Nunastar returns with trimmed down proposal

Iqaluit city council gave first reading Feb. 8 to a zoning change for scaled-down apartment development two weeks after rejecting a larger version of the project proposed by developer Nunastar.

The project would include two three-storey apartment buildings on a slope between Creekside Village and the Astro Hill complex.

The zoning amendment is needed because the lot is currently zoned as a central business district, which requires the inclusion of commercial space in and new development.

The Nunastar proposal would contain only apartments.

“The proposed development is compatible with the existing and future planned surrounding uses, which primarily consist of medium and high density residential development,” wrote city planner Arif Sayani in a report to council.

After discussing the new proposal with Nunastar at meeting of the city’s planning and land committee, councillors passed first reading unanimously and with little debate.

“Council and the developer were able to have a meaningful dialogue [at the planning committee meeting] about their proposal,” Mayor Madeleine Redfern said in a statement.

The next step is a public hearing, followed by a vote to give the zoning amendment second reading, both set for council’s Feb. 22 meeting.

What council approved is one half of a proposal councillors unanimously rejected during a meeting two weeks ago. Nunastar’s original proposal called for two more apartment buildings on land located in front of Creekside Village.

That land also zoned as part of a central business district and some councillors rejected the proposal because they want any development of the site to include space for new business, in addition to apartments.

That type of use is permitted under the city’s general plan.

Redfern said the city doesn’t know what Nunastar’s new plans are for the lot on Queen Elizabeth Way, “but the developer has indicated that they are exploring their options based on the concerns Council had.”

Nunastar management didn’t respond to a request for an interview.