INTRODUCTION
PCI Developments, in collaboration with Perkins & Will, has applied for a Rezoning, OCP Amendment and Development Permit to redevelop the properties at 2933, 3001, & 3005 Murray Street in Port Moody. This project will be the most sustainable building in Port Moody, showcasing mass timber construction and the daylighting of Slaughterhouse Creek to provide 16,000 square-feet of riparian dedication.
The project will establish a new community by providing smart growth through rental housing density, public amenities, and mixed employment space that promote and enhance a pedestrian-oriented urban landscape close to transit.
Preliminary Proposal
Location
This site is located on the south bank of Burrard Inlet in the City of Port Moody, across from Rocky Point Park. Notably, it is directly adjacent to Moody Centre Station, providing quick accessibility to the Sky Train and West Coast Express Services, connecting residents with Downtown Vancouver and other areas such as Burnaby, New Westminster, and Surrey.
Project Details
This proposal envisions a 12-storey Mass Timber building, providing for 207 rental residential units, the majority of which are designed to be dual-aspect homes with access to significant daylight and views to encourage livability. 10% of the homes will also be committed to below market rates (at Housing Income Limits rents) to ensure affordability, and resident amenities will be provided with access to extensive indoor and outdoor amenity space, including bicycle and kayak storage space, rooftop decks, children’s play area, fitness centre and rooftop urban agriculture plots.
On the ground floor, a mixed-employment space is provided for, intended to suit the character of Murray Street as well as an affordable artist’s space with views out towards the adjacent riparian area. The riparian area provides for 16,000 sq ft of green space and daylighting of Slaughterhouse Creek, demonstrating a strong ecological initiative and providing beautiful landscape expression.
The building will be constructed using Mass Timber, an engineered timber product with excellent structural properties and a very low environmental impact. It is a greenhouse positive product with a lower net environmental impact than most other building materials, as the wood stores carbon dioxide that was captured from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, and therefore functions as a form of carbon removal, positively addressing climate change.
There are also significant health benefits to buildings constructed out of wood – a number of studies have shown that exposure to wood products created similar health benefits to those created by spending time outside in nature, such as improved emotional state and reduction in stress levels. PCI intends to work with the City to expose as much wood inside the building as possible.
This proposal envisions the highest efficiency and as such the floor plan has been optimized to mass timber construction.
The following outlines the current project statistics:
Project Summary
| Height | 12 Storeys |
| Residential | 207 Rental Homes (100%) 138 one-bedrooms (67%) 48 two-bedrooms (23%) 3 three-bedrooms (1.5%) 18 studios (9%) |
| Affordability | 10% of homes below market rental (at Housing Income Limits rents) |
| Accessibility | 40% of homes are adaptable |
| Density | 3.01 FSR |
| Artist’s Studio | 1,017 sqft |
| Mixed Employment Space | 8,500 sqft |
| Parking | 149 Stalls 141 EV Stalls |
| Bike Storage | 328 Bike Stalls |
| Land Dedication to Riparian Restoration | 15,786 sqft |
Rental Housing
The project includes more than 200 new rental homes, 40% of which are adaptable and 10% will be secured at the below market rates, in line with BC Housing’s Housing Income Limits to ensure affordability. This substantial offering presents a unique opportunity to provide new high quality rental homes in a location close to transit.
Environmentally Sustainable
This project exceeds all requirements for sustainability, with high scores in cultural, economic, environmental, and social sustainability. This development will use one of the most energy efficient systems, with no reliance on natural gas, and a significant portion of the site dedicated to creek daylighting. This project also proposes to achieve the goals of The Port Moody Climate Action Plan, via a reduction of embodied carbon. PCI has been working closely with leading climate experts Mantle Developments, who have completed a preliminary Life Cycle Analysis for the project, which demonstrate the benefits of using mass timber.
Transit-Oriented
The development is located directly adjacent to Transit and the design accommodates future provision of a pedestrian overpass connection to Murray Street. The project will enhance the view from the future public plaza at Moody Centre Station while ensuring views to the mountains beyond are maintaned.
Industrial History
Murray Street has an industrial heritage and is home to many light industrial businesses. This project has been designed with this in mind; using Mass Timber as a nod to the history of logging in the area and incorporating industrial elements to the general aesthetic. One block west of the site, Murray Street has evolved with a vibrant street front created by an influx of breweries, popular commercial spaces, food trucks, and other public amenities near Rocky Point Park.
