REZONING REFERENCE #16-27
High Rise Apartment Tower with
Commercial Podium
Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan
Showing posts with label public hearings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public hearings. Show all posts
Monday, September 18, 2017
Dawson and Madison rezoning initiated
The corner of Madison and Dawson will be the subject of a rezoning initiated by Imani Development. 4485 and 4495 Dawson will see a 37 story high-rise tower built atop a 3 story commercial podium. If successful, this project will move forward to a public hearing next month on October 17.
Monday, May 8, 2017
May 30 Public Hearing for Concord Brentwood
Concord Brentwood's Phase 1b is set for a public hearing on May 30. The sites at 4828 / 4874 Lougheed Hwy and at 2099 Delta Ave are the topics of this public hearing. Phase 1b will include a stairway connecting Lougheed Hwy to Dawson Street and the proposed public park south of Dawson. An elevator is also part of the proposal to make Dawson and the higher-elevated Lougheed Hwy accessible to the physically impaired.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Two-tower Development at Douglas and Goring
While the Concord Brentwood development gathers steam at Delta and Douglas, a proposed 2-tower and townhouse development at Goring and Douglas is coming up for a public hearing on June 28 following its first reading at a Burnaby City Council meeting on June 13. It is being proposed by Chris Dikeakos Architects.
The development will be located north of the Douglas Rd and Goring St intersection, east of Springer Ave and west of Holdom Ave.
The development will be located north of the Douglas Rd and Goring St intersection, east of Springer Ave and west of Holdom Ave.
According to this map, Douglas Rd will eventually end with a cul-de-sac when heading west on Douglas Rd between Springer Ave and Lougheed Hwy while Dawson Street will connect through to Beta Ave when Concord Brentwood is built
Monday, November 16, 2015
Fulton House coming to the foot of Madison
A new development is coming to the foot of Madison Avenue, south of Dawson Street. A 41 story tower and ground-level townhouses will be proposed for a public hearing on November 24 at the City of Burnaby.
Along with Fulton House, a two-tower development at 1800 and 1900 blocks of Gilmore Ave will be proposed at the same public hearing.
(from the City of Burnaby website)
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Dragonwood Development goes to public hearing
The Dragonwood Development, or Woodlands Development as it is referred to more recently, will be going to a public hearng at the City of Burnaby Council Chambers on July 21 at 7:00 pm.
The poster boards that will be on display at the City of Burnaby during the public hearing can be seen at the City of Burnaby website.
Burnaby's Woodlands development going to public hearing
The poster boards that will be on display at the City of Burnaby during the public hearing can be seen at the City of Burnaby website.
The following article is from the Burnaby Now.
Burnaby's Woodlands development going to public hearing
The Woodlands development, put forward by Concord Pacific, would see the industrial area which lies south of Lougheed Highway, east of Beta Avenue, west of Delta Avenue and extends south toward the rail line, replaced with residential and public space, including a park and a potential school site.
“This is a big project and one that’s been a long time coming to fruition,” Mayor Derek Corrigan said at Monday night’s council meeting.
A city staff report detailing the conceptual master plan was presented to council at the meeting.
“It is a comprehensive document that shows a major development in the eastern section of our Brentwood development plan, and these are former warehouse lands that are going to be going to residential development,” Corrigan said. “So I’m looking forward to seeing how the public responds to it.”
The plan is divided into six areas: the Lougheed parkway at the north end of the site; the hillside area which would include up to four high-rises ranging from 35 to 55 storeys; the flatlands area which would include mid-rise buildings four to 15 storeys high and two high-rise buildings ranging from 30 to 40 storeys; the parkside area northwest of the proposed park, which would include up to four high-rise buildings, ranging from 25 to 45 storeys; as well as the park and riparian areas.
The park itself would be 13.32 acres. Some suggestions for the park area include field space, water features, a children's play area, terraced seating, and there is space that could be set aside for a new elementary school for the area. The riparian area would be an extension of the park surrounding Stickleback Creek, and could include low impact trails and pathways, as well as streamside protection to improve fish passage and wildlife habitat.
James KM Cheng Architecture was hired by Concord Pacific to develop the plan.
The site includes four privately owned properties at 4756 and 4828 Lougheed Hwy and 2311 and 2316 Delta Ave.; and six city-owned properties at 4874 Lougheed Hwy; and 4818, 4828, 4829, 2235 and 2285 Dawson St.
The conceptual master plan and Phase Ia of the plan are going to public hearing in two weeks.
The hearing takes place in council chambers at city hall on Tuesday, July 21 at 7 p.m. For those who cannot attend, written submissions must be received at the city clerk’s office by 4:45 p.m. on the day of the public hearing. Burnaby council does not accept submissions regarding rezoning applications after public hearings.
