Frequently asked questions
In early 2023, the development at Woodland Park progresses as Portwood, this page will continue to live on as archive as community engagement that took place leading up to the approval. Of you’re looking for info on the homes in the community, please visit portwood.ca
On December 7, 2021 EDGAR and BC Housing received approval for the zoning and policy changes for Woodland Park.
The proposal is to redevelop Woodland Park, over the next 15 - 20 years, into a master planned, well-served community with an innovative mix of housing, significant parks and open space, child care and neighbourhood retail. The development is occurring in a phased manner, with the first two phases ("The Gardens" and "The Hub") currently underway.
EDGAR purchased Woodland Park in December 2018 as an opportunity to redevelop the property, and renew the aging rental stock. The buildings at Woodland Park are fast approaching the end of their life. The buildings were built in the 1960s and the typical life-span of buildings is 60 years. With a large site (approximately 23 acres), there is an exciting opportunity to redevelop the site in a comprehensive, thoughtful way.
On December 7, 2021, Port Moody Council approved the policy and zoning changes for Woodland Park.
Work is now underway on the first three phases (the area north of Angela Drive). The development permits for Phase 2 ("The Gardens") and Phase 3 ("The Hub") were approved in October 2022.
Phase 2 / The Gardens will include a u-shaped residential building with 219 market strata units, oriented around an inner south-facing courtyard, rehabilitation of the east side of Melrose Creek, a multi-use pathway along the forested area, and public art.
Phase 3 / The Hub is envisioned to the heart of the community. It will include 138 market rental homes, neighbourhood retail and childcare, a 1.5 acre public park and public art. The park will include play areas for different age groups, including water features for play and cooling off in hot weather, an off-leash dog park, and a sports court.
Approvals — Building permits are currently being finalized for all three neighbourhoods north of Angela Drive.
The project team is working on Construction Management Plans to ensure a safe work and construction site.
Construction is planned to start late fall 2023 on the BC Housing site, however timelines can vary. The project is anticipated to be built over approximately the next 15-20 years.
Public Art — A detailed public art plan is underway and will include a “gateway” art opportunity at the BC
Housing neighbourhood. A proportion of art funds were reallocated from the other two Portwood
neighbourhoods east of BC Housing to take advantage of this gateway art opportunity.
The goal is to avoid displacement and facilitate relocation of tenants into replacement rental housing. EDGAR and BC Housing will follow the City of Port Moody’s Tenant Relocation Assistance Policy. A Tenant Relocation Plan has been developed and communicated to tenants. Some of the components of the policy include:
- Right of first refusal:
All tenants residing at Woodland Park at third reading of the Official Community Plan amendment and the rezoning will receive the right of first refusal to move into the affordable rental housing if eligible. If they are not eligible, they will be provided the opportunity to move into the market rental, at a discount of the starting market rents.
- If a tenant chooses to move off-site, they will be eligible for financial compensation and will be provided with assistance finding new accommodation, if requested.
The intent is to minimize disruption and avoid tenant displacement. To do so, the construction will be phased over a number of years so that tenants will not be displaced from their community until the new housing is built. The early phases include the area north of Angela Drive which includes the affordable rental housing and market rental housing. To facilitate the relocations, property management has been moving tenants from the buildings where the affordable rental housing and market rental is planned to be constructed to buildings that would be demolished in later phases, as natural vacancies occur. This way, tenants are able to stay in their community if they choose.
We are anticipating 7 phases of construction to allow for gradual growth. Each phase is anticipated to take approximately 2 years. The first three phases include the area north of Angela Drive (Phase 1 includes the BC Housing parcel where affordable rental housing will be located, Phase 2 includes market strata homes, and Phase 3 includes market rental, childcare, retail, and a 1.5 acre park).
A construction management plan, in accordance with the City's policies will be developed for each phase. The construction management plan will look at factors such as construction vehicles, drive routes, noise, and how to mitigate impacts to the surrounding neighbourhood. Due to the site's large size of nearly 24 acres, we anticipate the ability to stage construction equipment and park our staff so that there is minimal impact to traffic and the community.
Ground-oriented and multi-family homes will be provided. Units will range from studios to 3 bedrooms.
