn’t want to be Burnaby…they want to remain affordable. They want to see their elderly and their kids stay local, giving them affordable housing options. Something other communities simply cannot offer as their residents have to move out of the neighborhood to find affordable homes ….and that’s exactly what the developers of the high rise at 80th and 120th in Delta are proposing to provide, an affordable housing option for seniors and first time buyers to enter the market.
On Tuesday night the public hearing at Kennedy Seniors Recreation Center was packed. Among the people there were the representatives of the Seniors Housing Task Force that emphatically applauded the development and its approach to offer local seniors an opportunity to continue to age in their community and continue to own a home in their neighborhood after downsizing from the family house.
According to seniors advocates the majority of their survey respondents were looking for this exact style of housing and welcomed the development
Speakers, both for and against, were from all over Delta with the majority of the 12 speakers opposing the new high rise living in the one of the two towers across the street from the proposed new tower.
The common theme amongst those opposed was their acceptance of two 15 story towers but opposition of a single tower of the 37 storys. According to the Developers, the concept was to limit the impact on view by changing from two towers into one tower.
The was some public concern that the local Delta fire department not being capable of fighting fires at this height. To this, Delta’s fire Chief sent in a written response explaining that his fire departments were well trained and equipped to fight fires within buildings of this height. Focus architecture also added that the building is built using non-combustable materials such as concrete and glass and the building by code was to be fire rated and sprinklered.
One speaker, Mr. Vikram Dutta said in his approval of the tower, that his children will not be able to purchase single family homes in the area when they come of age and would have to move out of Delta in search of affordable housing. This high rise, he continued, would enable me to have my kids stay close by.
According to the Developers, “Seniors and first timer buyers are what this project is all about and with 200 of our suites priced under $249,000, our objective is to offer an incredible home at a price people can afford. People keep moving here, we need the housing and the amenities to support these folks….for this we need to densities and an increase our tax base. Providing this type of housing is imperative for Delta’s growth. The 37 story high rise is proposed in an area with two smaller high rises across the street and in the area that Delta city hall has earmarked for high density. We were happy to see so many people come out and support our efforts.”
The site area is comparable in size to the adjacent site which houses the existing two towers and the concept, according the Focus Architecture, was to build vertically and leave considerably more green space, more than a half an acre to create less of an impact on the foot print.