- See more at: http://www.burnabynow.com/news/burnaby-s-woodlands-development-going-to-public-hearing-1.1995877#.dpufTuesday, January 28, 2014
Rental units part of first Brentwood Mall tower
According to the following Burnaby NewsLeader article, the first tower in the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment will include market rental units. A public hearing will be held on Feb 25 at 7pm at the City of Burnaby.
Shape looks to rezone for first Brentwood mall tower
The first tower being proposed in the transformation of Brentwood mall could give Burnaby a big boost in rental housing.
Shape looks to rezone for first Brentwood mall tower
The first tower being proposed in the transformation of Brentwood mall could give Burnaby a big boost in rental housing.
"A total of 591 apartment units are proposed, 300 of which are intended to be purpose-built rental units to be owned and operated by the developer, Shape Properties Corp. and their funding partners," said a city staff report.
Shape Properties, which owns the mall, has applied for a rezoning of the southwest corner of the 28-acre mall site to allow for a 53-storey tower on top of a three-storey commercial podium for which it earlier applied for a rezoning.
The project comes after the Brentwood Site Conceptual Master Plan, which permits towers with a maximum height of 70 storeys, received final approvals from Burnaby council last September.
Since then, council approved second reading to the rezoning application which would allow for the commercial area, underground parking and a multi-level Central Civic Plaza connected to the Brentwood SkyTrain station.
The first tower would be located atop the commercial podium at the corner of Willingdon Avenue and Halifax Street.
The project would include two separate lobby areas complete with concierge services and elevators at ground level, with the rental lobby facing Willingdon and the strata lobby fronting onto Halifax.
The first floor of the tower, on top of the podium, would be a combined rental and strata amenity level, including a fitness facility, media and games rooms, lounge, kitchen and dining area and two guest suites.
From there, the first 25 floors will accommodate the rental units and the upper 27 levels will be designated for condominiums.
As for parking, the strata units would have 328 spaces compared to the 320 required. And while the rental units would have the required 330 spaces, Shape's parking studies "have determined that the rental demand for dedicated parking is approximately half that of strata parking," the report said.
That portion of rental parking deemed surplus would initially be used for commercial retail parking. "As requests for use of this component of parking comes forward from the rental tenants, it would be made available up to the full 1.1 spaces per unit [required]."
The rental units will range from one bedrooms 539 to 557 square feet in size (125 units) to 25 two-bedroom-plus-den units of 881 to 895 square feet.
The condominiums would range from 105 one bedrooms of the same size, to three three-bedroom units of 1,723 to 2,819 square feet.
Five per cent of the total number of units, or a minimum of 30, would be adaptable units complemented by 30 handicapped parking stalls.
The public hearing for the tower will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in Burnaby city hall council chambers.Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Relatively positive public hearing
According to the article below, the public hearing for the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment last night was relatively positive.
News 1130 article below:
News 1130 article below:
Pro Brentwood development crowd lays out conditions
Development viewed as inevitable by neighbours who say it might as well be done right
BURNABY (NEWS1130) – Development or no development that was the question on everyone’s mind at a public meeting at Burnaby City Hall Tuesday evening.
It is no doubt a massive undertaking planned for the Brentwood Town Centre, a far cry from the lonely rural area it was before the existing mall was built in the early 1960′s.
And while some spoke out against the expansion that would see two massive towers built, others say the hub has always been an area that would expand once again.
“The mall’s history is intrinsically tied to the development of that surrounding neighbourhood and that neighbourhood itself. So to me, that’s why this stuff is exciting. The next phase for the neighbourhood is a natural evolution in this process and is by no means isolated to the city of Burnaby,” says one speaker.
Critics say the density would be too much.
But those in favour say as long as it’s done properly, they’re ok with what seems like inevitable growth.
People do have concerns over building height, transit capacity and traffic congestion, but they point out development is inevitable so it’s better to have input now.
“To focus that intensive residential development in these major transit centres. Transit-oriented developments are forward-thinking mechanisms to address the population growth,” says another speaker at the meeting.
Council will vote on whether or not to pass the second reading of the zoning amendment in their first meeting of 2014.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Brentwood Mall Development Public Hearing tonight
A public hearing will be held tonight at the City of Burnaby tonight at 7pm.
It’s just the first phase of a mega-project to redevelop the Brentwood Mall, but Burnaby
Related Story Below in the Metro News
Public to get say on Burnaby’s Brentwood Town Centre
residents are getting ready to give city council an earful at the public hearing Tuesday
night.
Residents who are especially concerned about the scope of the Brentwood Town Centre
development – Shape Properties proposed towers up to 70 storeys tall – will attend the
rezoning for the less controversial, commercial aspect of the development to urge council
to keep it at a “human scale.”
While the towers aren’t on the agenda Tuesday, nearby residents are waiting to hear how
the city will manage traffic in the area.
