MPC owns property a few blocks away.
The first project under a new zoning designed to encourage greater density for jobs space has kicked off in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
Three Sixty, a 112,000-square-foot mixed-use building combining office and “creative industrial” space, broke ground in a ceremony at 360 West 2nd Avenue on July 19. Project completion is scheduled for 2025.
The project was made possible by its I-1C zoning, Strand president Kevin Johnston said.
“We’ve owned this site for years, and that really made this project possible,” he said. “It improved the economics of the project to the point where it made sense.”
Strand acquired the property about seven years ago, but demolishing the existing structures on the site and proceeding with a project under the original I-1 zoning that provided for a lower density of just 3 FSR (floor space ratio) didn’t make sense.
The city designated sites along West 2nd in Mount Pleasant as I-1C in 2020 following its Employment Lands and Economy Review, which reviewed key economic issues and challenges in the city and forecast anticipated employment space demand to 2051. The zoning also exists on the False Creek Flats, Strathcona and other historically industrial areas that have seen traditional industrial uses displaced and creative industries move in.
I-1C provides for double the density allowed in the I-1 zoning prevalent through much of Mount Pleasant, addressing the need for greater jobs space while maintaining an active streetfront.