Richmond city council approved a hotel and residential project in the Oval Village neighbourhood earlier this week, and it's a big one.
The project is being developed by Vancouver-based Landa Global Properties, with Arno Matis Architecture serving as the architect, for the sites on 6851 to 6871 Elmbridge Way, which are currently industrial buildings. The site is directly across the street from the Richmond Olympic Oval, built for the 2010 Winter Olympics as a speed-skating facility.
The project -- officially called Oval -- includes three V-shaped buildings on the 3.5-acre site, consisting of one hotel building, residential buildings, retail space, and five levels of parking.
Rendering. (Landa Global Properties / Arno Matis Architecture)
The hotel will consist of 189 rooms, while the the two residential buildings will include a total of 321 market strata units and 35 Low-End Market Rental (LEMR) units, which the City of Richmond designates for households with low and moderate incomes, a program the City launched in 2007.
That LEMR Program requires properties with more than 60 units within the City Centre Plan Area to provide at least 15% of the total residential floor area for LEMR units. The amount was previously set at 10% and was increased to 15% in November 2021, but this project only had to hit the 10% due to a grandfather clause.
According to the City, households with an income below $34,650 are eligible for studio units at $811 a month, households with an income below $38,250 are eligible for one-bedroom units at $975 a month, households with an income below $46,800 are eligible for two-bedroom units at $1,218 a month, and households with an income below $58,050 are eligible for three-bedroom units at $1,480 a month.
Rendering. (Landa Global Properties / Arno Matis Architecture)
The Program also mandates that 15% of the property's units be two-bedroom units and 5% be three-bedroom units, with a target of 30% two-bedroom and 30% three-bedroom. According to City documents, the LEMR units of the Oval will have a mix of three studio units (9%), 10 one-bedroom units (29%), 11 two-bedroom units (31%), and 11 three-bedroom units (31%).
The documents also show that the LEMR units will be in the building podium, between floor three and six, and that the LEMR units will be owned and operated by Az Zahraa Housing Society, as was the case with another Landa Global project in Richmond called Cascade City.
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The City has also said that "the developer will register a restrictive covenant on title prohibiting the imposition of strata bylaws prohibiting market (strata) dwelling units from being rented or imposing age-based restrictions on occupants."
Rendering. (Landa Global Properties / Arno Matis Architecture)
Arno Matis Architecture says the design of the Oval was "inspired by the tidal flats of the river delta and its rippled sand patterns found at low tide, the building curves and undulates to create passive and active open spaces" and consists of three major themes.
The project's "porous edges" (edges with holes -- "pores") are "inspired by the tidal flats of the river delta and its rippled sand patterns found at low tide, the building curves and undulates to create passive and active open spaces."
The Oval's various curves represent "the low tidal flats of river water that is powerfully ever-present in Richmond, a nod to Richmond's geography, which is shaped by rivers.
The project's façade also consists of numerous horizontal lines and layers, which the architects say were inspired by the sand patterns found at low-tide and are "distinctly articulated through the use of varying materials and detailing."
"We want to create a special destination development for Richmond, and we knew from working with our partners on Cascade City, that they would come up with a new landmark design for this site and activate it in a way that is dynamic, inclusive and beneficial to the community," said Kevin Cheung, Landa CEO, in 2021. "We believe this particular site, across from the Olympic Oval, is one of the best locations in the city of Richmond, and we look forward to working with this team of partners again to build a world-class development."