Cherie Moses, a part of a traffic calming group on Gravely Street, says it’s crucial for the
city to address the increased traffic destined for the mall and SkyTrain station on her
residential strip so pedestrians don’t get hurt.
The original plan didn’t address her narrow street, north of the centre, which is already so
congested during rush hour that parked cars often get dings and scratches. While her
group understands the redevelopment will go through at some scale, it hopes the city will
come up with a traffic calming solution that will maintain safety despite the influx of
thousands of residents.
“In their minds, people are going to be at these transit hubs and they’re not going to be
driving so much – well, dream on,” Moses said. “All these places will have parking garages,
these shoppers will have vehicles.”
Council has approved of the concept of the decades-long project, called a “crown jewel” by
one councillor.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Millennium project stalled
According to the following story in the Burnaby Now, a project by Millennium Development is either being delayed or has been taken off the shelf completely. A Public Hearing on the project was to happen last week but was cancelled.
Proposed 46-storey tower in limbo
Olympic Village developer behind proposed highrise recently withdrawn from public hearing
On March 19, three rezonings were up for public input, except for the highrise proposed for Gilmore Ave. with a three-storey townhouse podium facing Halifax Street and a two-storey residential amenity podium that included a rooftop swimming pool.
Coun. Colleen Jordan, who attended the public hearing, said she could not comment on why the proposed tower was withdrawn.
Now the proposal is in limbo - it will either go to a future public hearing with changes or not go ahead at all.
The site's developer is Millenium Development, which has also developed 10 other highrises in the city, including Mayfair Place, Belvedere and One University Crescent in the SFU community.
The award-winning company also designed and built the Olympic Village Community in Vancouver covering 25 acres with 21 multi-storey buildings and 70,000 square feet of retail space. It served as the Athletes' Village during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
According to a planning and building report from the Feb. 25 council meeting, the site is made up of three lots on Gilmore, which are currently zoned under the manufacturing and industrial district zoning. A deli and sausage manufacturer, a vacant car lot and an auto body repair shop occupy the lots now.
If the proposal went through public hearing and had been later approved by council, it would have been designated for a high-density, multiple family development part of the Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan.
Under the density bonus program, about $6.5 million would have been given to the city as a cash-in-lieu contribution for use toward a future community amenity - if the proposal was approved.
Jordan pointed out at the Feb. 25 council meeting that the developer had committed to providing the residents of up to 51 units two-zone transit passes for two years, twice the required secured bicycle parking and 34 electric vehicle plug-in stations, which would have included all necessary wiring, electrical transformer and mechanical ventilation modifications and four electric vehicles for the future strata corporation.
There was also intent to pursue green building practices by achieving a Silver (equivalency) rating under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
Adam Nour of Millenium Developments did not respond to the Burnaby Now's request for comment by press deadline.
For more information about the developer, visit www.milleniumdevelopment.com.
Coun. Colleen Jordan, who attended the public hearing, said she could not comment on why the proposed tower was withdrawn.
Now the proposal is in limbo - it will either go to a future public hearing with changes or not go ahead at all.
The site's developer is Millenium Development, which has also developed 10 other highrises in the city, including Mayfair Place, Belvedere and One University Crescent in the SFU community.
The award-winning company also designed and built the Olympic Village Community in Vancouver covering 25 acres with 21 multi-storey buildings and 70,000 square feet of retail space. It served as the Athletes' Village during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
According to a planning and building report from the Feb. 25 council meeting, the site is made up of three lots on Gilmore, which are currently zoned under the manufacturing and industrial district zoning. A deli and sausage manufacturer, a vacant car lot and an auto body repair shop occupy the lots now.
If the proposal went through public hearing and had been later approved by council, it would have been designated for a high-density, multiple family development part of the Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan.
Under the density bonus program, about $6.5 million would have been given to the city as a cash-in-lieu contribution for use toward a future community amenity - if the proposal was approved.
Jordan pointed out at the Feb. 25 council meeting that the developer had committed to providing the residents of up to 51 units two-zone transit passes for two years, twice the required secured bicycle parking and 34 electric vehicle plug-in stations, which would have included all necessary wiring, electrical transformer and mechanical ventilation modifications and four electric vehicles for the future strata corporation.
There was also intent to pursue green building practices by achieving a Silver (equivalency) rating under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
Adam Nour of Millenium Developments did not respond to the Burnaby Now's request for comment by press deadline.
For more information about the developer, visit www.milleniumdevelopment.com.
© Copyright (c) Burnaby Now
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Brentwood Public Hearing draws plenty of interest
From the extensive coverage by multiple media outlets, it appears that the BMR has created significant interest as many residents of Brentwood Park came out to express their views on the project last night at Burnaby City Hall. The ambitious plan will see the tallest towers in Metro Vancouver built along with a massive retail and entertainment expansion. I was happy to see that residents expressed their concern about traffic through Brentwood Park, especially the always precarious intersection at Beta & Brentlawn where near-accidents are a daily ocurrence. The verdict appears to be a nearly 50-50 split in terms of support for the project. Although concerned about the traffic through Brentwood Park, I am in favour of the scale of the BMR as the City and neighborhood looks to the future of increased human and commercial actvity around transit zones.
