Five apartment buildings pitched for former Abbotsford News site

There are new plans for the prominent former home of the Abbotsford News. Developers have submitted a new application to build five apartment buildings on the site, which sits at the corner of South Fraser Way and Highway 11. Black Press, the corporate owner of The News, sold the site in 2016. In 2019, council approved plans to build two large apartment buildings with a combined 282 units on the site. The development was being marketed under the slogan “Live at the News.”

But last year, the project’s owner sold the site for just over $10.2 million. Now, a local architect has submitted new plans for a development permit that would see five apartment buildings, plus an amenity building, erected on the site, according to the city’s website. The specifics of the plan are not yet public. Last month, the Abbotsford News moved from the building to a new location in central Abbotsford.