Bosa Developments is sorry for any disruptions it’s caused for residents and businesses around its Pier West construction site.
The company recently began work on the Pier West development, which includes 43- and 53-storey residential towers, a three-storey commercial building, a public plaza, pedestrian connections between Westminster Pier Park and River Market and two acres of parks and open space. An in-water perimeter shoring wall that’s currently being built at the site is aiming to be done by mid-March, as this is the time that has the least impact on the fisheries.
In the past month, area residents have complained about pile-driving noise, light intrusion from the construction site and vibrations from pile driving. A delegation from River Market recently appeared before city council to voice concerns about issues such as parking and access to the riverfront and the market, which is located between two sites where major developments are underway – RiverSky at 1000 Quayside Dr. and Pier West at 660 Quayside Dr.
Ryan Bosa, president of Bosa Developments, appeared before council Monday night to apologize for the impacts that construction activities are having on residents and businesses and to update the city on the work that’s taking place at Pier West.
“It’s a very complex project. In many ways, we didn’t realize what we were getting into when we had to do river work. Grossly underestimated the amount of work, what that takes,” Bosa told council. “It’s put us into a position where I am here to apologize to the mayor, to council and to the community for the amount of noise, the distraction and the disruption it’s had on people’s lives, for January in particular.”
In the letter to the city on Jan. 24, Bosa said the company didn’t realize the “immense pressure” it placed on the community and is committed to doing better.
“There are things that we can and will do better. There are things that we are somewhat stuck to,” he told council.
Bosa Development is hosting a public information meeting, where officials will answer questions about on-site issues such as pedestrian access, parking and noise and will explain the work that’s taking place on the site. The meeting is on Wednesday, Feb. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Fraser River Discovery Centre, 788 Quayside Dr.
In response to complaints about noise and vibrations from pile driving at other developments in the downtown, the city approved changes in 2018 regarding the hours and types of pile driving that would be permitted in New Westminster. Although the changes to the type of technology that can be used don’t take effect until March 1, Bosa voluntarily committed to using other pile driving techniques – but encountered challenging site conditions when building the shoring wall that separates the site from the Fraser River.
“We initially intended to have vibratory hammering which, I don’t think most people even recognized it was happening from late October all the way through. It continues to happen to this day,” Bosa told council. “The complaints started once we started impact hammering.”
Bosa said the company had no intention of using impact hammering but had to do so after hitting a layer of soil that initial engineering assessments concluded could be dealt with vibratory hammers.
“We have the largest vibratory hammer out there, and it can’t get through,” he said. “Impact hammer is the only way we can get to the safe level for our piles to secure our wall.”
According to a memorandum from Atlas Geotechnical, the soils along the site boundary contain “a coarse layer of cobbles or other obstruction,” which prevents the vibratory hammer from advancing the piles. Without “deep embedment”, the consultant concluded the piles would not hold back the river, and parkade construction couldn’t proceed.
“I do appreciate the apology,” said Coun. Mary Trentadue. “I think that the city has always known this was going to be a complicated project, but understandably things have occurred that perhaps weren’t foreseen. I also think that the timelines have created some really significant challenges for the developer, so I acknowledge that.”
Coun. Patrick Johnstone said he appreciates Bosa’s efforts to meet the spirit of the city’s new pile driving bylaw. He’s pleased to hear the company is connecting with River Market about construction issues.
“The end result is going to be great. Everyone agrees the end result of having that as a great public space is going to be a good thing, but we have to get through this spot and figure out how to work together to reduced disruption as much as possible,” he said of the development. “Thanks for coming in and thanks for having the public engagement.”
Bosa Development has launched a website (www.660quaysidedr.com) where community members can get updates on the project. People can also sign up to receive daily updates on the project.