Articles covering the Public Hearing below:
Burnaby's Brentwood development could nearly double neighbourhood population
JANAYA FULLER-EVANS - BURNABY NOW
TUESDAY, AUG 28 2012 20:00:00 -04:00
Burnaby council chambers was packed for Tuesday night's public hearing on the master concept plan for the Brentwood Town Centre site, with people gathering outside the doors to hear the proceedings. The proposed development is divided into four phases and would include 10 residential towers possibly ranging in height from 20 to 70 storeys, depending on their location, and two office towers ranging in height from 30 to 40 storeys. The design also includes a redeveloped commercial centre, a 50,000-square-foot food store, and a variety of public outdoor spaces. The plan divides the 11.5-hectare site at 4515 and 4567 Lougheed Hwy. into four quadrants for development, with the first phase including the two residential towers that could range in height from 45 to 70 storeys at the corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway. One by one, concerned residents and those interested in the planning process spoke to Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, city councillors and staff. Mark Tyson, who lives on Fairlawn Drive near the mall, spoke first, saying he did not oppose redeveloping the mall, but he was concerned about the possibility of the 70-storey towers included in the master plan. He was also worried about the increase of traffic in the busy neighbourhood, he said, as "rat-racers" are already a problem along Willingdon Avenue. Donald Copan, who lives on Highlawn Drive, shared some of the same concerns as Tyson, adding that traffic at the intersection of Beta Avenue and Brentlawn Drive is especially unsafe. "If there's an accident or death, it'll be at Brentlawn and Beta," he said. Eric Anderson, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 1953 and referred to himself as "a charter member of Brentwood," said the neighbourhood could not accommodate that many new residents. "A development at this scale is crazy," he said. There were some questions about the scope of the project, such as how many people would be added to the neighbourhood once it is completed. Lou Pelletier, Burnaby's director of planning and building, said the anticipated number of residential units for the Brentwood site is between 2,000 and 4,200, with approximately 2.1 people expected per unit, meaning it could house up to 8,400 people. The current population count for Brentwood is 10,000, he said, while the capacity in the town centre plan for the area is 50,000. Corrigan addressed some of the concerns brought forward, specifically about traffic in the area. While the developer is working to address traffic issues connected directly with the site in the planning stages, the traffic problems in the neighbourhood overall fall under the city's jurisdiction, he reminded those attending the hearing. The city is currently working on a transportation plan to deal with issues such as locals having access to their neighbourhoods, and commuters cutting through those neighbourhoods to get to Vancouver, according to Corrigan. "Whenever anybody asks me what's the biggest issue in Burnaby, I tell them, 'it's traffic,'" he said. Most speakers who opposed the project said they supported redeveloping the site, albeit on a smaller scale. And a near-equal number of people came forward to speak in favour of the project, including David Pereira. Pereira, who completed his master's in urban studies at Simon Fraser University, said he wrote his thesis on the history of Burnaby's town centres. The town centres in Burnaby - particularly Metrotown - have the highest density in the region, he said, and Metrotown also has the highest transit ridership. "This plan is a long-awaited project," Pereira said, adding that the plan to make Brentwood a high-density neighbourhood has been on the books for 46 years. Jeanne Fike, speaking on behalf of Burnaby Family Life, said the community organization also supports the project and hopes to continue to consult with the developer on how it will benefit the community. "We think this is a tremendous opportunity of doing things differently from the past, she said. Darren Kwiatkowski, executive vice-president of Shape Properties, which owns Brentwood Town Centre, was also at the hearing. He addressed some of the concerns brought forward at the hearing in a follow-up phone interview with the NOW on Wednesday. "To put things into perspective, the site is 28 acres," he said. "The actual density being proposed is in line with what city planning policies support for the property." Burnaby has made it clear that it plans to make town centres, particularly those near SkyTrain stations, high-density areas for more than 20 years, he pointed out. The designers went with the tall-building plan to allow more light and space on the site, and avoid a clustered development with lower buildings, Kwiatkowski said. The tallest towers are purposely planned to be as far from the residential homes near the northern edge of the property, and as close to the SkyTrain, as possible. As far as traffic goes, the development design includes plans to manage the roadways on the property to avoid impacting surrounding neighbourhood, he said. "We are extending the urban street network through our site," Kwiatkowski said, mentioning Halifax Street and Alpha Avenue will continue onto the property as private roads. Next, Burnaby city staff will compile a report on the hearing, which will go back to council. Council will then decide whether or not to approve the master concept plan. Following that, each development phase will also go through public hearings before the parcels can be rezoned, and Shape Properties has committed to conducting more consultation with stakeholders and residents as things develop. (Burnaby Now)
Towers in ambitious plan to redevelop Burnaby mall would be tallest buildings in B.C.
