Frank O’Brien & Janis Cleugh, (WESTERN INVESTOR) — Vancouver developer Beedie has launched Fraser Mills, Coquitlam’s first and only waterfront community.
Situated on 96 acres on the Fraser River, Fraser Mills is designed to be a community that comprises 5,500 new homes, including strata and rental properties. It will also feature space for business, an urban plaza, childcare spaces, plus 16 acres of park and recreation.
““We are incredibly excited to bring Fraser Mills to life.”
“We are incredibly excited to bring Fraser Mills to life,” said Ryan Beedie, president of Beedie.
On June 12 Beedie Living launched its vision that will see up to 13,000 residents call Fraser Mills home, on grounds at the southern end of King Edward Street.
Its investment?
“In the billions. With a B,” Rob Fiorvento, a managing partner at Beedie Living told the Tri-City News during a tour of the lands now being serviced.
Currently, the highlight of the property is a $10-million presentation centre, close to the Fraser Mills entrance off United Boulevard, that’s built using massed timber from B.C.
It will be open this fall, with two display suites, when sales for the first condo market tower, called Début, go live. It’s expected Tower 1 will be ready for move in by 2026.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart, City of Coquitlam, is pleased about what he called a “significant investment.”
“The Fraser Mills development will completely re-shape Coquitlam’s historic waterfront and we are excited to see this moving ahead. At a time when municipalities are being challenged to bring more housing to communities faster, this project will create a complete neighbourhood with access to homes – including rental and affordable rental homes,” Stewart said.
The rental units will be built in the second phase of the development.
Here’s the breakdown for Fraser Mills:
• 5,500 new homes in 20 buildings (10 per cent will be three-bedroom units);
• high-rise condos, low-rise condos and townhouses;
• 461 rental homes in one tower (266 market rental units and 195 non-market rental units);’
• commercial, office, light industrial and recreational amenities;
• public community centre;
• elementary school; and
• more than 400 childcare spaces (69 spaces in Phase 1);
In addition, Beedie, which has owned the land since 2004 and plans to be the sole developer, will be the first company to partner with TransLink to provide a bus shuttle. The company is paying $1.2 million per year to have the public bus run from Fraser Mills to the Braid SkyTrain station every 15 minutes.
The current marketing push comes nearly a year after Beedie spoke at city hall about his desire to get things moving on the site that’s been vacant for years (previously, it was used as the temporary staging area for the Port Mann Bridge rebuild).
Last April, Beedie described the waterfront hub as a “once-in-a-generation development opportunity” and acknowledged the time it’s taken to get the plans right.
Still, city council set timelines and warned Beedie it would face penalties if it continued to postpone the mega mixed-used redevelopment.
Today, Beedie is “ahead of schedule. We are waiting for the city” to process applications and permits, Fiorvento said.
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