A new redevelopment plan for the Columbia Theatre, food security, and Anvil Centre took centre stage at a July 15 council workshop.
Unless additional meetings are added to its schedule, council won’t meet again until Monday, Aug. 26. In addition to giving fourth reading to a bylaw considered at a previous meeting, council considered three topics at the July 15 workshop.
Columbia Theatre redevelopment
The city has received heritage revitalization agreement and special development permit applications for a proposal for the Columbia Theatre at 530 Columbia St. A preliminary report received at Monday’s workshop said the proponent is proposing a 30-storey mixed-use residential and commercial development, which proposes partial retention and reconstruction of the heritage building, including the auditorium, and construction of a tower containing 95 hotel rooms and 216 residential strata units. The proposal also includes a restaurant, hotel lounge and coffee bar, as well as a retail unit on Front Street.
At the July 15 workshop, staff sought council’s direction on a number of issues related to the proposal, including: the proposed approach to heritage (restoration of the facade and reconstruction of some other elements of the heritage building); community use of the Columbia Theatre auditorium; increased height and density beyond what’s allowed in existing zoning; further design development of the proposed tower to improve development potential of advance sites (which could result in fewer hotel rooms); and relaxation of the city’s family friendly housing requirements regarding two-and three-bedroom unit requirements.
In a unanimous 5-0 vote, council instructed staff to process the proposed heritage revitalization agreement and special development permit applications at 530 Columbia St. (Columbia Theatre). Coun. Paul Minhas, a downtown resident and business owner, recused himself from the discussion and vote to avoid the potential for being in a conflict of interest.
Food security update
Staff updated council about work that has been taking place related to the food security challenges in New Westminster.
The report included three components: an update on the status of the former Museum and Archives Annex building as a possible site for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society’s weekly food distribution program; an update on a possible partnership between the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society, Fraserside Community Services Society and the Don’t Go Hungry Food Program at Hunter Heights; and proposed next steps for collaboration through the development of a new food security action plan.
A staff report stated that the former museum an archives annex building at 302 Royal Ave. has been deemed not to be viable for food bank operations for a variety of operational reasons.
Staff recommended against the use of the Hunter Heights site at 607 12th St. as a location for a weekly food distribution program. The report stated it could cost about $1 million to address building and site-related challenges.
The staff report included three recommendations for council’s consideration:
- Council direct staff not to conduct further investigation about hosting a weekly food program at Hunter Heights given the lease rate and communicated costs related to building retrofits.
- Council direct staff to continue to work with the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society to help meet unmet food needs and to explore opportunities to enhance supports to community-based food security programs in New Westminster.
- Council direct staff to continue to work with organizations operating food security programs in New Westminster to better understand their needs and gaps, and to explore opportunities for collaboration. That includes engaging them in the development of a new food security action plan.
Council unanimously approved these staff recommendations. Council also voted 4-2 in support of a motion from Coun. Tasha Henderson that the city send a letter to the prime minister and MP Peter Julian in support of price caps on essential items in grocery stores.
Mayor Patrick Johnstone and councillors Ruby Campbell and Nadine Nakagawa supported Henderson’s motion, but councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas did not support the motion. Minhas did not speak to the motion, but Fontaine said he did not have enough information to support the motion; council voted 4-2 against Fontaine’s motion to refer the motion back to staff and to come back to council with a copy of the letter.
Anvil Centre
In the past year, council has discussed ways of making Anvil Centre a more welcoming and community-focused facility. Located at 777 Columbia St., Anvil Centre opened in September 2014.
A July 15 report to council included recommendations developed through the Anvil Centre 10-year review process
The report outlined a variety of potential actions the city could take regarding Anvil Centre. These include:
- Working to regularly activate the ground floor with public activities and vibrant offerings that will bring people into the facility.
- Identifying underutilized times and spaces within the facility and developing new recreation and leisure opportunities at Anvil.
- Providing affordable and flexible catering alternatives for community users.
- Developing and installing new external signage that is eye-catching, supports the needs and esthetics of each cultural division, and creates greater awareness of the programs and services offered by all Anvil departments.
- Developing and implementing an operational plan to identify what is working well, ways to improve guest experience and decrease any perceived/real barriers.
In addition to providing staff with some feedback some of the actions related to a “renewed vision” of Anvil Centre, council also directed staff
- to begin implementation of the proposals outlined in the report.
- to bring enhancement requests related to the approved recommendations identified for implementation in 2025 forward as part of the city’s 2025 budget process.
Coun. Ruby Campbell stressed the need for continued input from community groups like Arts New West, Tourism New West, and the BIA.
In response to that concern, council unanimously supported referring the Anvil Centre renewed vision issue to the city’s arts, culture, and economic development advisory committee for feedback as necessary.
Fontaine proposed a further amendment that would have directed staff to identify possible efficiencies within the civic government and to revenue-generation opportunities that could limit the need for future budget enhancements as identified in the staff report.
Council voted 4-2 against this amendment, which was supported by Fontaine and Minhas, but opposed by Johnstone, Campbell, Henderson, and Nakagawa. Johnstone said the amendment was redundant because the motion already states the items would be considered as part of the budget process and that’s a part of each year’s budget process.
More to come on these stories in The Record.
