Destination Toyota to Honda

Destination Toyota having moved to Still Creek, the old site at Madison and Lougheed will become the new home of Destination Honda.  Destination Honda is currently located at Hastings Street and Beta Avenue.

Destination Toyota confirmed for Still Creek

According to the City of Burnaby website, Destination Toyota will be moving from its current location at Lougheed and Madison to Still Creek across the way from Morrey Nissan.  It's already known that the site of the current location is up for sale and may even already have been sold to a developer.

Destination Toyota looking to make way for development

Destination Toyota on the corner of Lougheed Hwy and Madison Ave has placed its property on sale.   It was just a matter of time before it followed suit like Morrey Nissan which had earlier moved to Still Creek to make room for Solo District at the corner of Willingdon Ave and Lougheed Hwy.  Speaking of Morrey, the site at Sill Creek will see a comeback by Morrey Infinity which had closed down on the north side of Lougheed Hwy to make room for the developments that went in there a few years ago.

According to the last City of Burnaby Council meeting, Destination Toyota will move into the Still Creek Auto Mall.

TO: FROM: SUBJECT:

ADDRESS: .LEGAL: FROM:

TO:

PURPOSE:

Item ............................................................. 08 Meeting ....................................2014 March 24

COUNCIL REPORT

CITY MANAGER 2014 March 19 DIRECTOR PLANNING AND BUILDING

REZONING REFERENCE #14-08 Proposed Revision To Phase 1 Automobile Dealership Building

4451 Still Creek Drive (see attached sketches) Lot 4, D.L.'s 70 & 119, Group 1, NWD Plan BCP25458

CD Comprehensive Development District (based on Ml Manufacturing District, M5 Light Industrial District and Cl Neighbourhood Commercial District)

Amended CD Comprehensive Development District (based on Ml Manufacturing District, M5 Light Industrial District and Cl Neighbourhood Commercial District and in accordance with the development plan entitled "Burnaby AutomaII Phase 1 Toyota Dealership 4451 StilI Creek Development" prepared by CEI Architecture)

APPLICANT: CEI Architecture 500 - 1500 West Georgia Street

Vancouver, B.C. V6G 2Z6 (Attention: John Scott)

To seek Council authorization to forward this application to a Public Hearing on 2014 April 29.

(The following is from Colliers Canada's site)

UNDER CONTRACT: HIGH DENSITY Residential development opportunity

4278 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby

LAND OR DEVELOPMENT SITE FOR SALE

For Sale
Land Area: 94,532.00 SF.    Available Areas: 1.00 SF to 472,626.00 SF.    

DOCUMENTS

• 4278 Lougheed Brochure.pdf

DESCRIPTION

Rare opportunity to acquire a large-scale high density residential transit-oriented development site in the Brentwood Town Centre area of Burnaby. The property encompasses a 2.17 acre site with approximately 245 feet of frontage along Lougheed Highway and 395 feet along Madison Avenue. The property is close proximity to schools, universities, shopping, dining and the Brentwood Sky Train Station, providing access throughout Metro Vancouver.

The Property contains a concrete block building and glass showroom area with underground parking. Based on documentation provided to us, the Toyota showroom facility has an area of 21,010 SF and the body shop has an area of 14,604 SF. Much of the balance of the site comprises asphalt paved parking lot which appears to be in good condition. Access to the property is provided from Madison Avenue by way of two-way driveway situated approximately 200 feet south of Lougheed Highway.

The Property falls in the Brentwood Neighbourhood Plan within the Burnaby Official Community Plan. Base density for the Property is 2.2 FSR with the ability to purchase
additional density up to 2.6 FSR. The Property is also eligible for the “S” zoning which permits a base density of 3.4 with the ability to purchase additional density up to 5.0 FSR. Commercial density could potentially be added above the 5.0 FSR of residential depending on form, design and market demand.

FEATURES

• 2.17 acre site with 245 feet frontage along Lougheed Highway and 395 feet along Madison Avenue
• Area "S" zoning provides potential of 5.0 FSR or 472,626 SF residential buildable area
• Highly coveted Brentwood location in close proximity to schools, universities, shopping, and SkyTrain
• Sale lease-back situation with an opportunity to build a mixed-use project
• Anchors one of Burnaby/Vancouver’s most prominent retail corridors - a bona fide landmark development opportunity
• Extensively serviced by the SkyTrain and high-volume bus routes connecting throughout Metro Vancouver.

A place to watch Canucks playoff games

With the Canucks having made it to the semifinals, playoff fever is hitting new highs.  The excitement is definitely good for local bars and restaurants if the games are shown there.  Two places to catch the action are Striker's Bar at the REV's Bowling Centre just west of Holdom Station and at Joey Burnaby at the Madison Centre on Lougheed Hwy.

Not all has been rosy with Canucks fever as the sign at Destination Toyota shows (below). In response to the NHL's legal department warning them that they are infringing on the trademark rights of the NHL by displaying the Canucks name, businesses such as Destination Toyota have cleverly resorted to altering the signs to cheer on the Canucks.

Carter dealerships to stay put?

In yesterday's Burnaby Now article, Burnaby: Can the city stay on course?, Burnaby City Councillor Nick Volkow's statement that he doesn't think that the Carter dealerships are going anywhere, puts to rest my guess that they may make the move from their current location on Lougheed Hwy to the new site being developed at Still Creek.

In my opinion, if you look at the setup at the Carter dealerships, you see 1970's written all over them as they represent pure urban sprawl of the past on their largely paved lots filled with vehicles with a small building and shop tucked away in one corner. From a visual perspective, if you compare the Carter dealerships to Destination Toyota, the Toyota dealership at Madison and Lougheed wins hands down. Whereas the compact Toyota dealership blends in nicely with the surrounding new development, the Carter dealerships look plain, ugly and out of place.  If you want to compare the quality of the cars...well... this is not an automobile review site, but the last time I noticed, Toyota has not had to seek bankruptcy protection due to the poor workmanship that is associated with Chrysler and GM cars.

The compact, two-level Toyota showroom and lot at Lougheed and

Madison fits in better with the surrounding area than the large,

unattractive Carter dealerships reminiscent of the past. 

Simply put, in their current form, the Carter dealerships are not an attraction but an eyesore as the Brentwood area changes around it.  If the dealerships are not going anywhere, I hope they take a page out of Destination Toyota's book and remodel their dealerships. They might even consider downsizing their lots to make room for development that fits the growth strategy for Brentwood. In doing so, they would contribute to change instead of impeding it.