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Rental building proposed for former Richmond Cactus Club property

A 15-storey fully rental building is being proposed for the former Cactus Club location on No. 3 Road.
Rental
Headwater Living has applied to rezone a property at No. 3 Road and Lansdowne to create a 100-per-cent rental building.

A 15-storey fully rental building is being proposed for the former Cactus Club location on No. 3 Road.

Headwater Living has applied to rezone the property to high-density in order to build about 149 market-rental units with commercial space at ground level.

Rents are proposed at between $1,350 and $1,600 for studio apartments, $1,600 and $1,900 for one-bedroom apartments and $2,200 to $2,400 for two-bedroom apartments. There could also possibly be maximum household incomes for the property at 5500 No. 3 Rd.

John Roston, who has been pushing for large amounts of rental in the Lansdowne area, calls this a “model” to be applied to as many city centre properties as possible.

In an open letter to the planning committee, which will look at the application on Tuesday, he appeals to councillors to push for aggressive rental in city centre projects.

“We need 100% rental if we are to have any hope of solving the ongoing housing crisis and reducing rents to a level that young people brought up in Richmond and those working in Richmond can afford,” his letter states.

Currently, city centre housing developments are required to have 10 per cent rental, but Roston said this is just creating “small pockets” of rental scattered around the city. He suggests the city buy development lots, rezone them for 100-per-cent rental that can then be sold or leased to a rental property manager or pension fund.

“Such a proactive initiative by council would prove to citizens that council is determined to do everything possible to solve the housing crisis and not simply responding to whatever proposals developers choose to put forward,” Roston continues in his letter.