This proposal envisions a 12-storey building encompassing mass timber construction which provide numerous sustainable benefits to the economy. In addition to offering alternative modes of transportation, this site is conveniently located in close proximity to the Moody Centre Station, providing residents access to the Lower Mainland.
Policy Context
The proposal has been developed within the context of the City of Port Moody Official Community Plan, The City of Port Moody’s Interim Affordable Housing Policy, The City of Port Moody Zoning bylaw No. 2937 (March 10, 2020), The City of Port Moody’s Community Amenity Contribution and Density Bonus Policy, The Port Moody Climate Action Plan. The project site is currently zoned as M1 Light Industrial. The proposal aims to rezone the site to CD, providing a mixed-use building with rental residential homes and mixed-employment space.
Furthermore, this development seeks to deliver on a number of Port Moody’s long term plans, as outlined below.
| Policy | Objectives Achieved |
|---|---|
| City of Port Moody Official Community Plan | • Aims to create a vibrant mixed-use development that will enhance Murray Street. • Create a pedestrian connection to Moody Centre Station. • Additional height is proposed to provide required density for a viable development due to reduced buildable site area and to accommodate the provision of an important community amenity, the Daylighting of the Creek. |
| City of Port Moody’s Interim Affordable Housing Policy | • Seeks to contribute to an economically diverse and inclusive City Centre. • Provides new rental options including below-market availability. • Provides density at transit. • Provides new community amenities such as the creek daylighting and riparian restoration. |
| City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw No. 2937 (March 10, 2020) | • Proposes a new CD zone be created. • Encourages car share and sustainable transportation, as well as being close to the station. • Plenty of parking options . • ~ 40% adaptable homes. • In discussions with the City, it was agreed upon that the riparian restoration would include setbacks and maintenance corridors to provide adequate stream protection. |
| City of Port Moody’s Community Amenity Contribution and Density Bonus Plan | In exchange for greater density, PCI will provide community amenities in the form of the daylighting of Slaughterhouse Creek, repairing of the adjacent riparian area, and an artist’s studio at the ground level. |
| Port Moody Climate Action Plan | • Building meets Step 3 of the BC Energy Code with a low carbon system. • Proposes an overall reduction in embodied carbon by 20%, with a preliminary Life Cycle Analysis completed to demonstrate the benefits of using mass timber, resulting in a reduction in embodied carbon of at least 20%. • Transit oriented development to encourage sustainable travel. |
Community Benefits
Process Timeline
Frequently Asked Questions
The proposed future development is located at 2933, 3001, & 3005 Murray Street, Port Moody. The neighbourhood currently consists primarily of one and two storey light industrial buildings. One block to the West of the site there are breweries and food trucks at street level. Rocky Point Park and Slaughterhouse Creek, where it connects to Burrard Inlet, are directly across the street from the site at the north side of Murray Street.
PCI Developments is proposing to develop Port Moody’s most sustainable building by showcasing Mass Timber construction and providing 16,000 sq ft of riparian area with sustainable modes of transportation. The building will provide for:
- Ground floor mixed employment space
- Artist Studio space
- 207 homes (market and below market rental)
- 186 market rental homes
- 21 below market rental (at Housing Income Limits rents)
- 40% accessible units
- 149 vehicle parking spaces, including 141 Electric Vehicle stalls
- 328 bicycle parking spaces
- Riparian Creek restoration
If approved, the project will benefit the community through the creation of long-term, high quality homes with a strong emphasis on family housing. Key benefits include:
- Mass Timber Construction (including CLT): Using wood as a building material allows for increased levels of sustainability, and is a renewable low carbon, highly durable, and naturally beautiful building material. The intent is to expose as much of the timber structure as possible.
- Riparian Area and Creek: A key feature of the ground floor is the daylighting of Slaughterhouse Creek, demonstrating a strong ecological initiative and providing beautiful landscape expression.
- New Sustainable Secured-Rental Housing: This proposal offers 207 new high-quality secured rental homes, including 10% of homes below market rent (at Housing Income Limits rents). These homes are situated in a well-connected, highly sought-after transit-oriented area, allowing residents maximum accessibility across the Lower Mainland. In addition, these homes exceed sustainability guidelines and provide increased livability to residents.
