Brentwood Station from Willingdon Ave

 

Bordeaux tower coming to Willingdon and Juneau

Solterra Development has initiated another residential project in Brentwood.  It's 24-story tower and townhouse development will be coming to the northwest corner of Willingdon Avenue and Juneau Street.  With a current estimated completion date in 2020, sales will begin sometime this spring.

(From City of Burnaby website)

(From Google Maps)

1st details of SE corner of Willingdon and Dawson

A basic rendering of Aouyan's proposed development at the southeast corner of Willingdon and Dawson has been published in Urban YVR.(excerpt below).  The site of this project is located Along Dawson Street to the north and along Alaska Street to the south between Willingdon and Alpha Ave.

Preliminary rendering of Aoyuan International’s proposal for Willingdon and Dawson in Burnaby. Credit: Aoyuan International

(from Urban YVR)

Aoyuan International is also proposing a major development of four towers at Willingdon Avenue and Dawson Street, south of The Amazing Brentwood in Burnaby.

Renderings just show the tower massing, but the project is said to contain 1,400 condominium units, 50 townhomes and a mix of commercial and retail. IBI Group — in cooperation with PWL Landscape Architects — are on the Brentwood project.

SE corner of Dawson and Willingdon sold to developer

The southeast corner of Willingdon and Dawson has been sold and will pave the way for another major development that will take it eastward to Alpha Ave and south as far as Alaska Street.

The current Dawson street front is the home to Pasta Amore restaurant and Brentwood Cleaners.  Brentwood Cleaners, originally located at Brentwood Mall until it was forced to move to make way for the the Amazing Brentwood development, will be forced to move again.

Vancouver Market article below

8 Acre Brentwood Site Sells in $152 Million Deal

Posted on June 9, 2017

An 8.13 acre land assembly at the corner of Willingdon Avenue and Dawson Avenue has sold to Aoyuan Property Group (Canada), a Hong Kong based developer, for $152,000,000.

The site comprises six parcels, currently improved with various older industrial buildings. The Brentwood Town Centre Plan designates the site a mixture of medium density mixed use and high density residential.

Work begins on Willingdon Linear Park

23 story tower at Willingdon and Juneau

The City of Burnaby has received a detailed plan for a proposed 23 story apartment at the northwest corner of Willingdon Ave and Juneau Street.  This project will be undertaken by Amacon which is already in the middle of it's low-rise development at Dawson and Willingdon.

2016 vancouvermarket.ca article and image below

23-Storey Tower Proposed for Brentwood

Amacon‘s proposed rezoning of a 40,000 SF site in the Brentwood Town Centre area of Burnaby is seeking approval to move to public hearing. The site at 2285 Willingdon is comprised of an assembly of four older industrial buildings, and is located at the Northwest corner of Willingdon Avenue and Juneau Street. The proposed project anticipates rezoning under the RM4s designation. The plan calls for a 23-storey condo tower above underground parking including:

• 147 condo units
• 39 one-bedrooms, 92 two-bedrooms & 16 three-bedrooms (including 5 townhouses)
• total density of 3.6 FAR
• amenities including rooftop deck, game room, gym, spin room, yoga studio
• 5,181 SF of amenity space
• 201 parking spaces
• 21 electric vehicle charge stations

Amacon's 'The Dawson' at full height

The Dawson development by Amacon has reached it's full height.  The sold-out low-rise building will sit atop a commercial front slated to be a restaurant on the southwest corner of Dawson St and Willingdon Ave.  The restaurant is yet to be named.

Willingdon Greenway concerns raised

As the proposed Willingdon Greenway linking Brentwood Town Centre and Willingdon Heights continues to move forward, a local cyclist group is raising some concerns.  The greenway will run along the the east side of Willingdon Ave between Brentlawn Drive and Hastings Street.  The current design will require cyclists and pedestrians to use the same path whereas the cycling advocacy group HUB is suggesting 2 separated paths along the greenway.

Burnaby Now story below

Cyclists raise concerns about greenway proposal

Path problems: Moreno Zanotto, a member of HUB Burnaby and the City of Burnaby’s transportation committee, is unhappy with the city’s proposed Willingdon Greenway, which would be a shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists travelling between Brentlawn Drive and Hastings Street.   Photograph By Jennifer Gauthier

Cyclists raise concerns about greenway proposal

CAYLEY DOBIE / BURNABY NOW

OCTOBER 6, 2016 10:59 AM

Cycling advocates in Burnaby are standing firm against a proposed shared pathway that would link the future Brentwood development to Hastings Street.

HUB Burnaby, the local branch of a non-profit organization that promotes cycling in the community, is calling on the City of Burnaby to rethink the design for its proposed Willingdon Greenway.

The current design is a 1.2-kilometre multi-use pathway that would be accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists. It’s proposed to run from Brentlawn Drive to Hastings Street, connecting Brentwood Town Centre to the north part of the city.

There are already several similar urban trails throughout the city.

In the past, HUB Burnaby has sat back as the paths were constructed, but enough is enough, according to Moreno Zanotto, a HUB Burnaby member and a representative on the city’s transportation committee.

“Their effectiveness is predicated on their non-use. So as long as pedestrian volumes stay really low and cyclist’ volumes stay really low, they can work, but as soon as those numbers start increasing, the number of conflicts between road users explodes,” Zanotto told the NOW.

The main concerns with the proposed Willingdon Greenway are safety and growth of transportation modes like cycling and walking, Zanotto said.

