On any given night, you would have found Cathy Rayner at Cottonwood 4 Cinemas.
As co-owner of the independent theatre for the last 16 years, Rayner's cheery smile was as integral to the operations as hot buttered popcorn. She and her mother Pauline Lamb, the other co-owner, were almost always on hand selling tickets, helping out in the concession, greeting guests, and even shovelling snow.
So, it was little surprise Rayner would come out to watch the building's final big show Thursday (Sept. 4), when a demolition team moved in to make way for future development.
She watched as heavy machinery pulled away pieces of the building, sorting metals, concrete and other materials into dusty piles and industrial garbage containers.
She said she would miss "all of it," with the exception of shovelling the snow.
"Now I can just have hot chocolate and watch the snow from my living room," she said.
Rayner and Lamb announced they would be retiring and selling the business in May, and it wasn't long before a new owner was found. This week, Chilliwack council gave the first three readings to rezone the property from theatre commercial to mid-rise apartment zoning.
The applicant proposed to include several "small-unit apartments," meaning 51 sq. feet or smaller (about 549 sq. ft.). The proposal notes that this type of housing was identified as lacking in the Chilliwack housing supply, within the 2020 Housing Needs Report. Provisions have been made for small-unit apartment creation now, in areas within 400 metres to transit hubs.
The plan is to build a six-storey, 150-unit building. The text amendments will allow for increased density, reduced parking requirements for apartments and for storage units to be created in suites, instead of a centralized area in the building.
The Cottonwood 4 Cinemas property, which sits at 45380 Luckakuck Way, is not within the 400-metre requirement. Without approval from city council, the number of units in the building could be reduced to 124.
The applicant noted that despite the proximity to a transit hub, the location is "conducive to supporting reduced vehicle usage."
Council seemed to agree, and gave little discussion to the issue at their Sept. 2 meeting.
"It's so close that I think it's a technicality. It's a neighbourhood that is so walkable, I don't think it's an issue," Coun. Harv Westering said.
A site plans shows that the proposed building would mostly face Luckakuck Way, running along the curve of the road in that area, with parking, amenities and access off Amber Drive. The site plan includes 151 parking stalls, and an illustration shows pedestrian access points along Luckakuck Way.
The proposal included several letters from residents of Amber Drive, concerned with the influx of traffic on an already-busy, dead-end road.
They are asking council to consider a traffic light, with turn signals at Amber Drive and Luckakuck Way. Staff told council that a traffic assessment was included with the site plan.
"What they're contemplating there is a showstopper," said Coun. Bud Mercer. "It's absolutely stunning in every regard. It's going to be the piece de resistance on Luckakuck Way, it's that nice."
Cottonwood 4 Cinemas was built in 1995. Demolition is expected to take about three days, according to the site supervisor.
