109-unit project planned by Pearson

A 109-unit development on a parcel northeast of Pearson Field would have 25 condominiums and 84 apartments, under a plan submitted to the city of Vancouver.

The apartment total would include two buildings with 24 units that the developer has set aside for “workforce housing,” a designation that lacks government-set standards and that even the developer acknowledges is open to interpretation.

If plans proceed accordingly, construction could begin as early as next spring, developer Tim Lee, owner of Lee-Way Development Co. of Vancouver, said on Friday. The 4.79-acre site is bounded by Grand Boulevard and East Fifth Street on the south and East Sixth Street on the north.

The Grand Boulevard project, as it’s called, would be built in three developments:

• Grand Boulevard North: The 25 condominiums would be built on this 1.12-acre site adjacent to East Sixth Street. Some of the proposed townhouse-style units would be two bedrooms; others would be two bedrooms with an office and roof deck. Units would have garage parking with access to a 33-space adjacent parking lot.

• Grand Boulevard Central: These 60 units on 2.11 acres would be priced at market rates, according to the plan. The units would be in one building, from four to five stories, with 30 one-bedroom units of 750 square feet, 24 two-bedroom units of 1,200 square feet and six three-bedroom units of 1,500 square feet. A parking area would have 139 spaces and would be shared with the Grand Boulevard South development.

• Grand Boulevard South: This portion calls for construction of two three-story buildings with 12 one-story units of 600 square feet and 12 two-bedroom units of 800 square feet.

Lee, the developer, acknowledged the city does not have a definition of rents or incomes that would fit in the label of “workforce housing.” However, he vowed the units in Grand Boulevard South would be priced at a level below market rate.

At this point, he said, “I want it to be affordable for the guys making 100 percent of median family income,” Lee said. “Just a middle-class, working-class guy who has the potential of being out-priced of this market.”