BY FRANK LUBA, THE PROVINCE AUGUST 28, 2012
A conceptual plan for a massive redevelopment of Brentwood Town Centre that would include 11 residential towers, including two that could be up to a staggering 70 stories, went into the public hearing stage Tuesday in Burnaby. If built to the limit, the tallest towers would have more stories than anything in the province. Vancouver’s tallest building is the 62-storey Shangri-La, with the proposed Telus residential tower next tallest at 53 storeys. The concept is supported by Burnaby staff and had enough backing on the city’s council to get first reading and advance to the hearing stage. That allows residents to weigh in on the Shape Properties Corp. proposal that would drastically transform the 11.5 hectares that is now Brentwood Mall on Lougheed Highway, along with an adjacent site that was formerly a gas station at 4515 Lougheed. In addition to the residential towers, which would range from 20 to 70 stories, Shape’s concept is for two stand-alone office buildings ranging from 30 to 40 stories. There would also be townhouses ranging from two to four stories, plus general retail, large format anchor retail, restaurant and service commercial. A food store that would be about 4,650 square metres or 50,000 square feet would be located on a High Street for both pedestrians and vehicles that would go through the centre of the site. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has to wait for the public to have its say on the mega-project, which a staff report said “would be developed under approximately 16 sub-phases over a period of 30 years.” But Corrigan said the concept being proposed is what is envisioned for spots by transit like the nearby Brentwood SkyTrain station. “That’s what SkyTrain development is all about,” said Corrigan. “That’s the whole idea behind having mass transit systems like SkyTrain, to create very high densities around stations in order to make the lines useful. “Burnaby has been particularly good at that,” he said, referring to the Metrotown development. Tsur Somerville of the Sauder School of Business was skeptical the development will end up with all the density that’s proposed in the concept. “It’s easy to see why the concept could be successful at that location and it would include density,” said Somerville, director of the University of B.C.’s Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate. “Having said that, how much office space you get, at what density, and how high the residential buildings end up going if you don’t cap them, I would be surprised if the office buildings and the residential buildings hit the maximum limits presented in the plan,” he said. If Shape gets through this stage of the process, there will have to be more public hearings and approval for specific development proposals. Shape Properties was formed in 2005, according to its website, and has a portfolio of 11 major properties with approximately 3.1 million square feet on 335 acres. The company was contacted for this story but didn’t respond. If approved, the website suggests the project will begin “unfolding” in the spring of 2013. fluba@theprovince.com twitter.com/frankluba
Worries over height and traffic with Burnaby tower proposal
Development plan at Brentwood Town Centre could be 70 storeys high Joanne Abshire, August 29, 2012 BURNABY (NEWS1130)
- People in Burnaby gathered last night to weigh in on plans for a development that includes huge towers at Brentwood Town Centre. Longtime city councillor Nick Volkow says for the most part, reception has been fairly positive. He says most people like the idea of turning the old mall into a new and improved entertainment and shopping district. Brentwood, when you look at it, is one of the oldest subdivisions and earliest malls in Canada, not just Western Canada. People say it's a little tired... people are looking to see what's going on. I mean, the whole area has been in a real fundamental transition in the last five years," says VolkAow. But he points out some are worried about transportation and the tall towers. If things go as planned for the Shape Properties, a few buildings could reach up to 70 storeys. "The concerns that people have... one obviously is going to be the traffic issue. Secondly, some people raise issues in regards to the potential height of two of the buildings," explains Volkow. "Lougheed and Willingdon intersection, that corridor is no more or no less congested than the King George Highway, or Cambie and Oaks Street in Vancouver or anywhere else, so that's an argument that's not going to sway me too much," he argues. Volkow adds many people are in favour of the complex because it's right beside rapid transit. A lot of people welcome the continuing growth in the neighbourhood, as he says the plan will revitalize one of the oldest shopping areas in Burnaby. (News 1130)
Coming soon to a suburb near you: highrise development
BY JENNY LEE, VANCOUVER SUN AUGUST 29, 2012 9:07 PM
