More than 300 apartments have been provisionally approved for the corner of Scott Road and 75A Avenue.

On Monday, July 22, council unanimously gave third reading to a proposed six-storey residential development at 7555 and 7595/7597 Scott Road and 7592/7594 119A Street in North Delta.

The project will see 17 studio, 69 one-bedroom, 165 one-bedroom-plus-den, 53 two-bedroom, and five three-bedroom units constructed in a three-wing building, with indoor and outdoor amenity areas and two levels of underground parking (293 resident spaces, 29 for visitors and 309 bicycle spots) accessed from 119A Street.

A notes the Delta School District estimates the development will house around 18 school-aged children, which could be accommodated at nearby the elementary and secondary schools.

Speaking at Monday's council meeting, Coun. Dylan Kruger noted the applicant 鈥� Harjit Sangha and RealCo Porperties 1390349 BC Ltd, and Louis Chua and Barnett Dembek Architects Inc. 鈥� is one of the few to "actually make market housing work in this economy," adding many of their buildings have broken ground or been completed, offering "needed housing options for members of our community, both future and present."

Kruger applauded renderings of the project, noting Chua and company have "figured out a formula that works" in North Delta.

Mayor George Harvie commended the applicant's record for building "tremendously good, affordable housing" in the area of Scott Road.

Harvie said when touring the project's show home he was "amazed at the way that they're designing the apartments now," calling the units "very, very livable."

There was no public hearing for the proposed rezoning as it is in line with the site's "Neighbourhood Centres and Corridors" designation under Delta's new, recently passed , which allows multi-unit residential and mixed-use buildings up to six storeys high.

Twenty-two of the 55 trees on site were previously removed to accommodate a presentation centre and construction staging parking. The remaining 33 trees on the property, plus another 27 street trees, will need to be removed as the site is developed.

City policy requires 154 replacement trees be planted, but the owner will only be planting 46 on-site and 17 on the street, while providing $156,915 cash-in-lieu for the remaining trees.

It's estimated the development will generate $214,000 in annual property tax revenue, and the developer will also be providing a community amenity contribution of $1,000 per unit 鈥� $309,000 in total.

The project is among the 589 units of housing approved or given third reading by council on July 22 as the city strives to meet its provincially-mandated housing targets: 3,607 net new housing units over the next five years, including 514 by Sept. 30 of this year.

In all, the six projects granted third reading included 309 apartment units, 138 non-market rental apartment units, 80 townhomes and four single-detached homes. The two projects granted final approval comprise 56 townhomes and two single-detached homes.

鈥淗ousing is a critical issue across the region, and the City of Delta is taking decisive action to address this problem and reach the target set for us by the Province,鈥� Mayor George Harvie said in a press release issued July 24.

鈥淭hese projects approved by council are a clear example of Delta stepping up to face this challenge, while also ensuring we are making decisions that make sense for our unique community. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the housing crisis, but we know building the housing that people need is the right place to start.鈥�

The site at Scott and 75A was previously pitched for a 35-storey, 335-unit highrise 鈥� a controversial proposal that was eventually  鈥� before the owner came back with a proposal for a in 2020.

That application was given third reading in October of 2021, but the properties were sold and the new owners withdrew the project in January of this year in favour of a larger development in line with recently passed provincial legislation allowing greater height and density with no minimum parking requirements for builds 400 metres (1,312 feet) or less from a major bus exchange 鈥� in this case nearby Scottsdale Exchange.

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