The proposed unit mix for the first three phases is as follows:
Phase 1 (‘The Creek’ - includes affordable rental housing owned by BC Housing)
1-bedroom: 72 units
2-bedroom: 140 units
3-bedrooms: 116 units
Total: 328 units
Phase 2 (‘The Gardens’ - includes market strata):
1-bedroom: 68 units
2-bedroom: 104 units
3-bedrooms: 47 units (townhomes)
Total: 219 units
Phase 3 (‘The Hub’ - includes market rental, childcare, retail and public park):
1-bedroom: 48 units
2-bedrooms: 84 units
3-bedroom: 6 units
Total: 138 units
The unit mix for the rest of the phases (4 and 5) will be determined once we get to the detailed design stage for those phases.
The policy and zoning (approved in December 2021) allows heights ranging from six to a maximum of 19 storeys, in a terraced form in order to limit the impacts of the heights in conjunction with the sloping grades on the east side of the site. In other words, the tallest buildings are located on the lowest point of the site.
The OCP permits heights between 3 and 6 storeys. We will be seeking an OCP amendment to permit 12 – 26 storeys in some areas, strategically placed on the steeply sloped area of the site. The heights will help make the community benefits such as affordable housing, a new park, and green space viable.
The community includes 328 units of affordable rental housing, protection and enhancement of the environmentally sensitive areas, public realm improvements (includes landscaping, sidewalks and bikeways), two new public parks (2.9 acres total), an active multi-use trail spanning approximately 1.5 KM around the site, childcare, retail (i.e. café and grocery store), and public art.
A comprehensive traffic study has been completed by a transportation engineering firm to ensure that the neighbourhood can support new trips to and from the neighbourhood by all modes (i.e. walking, biking, transit, and motor vehicle). This study looked at the performance of existing roads within the neighbourhood and then estimated how these roads will be impacted by the new trips being generated in the future based on the amount of planned development. Layering on this future traffic scenario helps to highlight areas of concern, and then develop recommendations to make sure the neighbourhood will not be unduly impacted. These recommendations are reviewed by the City of Port Moody and other key stakeholders, who make the final decision on how to best support the neighbourhood from a transportation perspective.
Examples of these recommendations may include items such as new traffic signals and road design improvements to provide safer and more reliable access into and out of the College Park neighbourhood.
The consultants will also analyze opportunities to improve walking, cycling, and transit connections. Some of the opportunities that we are exploring include:
- Enhanced cycling infrastructure including storage and bicycle maintenance work stations
- Car share co-operative spaces and vehicles (e.g. Modo)
- Electric e-bicycle program and stations
- Drop-off areas for carpooling and ride-hailing services
There is also a new road connection proposed at Highview Place. This is a response to concerns we heard from council, staff and the community related to existing traffic issues in the area. Cecile Dr and Clarke Rd were identified by the traffic consultants and the City as existing issues, due to grade and visibility challenges with the current traffic. Staff identified that as the Seaview neighbourhood develops, a transportation solution needs to be addressed. Edgar will acquire the land for the road, construct the road, then dedicate the land (5 acres) to the City.
The proposed plan will retain approximately 65% of the existing tree canopy (including city boulevard trees, trees in the ESA, on-site trees and on adjacent properties). A key design principle of the project has been to maintain as many of the existing trees as possible. With consideration of the removal of trees on site, the proposed plan will adhere to the Port Moody Tree Replacement Bylaw. In addition, the project design aims to focus on replacement trees which have both high value social and environmental qualities. This includes, but it not limited to, large shade trees, habitat trees, climate adaptive trees, and a thoughtful mix of tree and plant species to heighten the ecological capacity of the site.
A demographic analysis was undertaken by Rennie Consulting Services. To determine the overall number of residents the development could potentially accommodate, a custom data tabulation from Statistics Canada using the 2016 Census was used to identify average household size of households that moved to Port Moody over the 5 years preceding the 2016 Census counts, based on the structural type of dwelling and tenure proposed by Edgar and BC Housing. The analysis found that at full-build out (in approximately 15-20 years), approximately 3,833 - 4,173 (with density transfer) residents could potentially be accommodated at Woodland Park. As the development is phased over 15 to 20 years, this number would increase incrementally, with each phase taking 2 to 3 years to construct.
Engagement with the School Board is undertaken by the City. The City referred the proposal to the school district to comment and address school capacities, and the School District has noted that with planning, they do not foresee any capacity issues.
In addition, as part of the development process, the City collects a school site acquisition charge as part of the fees paid by the developer to the City, which enables school districts and local governments to work together to plan for new schools, and in administering development charges to fund the purchase of new school sites. All new residential developments pay this fee.