Highrise towers are no longer solely a downtown Vancouver phenomenon. Highrise towers are no longer solely a downtown Vancouver phenomenon. Developers are building and proposing highrise buildings along transit corridors in Burnaby and Surrey. In fact, the highest building in B.C. could some day be in Burnaby if an ambitious plan by Shape Properties at Brentwood Town Centre is approved. Burnaby council is considering a conceptual master plan by Shape Properties, owner of Brentwood Town Centre, to redevelop the site with an 11.5-hectare project that includes two residential towers of 45 to 70 storeys over the next five years, with as many as nine more towers ranging from 20 to 55 storeys over the next 20 to 30 years. Two 30-40 storey office towers are also in the plan. Shape Properties hopes to break ground in late 2013. A number of highrise developments are at various stages of development across Metro Vancouver. Century Group is developing 3 Civic Plaza which will house Surrey’s highest skyscraper, a 50-storey condo, office and hotel tower. The Sovereign, a Bosa Properties project in Burnaby’s Metrotown, is expected to be B.C.’s second-tallest building at 500 feet. Appia Development’s Solo District project in Burnaby at Lougheed Highway and Willingdon Avenue has four towers ranging upwards of 38 storeys. Station Square at Metrotown includes plans for five towers ranging from 35 to 57 storeys. Coquitlam has approved a development agreement for Windsor Gate, a Polygon Homes project with two 25-story towers. Concord Pacific is proposing a 31-storey tower in Metrotown. Abbotsford is expecting to see a Quantum Properties 26-storey tower, Mahogany at Mill Lake. Surrey has three town centre highrise projects in development, “all above 30 storeys and that’s great,” said Surrey city councillor Barinder Rasode. Surrey is actively encouraging highrises in place of urban sprawl, she said. “We can’t fight the fact that 1,200 people a month move to Surrey and we are also going to have, in the next 10 years, an increase in the number of seniors by 179 per cent.” “As we’re creating communities that are more walkable and bikeable and while we’re protecting our agricultural and industrial landbase, density is the only option,” Rasode said. Metro Vancouver’s regional growth strategy, approved in 1996, created a pattern of development that concentrates density in town centres and protects natural areas and both agricultural and industrial land. Area residents may be starting to notice a flurry of highrise development because of a two- to three-year delay between presales and construction, said Darren Kwiatkowski, Shape Properties executive vice-president. “The basic philosophy has been there, whether Burnaby, Central Surrey or Richmond,” Kwiatkowski said. “What you’re seeing now is just market economics and social economic trends.” Young people are increasingly choosing car-free lifestyles, so transit has become a key driver for residential condo sales. “The projects that are selling the best in the Lower Mainland, are on SkyTrain [lines,]” Kwiatkowski said. “What that translates into is more highrise.” Kwiatkowski predicted that office development will soon be driven by tenants seeking similar convenience. “What’s coming is a fundamental shift from low-density business parks to office facilities on transit.” The final height of a tower is determined by a fine balancing act between presale numbers and building costs. “Once you get over 50 to 55 storeys, you’re looking at premiums,” for additional elevator banks, and wind and earthquake considerations, Kwiatkowski said. He does not foresee many of the current Metro Vancouver projects coming in at over 50 stories. “There is a premium to concrete over wood frame construction. Not every Lower Mainland market will support it. the housing price has to get to a certain point where concrete is an alternative. Over the last 15 years, downtown, you could build a highrise, the economics there worked. In Metrotown it worked and in Richmond it worked. So you’re now starting to see the economics work as housing prices rise gradually and it becomes a more accepted form of living.” Lower Mainland residents still trying to live with values left over from the 1950s have an emotional disconnect that comes from a lack of clear government policies encouraging alternative kinds of housing other than single family, said Penny Gurstein, a University of BC professor community and regional planning. “It isn’t necessarily [about] the housing type,” Gurstein said. “It’s the kind of values underlying that.” “There is nothing inherently wrong with highrise especially in a place like Brentwood which is a transportation node and there’s shopping, there’s entertainment, there’s work there. If you want to do density, that’s the best place to be doing it.” jennylee@vancouversun.com © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Articles covering the Public Hearing below:
Burnaby's Brentwood development could nearly double neighbourhood population
JANAYA FULLER-EVANS - BURNABY NOW
TUESDAY, AUG 28 2012 20:00:00 -04:00
