Tag Archives: Central Lonsdale

Return to Central Lonsdale

August 29, 2015 By in Days Out, North Shore, Urban Villages Project Tags: , Leave a comment

Lonsdale Ave 1

Since we toured the Central Lonsdale village in January 2013, the area has taken on much more of a big-city feel.

Lonsdale Ave 2Controversy over tower development around Lonsdale village divided the residents of the City of North Vancouver in the November 2014 municipal election. The incumbent pro-development mayor, Darrell Mussato, was returned with just 52.5 per cent of the vote, but landed a full slate of council supporters. In my view, this part of Lonsdale Avenue is turning into one of the finest urban high streets in Western Canada, and the pedestrian traffic on the pavements tends to prove that — with the qualifier that the competition, looking out to Surrey, Calgary and Regina, is sparse. Continue reading →

Holding the line in Central Lonsdale

January 15, 2013 By in North Shore, Urban Villages Project Tags: , 2 Comments

Shops, Fourteenth Street, North Vancouver

Bakery front, Lonsdale Avenue, North VancouverCentral Lonsdale sits east and west of Lonsdale Avenue, the “spine” of the City of North Vancouver. North and south, it extends from Upper Levels Highway down to 8th Street.  The area offers advantages as an urban village: good public transit,  independent shops and services, recreation and culture, and proximity to downtown Vancouver (with  Shopfront, Lonsdale Avenue, North VancouverBurrard Inlet serving as a buffer.)

But the neighbourhood and the city  government face development pressures, and  controversy came to a boil in December 2012. Onni, a major developer in the region, said it would withdraw an application to construct two condo towers (24 and 17 storeys, with 350 units), a six-storey office block and ground-floor retail space, citing “public abuse” and a “smear campaign” on the part of two members of Council. Continue reading →