Pam Anderson property plans laid
Article and photograph by Jennifer Squires
a pic/rendering of the development:
http://media.bclocalnews.com/images/...6_c_080304.jpg
It’s been at least a year in the making, but initial development plans have now been laid for Ladysmith-native Pamela Anderson’s waterfront property on Chemainus Rd.
Former NHL hockey player Geoff Courtnall, who partnered with Anderson to develop the five-acre lot and marina, said he hopes to start construction before the end of the year.
“We’ve had lots of concepts and gone around and around trying to get something that works,” said Courtnall. “I hope this year that we’re breaking ground.”
Last weekend Courtnall came to Ladysmith’s Aggie Hall, along with project architects and developers, for an information meeting and to get public feedback on the proposed 83-unit residential project.
Originally the design was zoned for commercial use, but has since been revised, said Peter Laughlin, development manager for Wessex Project Management Inc.
“We’re doing no commercial at all,” said Laughlin. “We think the commercial should stay in downtown Ladysmith, so we’re just doing residential.”
The plan calls for six buildings – three condominiums at the waterfront and three sections of townhouses on the west side. There will be one entrance to the entire development, off Chemainus Rd, and an internal network of roads through the buildings.
There is also a marina planned, though Laughlin said they’re unsure of its proposed use at this point.
“We’re not quite sure whether (the marina) will be public access or not,” he said. “The old pilings are actually still there because that used to be a commercial wharf. The Anderson family – well, Pam I guess – she renewed the lease on it. She’s just never done anything with it, so now we’ll do something.”
Laughlin said they’re in the process of applying to the Town of Ladysmith for the development.
“Our development application has in fact been made to Ladysmith,” Laughlin said. “It was just this week.” Laughlin said the application process will take a while because it has to be approved at two points: first, the development permit stage and then the building permit stage.
“We want to be in the ground this year – we want to be building this year,” he said.
One potential snag in the application process could be the proposed height of the buildings, which some residents are afraid will cause shadows on properties adjacent to the site, decreasing the property value.
“From a regulatory perspective, the only thing we’re looking for on this project is a height variance,” said architect Peter J. de Hoog, of de Hoog & Kierulf architects, who helped design the project.
“The zoning allows four-storey buildings and we’ve got a five-storey and an eight-storey (building),” he said. Technically, “it’s seven stories plus a penthouse,” he added. “The penthouse is a much smaller footprint – it’s not a full storey.”
Laughlin said a computer-generated shadow study was part of the design process.
“We’re trying to make sure we’re not impinging on the neighbours with shadows because that’s always one of the questions you get as well,” Laughlin said. “We virtually have no shadow impact – and that’s the way we’ve set the building up – to do that.”
De Hoog said the design is well under the allowed density for the site. He said they plan to use half of the allowed 60% site coverage and the design calls for less than half their allowed FSR – the measure of the building-to-land ratio.
“If the footprint (building width) gets smaller, it gets taller. But you’re always limited to that area,” De Hoog said.
“This is a five-acre site. That’s a lot of land area – and we’re allowed to build 2:1 (FSR). So we’re allowed to build, in effect, 10 acres of building, which is about 400,000 sq. ft., which is a lot. And we’re well under half of that. So we’re nowhere close to the density we’re allowed to build on this site – less than 1:1.”
Architect Lynn Gordon-Findlay, who worked with De Foog on the design, explained that in creating the plan they had to decide whether to build up or out. In this case they decided to go up – to preserve green space.
“One of the (reasons) we’re going for the higher building is because it takes it off the site, which gives us more scope to save trees and do the landscaping.”
She said they tried to save specimen trees, as well as keep trees around the perimeter of the site as a buffer zone with adjacent properties.
They hired an arbourer to identify all the trees and determine which needed to be preserved.
“There’s a massive arbutus down on King Rd., half way down the site,” said Gordon-Findlay. “That’s one of the reasons why you see the plan the way it is, to save that tree.”
The grove of arbutus trees on King St. will be kept, as well as many big fir trees, said Laughlin.
He said, however, the large trees on the waterfront will all be cut down.
“We’ve preserved a majority of the existing trees so the ones at the front are being sacrificed,” he said. “We’re using the wood – the lumber’s going to be milled locally and we’re going to use it in the buildings.”
The developers are planning to add some features to increase the development’s efficiency and sustainability.
“We’re incorporating some fairly unique features,” said Laughlin. “All of the paving is actually permeable paving so it avoids water runoff.
“Heating and cooling – because these (units) are air conditioned – is through a geothermal system, so it’s very, very efficient, minimal environmental footprint.”
Laughlin said there is also a green roof plan in place. He said it is a “plant base on top (of the building), and that makes it far more efficient for heating and cooling to significantly reduce the requirement for electricity. All the units will have heating and cooling done through that,” he said.
The architects said there is a storm-water management plan in place as well. Gordon-Findlay said they plan to “collect the storm water on the site and recycle it through to provide irrigation, and for water features,” such as on-site ponds.
Mayor Rob Hutchins said the Town will be more involved in the planning process at a later stage.
“I believe they’re looking for a variance here,” he said. “What happens is (the application) comes to council ... then there’s a public process.”
He said the Town will hold more public consultation meetings “once it gets to that stage.”
De Hoog said he thinks the Anderson property development will be one of the first of many waterfront developments to appear.
“It’s a project that will sort of say, OK, this is kind of what we’d like to see in Ladysmith – a level of quality in terms of the way the buildings are thought out, and the landscaping, and integration with other elements,” De Hoog said.
“Ladysmith has a massive amount of waterfront and it’s completely underdeveloped and that’s not going to last, not the way things are going.”
Victoria-based Courtnall said he plans to spend a lot of time in Ladysmith once the project gets going.
“It’s a great town ... I’m confident that Ladysmith is a place where a lot of people are going to want to move to,” he said.
“I think Ladysmith is probably one of the most undiscovered towns on Vancouver Island,” said Courtnall.
He estimated the proposed project length at three to five years.
“This is the first time obviously we’ve gotten some feedback from the public, so I think we’ll sort of see where we go next from here.”
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