Burnaby council chambers was packed for Tuesday night's public hearing on the master concept plan for the Brentwood Town Centre site, with people gathering outside the doors to hear the proceedings. The proposed development is divided into four phases and would include 10 residential towers possibly ranging in height from 20 to 70 storeys, depending on their location, and two office towers ranging in height from 30 to 40 storeys. The design also includes a redeveloped commercial centre, a 50,000-square-foot food store, and a variety of public outdoor spaces. The plan divides the 11.5-hectare site at 4515 and 4567 Lougheed Hwy. into four quadrants for development, with the first phase including the two residential towers that could range in height from 45 to 70 storeys at the corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway. One by one, concerned residents and those interested in the planning process spoke to Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, city councillors and staff. Mark Tyson, who lives on Fairlawn Drive near the mall, spoke first, saying he did not oppose redeveloping the mall, but he was concerned about the possibility of the 70-storey towers included in the master plan. He was also worried about the increase of traffic in the busy neighbourhood, he said, as "rat-racers" are already a problem along Willingdon Avenue. Donald Copan, who lives on Highlawn Drive, shared some of the same concerns as Tyson, adding that traffic at the intersection of Beta Avenue and Brentlawn Drive is especially unsafe. "If there's an accident or death, it'll be at Brentlawn and Beta," he said. Eric Anderson, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 1953 and referred to himself as "a charter member of Brentwood," said the neighbourhood could not accommodate that many new residents. "A development at this scale is crazy," he said. There were some questions about the scope of the project, such as how many people would be added to the neighbourhood once it is completed. Lou Pelletier, Burnaby's director of planning and building, said the anticipated number of residential units for the Brentwood site is between 2,000 and 4,200, with approximately 2.1 people expected per unit, meaning it could house up to 8,400 people. The current population count for Brentwood is 10,000, he said, while the capacity in the town centre plan for the area is 50,000. Corrigan addressed some of the concerns brought forward, specifically about traffic in the area. While the developer is working to address traffic issues connected directly with the site in the planning stages, the traffic problems in the neighbourhood overall fall under the city's jurisdiction, he reminded those attending the hearing. The city is currently working on a transportation plan to deal with issues such as locals having access to their neighbourhoods, and commuters cutting through those neighbourhoods to get to Vancouver, according to Corrigan. "Whenever anybody asks me what's the biggest issue in Burnaby, I tell them, 'it's traffic,'" he said. Most speakers who opposed the project said they supported redeveloping the site, albeit on a smaller scale. And a near-equal number of people came forward to speak in favour of the project, including David Pereira. Pereira, who completed his master's in urban studies at Simon Fraser University, said he wrote his thesis on the history of Burnaby's town centres. The town centres in Burnaby - particularly Metrotown - have the highest density in the region, he said, and Metrotown also has the highest transit ridership. "This plan is a long-awaited project," Pereira said, adding that the plan to make Brentwood a high-density neighbourhood has been on the books for 46 years. Jeanne Fike, speaking on behalf of Burnaby Family Life, said the community organization also supports the project and hopes to continue to consult with the developer on how it will benefit the community. "We think this is a tremendous opportunity of doing things differently from the past, she said. Darren Kwiatkowski, executive vice-president of Shape Properties, which owns Brentwood Town Centre, was also at the hearing. He addressed some of the concerns brought forward at the hearing in a follow-up phone interview with the NOW on Wednesday. "To put things into perspective, the site is 28 acres," he said. "The actual density being proposed is in line with what city planning policies support for the property." Burnaby has made it clear that it plans to make town centres, particularly those near SkyTrain stations, high-density areas for more than 20 years, he pointed out. The designers went with the tall-building plan to allow more light and space on the site, and avoid a clustered development with lower buildings, Kwiatkowski said. The tallest towers are purposely planned to be as far from the residential homes near the northern edge of the property, and as close to the SkyTrain, as possible. As far as traffic goes, the development design includes plans to manage the roadways on the property to avoid impacting surrounding neighbourhood, he said. "We are extending the urban street network through our site," Kwiatkowski said, mentioning Halifax Street and Alpha Avenue will continue onto the property as private roads. Next, Burnaby city staff will compile a report on the hearing, which will go back to council. Council will then decide whether or not to approve the master concept plan. Following that, each development phase will also go through public hearings before the parcels can be rezoned, and Shape Properties has committed to conducting more consultation with stakeholders and residents as things develop. (Burnaby Now)
Towers in ambitious plan to redevelop Burnaby mall would be tallest buildings in B.C.
