Early renderings of a development proposal by the Squamish Senior Citizens Home Society and Polygon Homes were brought to a council committee meeeting Tuesday afternoon, causing a heated discussion on the land deal that the project depends on.
The new building at 38275 Third Ave. would replace two existing seniors housing buildings with a five-storey complex with 232 units total.
As part of the agreement, the other parcel of downtown land belonging to the Society would be sold to Polygon to build a market-priced development.
On Tuesday, councillors debated the merits of the project, with multiple councillors and the mayor expressing concern about the long-term effects of giving up land that was once set aside for seniors housing.
“That’s the debate,” said Mayor Patricia Heintzman. “Is the short term gain worth the long term pain?”
Society representative Peter Gordon said it was worth it, explaining that the 232 unit building is far beyond what they had originally hoped for and will help get more people into affordable housing.
He said the society was clear with council from the beginning that they would have to be “creative” to find funding for such a massive project.
“Quite honestly, we think we’ve thought this through. This is the optimum opportunity for our community,” he said at the committee meeting Tuesday.
Approval for the project could be a long process, which would involve zoning changes that need to be approved by council.
