Lucerne & Vanier

Faubourg du Rivage project growing

 

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

A major housing project near the Rapides-Deschênes School will be made more dense. April 14, the city approved the Faubourg du Rivage expansion from 16 to 24 units for four of the seven buildings in the project’s second phase.

Initially the second phase, approved in 2010, had seven separate multifamily buildings of 16 grouped units. Five years later, the developer wants to increase the number of units by 32. The developer also asked permission to shift the orientation of two of seven new buildings, widen the roundabout at the Lady Colborne impasse, introduce a new architecture for buildings with 24 units, and increase the lot’s boundaries.

 

“The property’s limit is being expanded to include a plot of 274 square meters,” explained a city official. “This plot belongs to the promoter and was to be a retention pond, but that is no longer required. After analysis, the retention pond size was reduced.”

With the expansion, it’s unclear how much green space the new buildings will occupy and how many trees will disappear, but their removal is a possibility, the city admitted. Any trees the developer removes must be replaced with younger trees. “Recall that in the (original) Faubourg du Rivage, the developer cut 28 butternut trees. The municipal planning guide requires the replacement of 10 trees for every butternut felled; therefore, there are 280 trees to plant.”

As for architectural changes, the city said they are only the addition of eaves to the buildings with 16 units “to protect them from bad weather.”

The city also gave the green light to expand the Lady-Colborne cul-de-sac from 31 meters to 36 meters; this does not bother Deschênes councillor Richard Bégin. “What we are talking about is extending Lady-Colborne and the alley to allow future occupants to reach their parking. The impact will be minimal,” Mr Bégin told the Bulletin; “the big change is that four buildings will increase from 16 to 24 units, adding 32 units to the whole project.”

Thirty-two units will add roughly 30 more vehicles on streets near Rapides-Deschênes school, but this should not create a problem, added Bégin. “Given the location of the buildings, of Lady-Colborne and the alley between the buildings, the traffic near the school shouldn’t change. The new buildings are near Lucerne Boulevard and the retention basin is to the west, running along Lucerne like the path,” said the councillor.

A commuter commented that even if traffic is not affected near the school, the additional vehicles will clog Lucerne Boulevard further during rush hour.