- City of the Arts: In-line with Port Moody’s reputation as a City of the Arts, this development will provide an Artist’s studio at grade. Enhanced by the surrounding nature and views, this will provide local artists with amazing new opportunity.
- Community Connection: With Moody Centre Station and the future TOD area located to the south of the site, and limited pedestrian links to public outdoor amenity spaces, this site provides an opportunity to create a pedestrian focused connection across the site that is close to transit. The project also includes 318 bike storage spaces, a bike repair and wash station, and 141 of the 149 vehicle parking stalls have EV charging.
Riparian zones are the boundaries between the aquatic and terrestrial areas of a landscape.
A key feature of the ground floor is the daylighting of Slaughterhouse Creek, demonstrating a strong ecological initiative and providing a key landscape expression for the project. A mixture of native and restoration planting typologies including trees will be developed for diversity and habitat values, and denser planting provided on the east to provide screening from the existing buildings.
Mass Timber is an engineered timber product with excellent structural properties and a very low environmental impact. When compared to any other building material, Mass Timber has the lowest set of environmental consequences.
10% of the proposed development’s 207 homes will be offered at below market rents (at Housing Income Limits rents).
Any prospective future tenants would need to confirm their household is in line with BC Housing’s Housing Income Limits at that time. For 2021, income limits are: 1-bed or less at $55,500, 2-bed at $67,500, 3-bed at $78,000, and 4+ bed at $83,500. Tenant eligibility for low-income rental units is verified by the building’s management at initial occupancy and on an ongoing basis. If you’d like to share your expression of interest, please let us know here.
The project is still in the pre-approval stage and is not yet approved. Sign up using our contact form here to receive more information and updates!
There is a strong demand for housing across the City, as evidenced by the 1.7% vacancy rate in the Tri-Cities area. From a rental perspective, the rental market is extremely competitive, and providing high quality rental housing close to transit is a major asset. (Source: Vancouver – Rental Market Statistics Summary by Zone)
This project achieves high scores in cultural, economic, environmental, and social sustainability. As well as being located right on transit and therefore encouraging sustainable modes of transportation, leading climate experts Mantle Developments have undertaken analysis for this project, comparing the amount of embodied carbon (the carbon footprint associated with building materials) in the building if it was to be built entirely out of concrete, compared with our proposed Mass Timber design. The analysis found that our proposal provides for a reduction in the building’s embodied carbon of at least 18%, and we are committed to refining low carbon solutions where possible as the design progresses.
It is anticipated that this development, subject to Council approval, will attract a wide range of residents. A variety of home layouts and tenures are proposed to meet the needs of a wide demographic of residents, ranging from studios to 3-bedroom homes with a focus on family-oriented and below market rentals. We anticipate this would include students, teachers, health care providers, grocery clerks, retail clerks.
At this stage in the application process, PCI has not determined who the tenants will be. However, the space will include neighbourhood-serving, street-facing storefronts, with pick-up and drop-off access.
Once the building is complete, the Artist’s Space will be available on a monthly rental basis. You can learn more by emailing info@pcionmurray.ca.
The development will align with the future pedestrian overpass connection to Murray Street and will propose a building that enhances the view from the future public plaza at Moody Centre Station while maintaining views to the mountains beyond. The site is directly adjacent to the north of one of two transit stations in Port Moody – Moody Centre Station – providing connections to Metro Vancouver. Furthermore, there are 328 bicycle spaces for residents to have easy access to the many cycling routes in the community. A car share scheme will be made available.
A comprehensive traffic analysis will be completed, as required under the rezoning process. The development team has retained Bunt & Associates as the traffic consultant for the project to conduct a Traffic Impact Assessment. This will be subject to rigorous internal review by the City’s Planning and Transportation Departments.
Due to the proximity of Murray Street to public transportation, residents will be able to access a variety of modes of transportation to take them anywhere in the City and lower mainland very easily.
We are currently in the early planning stages for this proposal. A formal application was submitted in May 2021.
This project has not yet been approved and will be subject to the City-led public process, which includes further public consultation, review by the City’s Planning and Engineering Departments and committees, and an eventual Public Hearing.
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About Us
This project is being led by PCI Developments in collaboration with Perkins + Will, Bunt & Associates Engineering, Mantle Developments and PFS Studio.
