The Editor:
Re: Letter: Overcrowding in New West without proper services a 'terrible' ordeal (June 6, 2024)
The Columbia Square residential development will provide homes to an estimated 7,250 residents at a time when our entire province is tackling a housing crises.
There are currently zero homes located at Columbia Square.
Not one single person will be displaced by this development, which will be nestled amongst existing housing stock that supports a wide array of demographics.
While it would be nice to get ahead of the curve on school spaces and community services, it is a luxury we don’t have time for.
New residents is how we build out our city’s services and school spaces.
By increasing the population that resides in downtown New West, we create a whole new pool of people that can support diversified businesses in the area, particularly on nearby Columbia Street.
Those businesses will generate tax revenue for all levels of government to fund services and school spaces.
Those new residents will also be taxpayers of New West at a higher property tax level.
Let’s use the opportunity of the Columbia Square redevelopment to bolster the neighbourhood, instead of leaving the status quo which is not delivering the community we all deserve.
- Michael Henricksen, New Westminster