Chances of a collision are especially high with cyclists travelling at higher speeds than pedestrians and even more so if they’re forced to dodge other obstacles along the four-metre-wide path, including benches, park spaces and art pieces as proposed, Zanotto said.

A shared path will also discourage prospective cyclists from using the greenway as a commuter route, he added.

Currently, less than one per cent of trips within the City of Burnaby are made by bike, and it’s been that way for at least the past 30 years, according to research conducted by HUB using data from TransLink. During that time, the city has focused on urban trails, Zanotto said.

“It’s not an effective facility in increasing cycling, and we’re not seeing growth,” he said. “We need a new approach.”

Zanotto, who lives in the Heights, said he wouldn’t use the proposed greenway unless it was the only option. Instead, he and other cyclists in the area prefer the Sea-to-River Parkway that runs north to south along Carleton Avenue.

What he’d like to see along the Willingdon corridor is a separated bike lane like those in Vancouver or European countries like the Netherlands.

“They’re not only safer, they represent really good choices for encouraging cycling,” Zanotto said.

HUB Burnaby is currently circulating a petition asking the City of Burnaby to build a separated cycle path on the Willingdon Greenway. The petition is aiming for 100 signatures before it's presented to council. So far, 21 people have signed. To sign the petition and learn more about what HUB's proposal for the greenway, click here.

On Sept. 14, the City of Burnaby held an open house to provide residents with more information regarding the proposed Willingdon Greenway.

The NOW contacted the City of Burnaby for details on when the project would go before council but have yet to hear back.

© 2016 Burnaby Now

A moment to chill at the Esso Station

If you find yourself pondering the mysteries of life and eventually come back to the present, you are likely only a quarter of the way finished filling your gas tank at the Esso Station at Lougheed and Willingdon Ave. By far, they are the slowest pumps around.  But I keep going back because of the Aeroplan Miles.  I also find that the length of time it takes to fill my tank forces me to let go for a few moments of mindfulness or to begin a conversation with whoever is across from me that is also commenting on how slow the pumps are.

Amacon site excavation begins

Excavation of the site on the southwest corner of Dawson and Willingdon has begun.  The project will include a low-rise apartment complex with a street-level restaurant.   Currently, no details are available on Amacon Development's website.

Development rumours in the air

Unlike news media outlets that are held to a strict, higher standard of reporting sources, bloggers tend to have more leeway in keeping sources to themselves.  Bloggers also tend to be more imperfect in their reporting as a result.  In my last post, I mentioned that rumours of Menchies opening in the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment (BMR).  My not mentioning the sources of such rumours is meant to both protect them from potential criticism due to their position that allows them to garner such rumours and to prevent the flow of the rumours from drying up at the source. Furthermore, my sources may neither be aware that they are sources nor aware that I am blogging about the Brentwood area.  Therefore, I must always reiterate the fact that it is a rumour with the idea that there may be a fire where there's smoke.

For a major project like the BMR, it seems unusual that the developer is not promoting it's development by mentioning new commercial tenants as selling points as they did when promoting Highstreet in Abbotsford.  Even current store owners in the mall are being kept guessing on timelines and details.

Carter Dealerships

Word of another major piece of land becoming available for redevelopment is surfacing. It's being mentioned that the Carter Dealerships are looking at cashing out of their Lougheed Hwy properties that house the GM and Dodge dealerships between Willingdon Ave and both sides of Alpha Avenue. Both vacated lots south of Brentwood Station would make it a potentially larger development than the BMR north of the station.

Destination Dealerships

Meanwhile, the new Destination Toyota dealership being built at the Still Creek Auto Mall is 3 months behind schedule and continues to operate at Lougheed and Madison.  Rumours are going around that Destination Honda on Hastings will  move into the vacated site on Lougheed until it also eventually moves into the Still Creek Auto Mall.

Willingdon linear park coming in 2016

According to the City of Burnaby website, the development of a pedestrian/cyclist oriented linear park connecting Brentwood Town Centre and Burnaby Heights will begin in 2016.  The north-south linear park will be situated on the eastern side of Willingdon, beginning at Brentlawn Drive and ending at Pender Street.  The City recently approved the demolition of a City-owned house at 4504 Napier Street to make way for the park.

Dawson and Willingdon cleared for development

The site at the corner of Willingdon Avenue and Dawson Street has been cleared to make way for a low-rise complex with a street-level restaurant to be built by Amacon.  There is no word yet on what kind of restaurant will go in there.

Bus loop gone

The dismantling of the Brentwood Bus Loop began yesterday.  By today few remnants of it exist at Willingdon and Halifax.

Changing view from the food court

The view from the food court has seen a new addition to the skyline when looking out towards Halifax Street and Willingdon Avenue as the Aviara project at Douglas and Halifax continues along.  The current view will dramatically change as the first phase of the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment unfolds over the next 3 years.  The corner of Halifax and Willingdon where the old Bus Loop sits will be the site of the first high-rise tower (Brentwood One) that recently sold out on the first day of sales.

 2012

2014

New intersections around Brentwood

As Phase 1 of the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment gets set to begin, new intersections are being added on Lougheed Hwy and on Willingdon Ave.  The traffic signals have already been put in place (but not yet activated) at a new intersection just north of Halifax Street.  On Lougheed Hwy, traffic disrupting work is being done at a newly forming intersection with traffic lights to come at Alpha Ave and Lougheed Hwy.