King Road rental development gets council approval

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This article was published on November 22, 2017 and may be out of date. To maintain our historical record, The Cascade does not update or remove outdated articles.
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A new apartment complex near the University of the Fraser Valley, on the corner of King Road and King Connector was approved by Abbotsford city council.

The planned complex will contain three buildings housing a total of 204 rental units. The buildings will be four, five, and six stories tall with a total of 5,500 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor of one of the buildings.  

Craig Toews, vice president external of UFV campus planning and property development, estimated that the complexes will be on the market by as early as the end of 2018.

The King Road apartment complexes will be part of the first steps towards the development of  the UDistrict Neighbourhood Plan, Abbotsford’s plan for the long-term development of UFV and the surrounding neighbourhood.

“When the city approached us, one of our precepts for UDistrict was about densification of our campus and redevelopment,” Toews said. “Also better transit, connecting to Abbotsford and downtown.”

‘Also in the works’

The initial stage of the plans will also include a pedestrian and bike lane overpass, and additional residential buildings, both of which have already been approved to move forward by the city council.

The overpass will span the freeway from Salton Road on the south side to Salton Road on the north side.

“So many of our students live north of the freeway and it will connect that community to the UDistrict without having to go through those two deathtraps,” said Toews, referring to the McCallum Road roundabouts on the highway overpass. “People are running through there like they’re Mario Andretti running the gauntlet.”

Two other residential complex plans are also in the works, in addition to the King Road apartments. The five-story residential building on the corner of McCallum and King Road will contain 93 rental units. Construction of the building is already underway, and Toews estimated that the apartments will come to market in March to June of 2018.

A mix of townhouses and condos are planned for the old Towne Cinema lot. Though the cinema has been torn down, Toews was unsure of the current timeline for the completion of this complex.  

The next stage of the UDistrict plan will involve the rezoning of the light industrial complex along the north side of King Road, east of McCallum.

“The UDistrict plan is slowly working its way towards the centre. When it gets to the centre, here, at the University Village, it’s going to be some really nice, cool plaza opportunities, ground floor commercial, and places to hang out,” said Toews.

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