Two mixed-use commercial and residential buildings on James Street got the final go-ahead from council last Monday while another proposed building nearby was sent to a public hearing.
Council passed bylaw amendments that pave the way for the construction of a four-storey building at the intersection of James Street and Hillcrest Avenue and a seven-storey development further north on James near South Fraser Way. Both buildings would have commercial use on the ground and apartments on above floors.
Another six-storey 50-unit residential building proposed for Parkview Street, just east of James, was sent to a public hearing by council during Monday’s meeting.
A staff report on the project says that the development being considered “will likely set a strong precedent for future redevelopment in the neighbourhood.”
The projects are among several either planned for, or already under construction in, several blocks east of Clearbrook Road and north and south of South Fraser Way.
Others include proposed apartment and commercial buildings on Hillcrest Avenue, a proposed four-storey apartment building on Mt. Waddington Avenue, where a townhouse development is also under construction.
The projects would advance the vision of a more populated central Abbotsford laid out in the city’s new Official Community Plan.
So far, though, there haven’t been any such projects within the newly defined city centre along South Fraser Way that have reached council. More detailed plans for the city centre concept are expect to come before council within the coming months.