4-storey apartment on Beaverbrook Street gets OK from council

Fredericton city council has voted to allow the construction of a 48-unit apartment building on Beaverbrook Street, despite concerns of residents in the area about parking and the loss of trees.

The Bella Properties building will be constructed from 707 to 737 Beaverbrook St., at the bottom of Tweedsmuir Street and near the University of New Brunswick campus.

The area stretches across three lots with old houses on them and two vacant city parcels of land, according to the city's planning report.

Nineteen letters of objection were submitted to council regarding the proposal to rezone the area and construct the building.

The letters expressed concern about increased traffic on Beaverbrook Street, lack of parking for residents of the apartment and the potential loss of nearby trees along a walking trail.

Coun. Kate Rogers, who voted against the necessary bylaw changes, said those concerns are valid.

The city has already had to impose numerous traffic-calming measures in the area over the last decade as a result of development, Rogers said.

"It's still very busy," Rogers said. "There's a lot that goes on. I would say even now with the lights and the crosswalks and the speed bumps, it still hasn't fully addressed the traffic concerns and now on top of that we're adding a 48-unit apartment building."

Sean Lee, assistant director of engineering and operations with the city, said the city plans to widen the road to improve traffic flow in the coming years.

Theapartment building will have 41 one-bedroom units and seven two-bedroom units. It includes underground parking for 24 vehicles and five above-ground parking spots.

Marcello Battilana, manager of community planning for the city, said the new building meets the minimum requirement of 25 parking spaces for the zone it's in.

"Given the amount of amenities around this particular property, we felt that the amount of parking is actually quite appropriate in this case," he said.

Rogers also expressed concern about how the new building could affect the nearby walking trail.

Along that part of the trail, "there's not a lot of trees, there's not a lot of nature, and there will be even less with the erection of this large building," she said.

The city will create a landscaping plan to assess how the new building will affect the trail, Battilana said.

The walking trail, sidewalks and driving lanes won't be restricted during construction, according to the proposal from Bella Properties to council's planning and advisory committee.

Battilana was not able to comment on the cost of construction.