BY FRANK LUBA, THE PROVINCE AUGUST 28, 2012
A conceptual plan for a massive redevelopment of Brentwood Town Centre that would include 11 residential towers, including two that could be up to a staggering 70 stories, went into the public hearing stage Tuesday in Burnaby. If built to the limit, the tallest towers would have more stories than anything in the province. Vancouver’s tallest building is the 62-storey Shangri-La, with the proposed Telus residential tower next tallest at 53 storeys. The concept is supported by Burnaby staff and had enough backing on the city’s council to get first reading and advance to the hearing stage. That allows residents to weigh in on the Shape Properties Corp. proposal that would drastically transform the 11.5 hectares that is now Brentwood Mall on Lougheed Highway, along with an adjacent site that was formerly a gas station at 4515 Lougheed. In addition to the residential towers, which would range from 20 to 70 stories, Shape’s concept is for two stand-alone office buildings ranging from 30 to 40 stories. There would also be townhouses ranging from two to four stories, plus general retail, large format anchor retail, restaurant and service commercial. A food store that would be about 4,650 square metres or 50,000 square feet would be located on a High Street for both pedestrians and vehicles that would go through the centre of the site. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has to wait for the public to have its say on the mega-project, which a staff report said “would be developed under approximately 16 sub-phases over a period of 30 years.” But Corrigan said the concept being proposed is what is envisioned for spots by transit like the nearby Brentwood SkyTrain station. “That’s what SkyTrain development is all about,” said Corrigan. “That’s the whole idea behind having mass transit systems like SkyTrain, to create very high densities around stations in order to make the lines useful. “Burnaby has been particularly good at that,” he said, referring to the Metrotown development. Tsur Somerville of the Sauder School of Business was skeptical the development will end up with all the density that’s proposed in the concept. “It’s easy to see why the concept could be successful at that location and it would include density,” said Somerville, director of the University of B.C.’s Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate. “Having said that, how much office space you get, at what density, and how high the residential buildings end up going if you don’t cap them, I would be surprised if the office buildings and the residential buildings hit the maximum limits presented in the plan,” he said. If Shape gets through this stage of the process, there will have to be more public hearings and approval for specific development proposals. Shape Properties was formed in 2005, according to its website, and has a portfolio of 11 major properties with approximately 3.1 million square feet on 335 acres. The company was contacted for this story but didn’t respond. If approved, the website suggests the project will begin “unfolding” in the spring of 2013. fluba@theprovince.com twitter.com/frankluba
Worries over height and traffic with Burnaby tower proposal
Development plan at Brentwood Town Centre could be 70 storeys high Joanne Abshire, August 29, 2012 BURNABY (NEWS1130)
- People in Burnaby gathered last night to weigh in on plans for a development that includes huge towers at Brentwood Town Centre. Longtime city councillor Nick Volkow says for the most part, reception has been fairly positive. He says most people like the idea of turning the old mall into a new and improved entertainment and shopping district. Brentwood, when you look at it, is one of the oldest subdivisions and earliest malls in Canada, not just Western Canada. People say it's a little tired... people are looking to see what's going on. I mean, the whole area has been in a real fundamental transition in the last five years," says VolkAow. But he points out some are worried about transportation and the tall towers. If things go as planned for the Shape Properties, a few buildings could reach up to 70 storeys. "The concerns that people have... one obviously is going to be the traffic issue. Secondly, some people raise issues in regards to the potential height of two of the buildings," explains Volkow. "Lougheed and Willingdon intersection, that corridor is no more or no less congested than the King George Highway, or Cambie and Oaks Street in Vancouver or anywhere else, so that's an argument that's not going to sway me too much," he argues. Volkow adds many people are in favour of the complex because it's right beside rapid transit. A lot of people welcome the continuing growth in the neighbourhood, as he says the plan will revitalize one of the oldest shopping areas in Burnaby. (News 1130)
Coming soon to a suburb near you: highrise development
BY JENNY LEE, VANCOUVER SUN AUGUST 29, 2012 9:07 PM
Highrise towers are no longer solely a downtown Vancouver phenomenon. Highrise towers are no longer solely a downtown Vancouver phenomenon. Developers are building and proposing highrise buildings along transit corridors in Burnaby and Surrey. In fact, the highest building in B.C. could some day be in Burnaby if an ambitious plan by Shape Properties at Brentwood Town Centre is approved. Burnaby council is considering a conceptual master plan by Shape Properties, owner of Brentwood Town Centre, to redevelop the site with an 11.5-hectare project that includes two residential towers of 45 to 70 storeys over the next five years, with as many as nine more towers ranging from 20 to 55 storeys over the next 20 to 30 years. Two 30-40 storey office towers are also in the plan. Shape Properties hopes to break ground in late 2013. A number of highrise developments are at various stages of development across Metro Vancouver. Century Group is developing 3 Civic Plaza which will house Surrey’s highest skyscraper, a 50-storey condo, office and hotel tower. The Sovereign, a Bosa Properties project in Burnaby’s Metrotown, is expected to be B.C.’s second-tallest building at 500 feet. Appia Development’s Solo District project in Burnaby at Lougheed Highway and Willingdon Avenue has four towers ranging upwards of 38 storeys. Station Square at Metrotown includes plans for five towers ranging from 35 to 57 storeys. Coquitlam has approved a development agreement for Windsor Gate, a Polygon Homes project with two 25-story towers. Concord Pacific is proposing a 31-storey tower in Metrotown. Abbotsford is expecting to see a Quantum Properties 26-storey tower, Mahogany at Mill Lake. Surrey has three town centre highrise projects in development, “all above 30 storeys and that’s great,” said Surrey city councillor Barinder Rasode. Surrey is actively encouraging highrises in place of urban sprawl, she said. “We can’t fight the fact that 1,200 people a month move to Surrey and we are also going to have, in the next 10 years, an increase in the number of seniors by 179 per cent.” “As we’re creating communities that are more walkable and bikeable and while we’re protecting our agricultural and industrial landbase, density is the only option,” Rasode said. Metro Vancouver’s regional growth strategy, approved in 1996, created a pattern of development that concentrates density in town centres and protects natural areas and both agricultural and industrial land. Area residents may be starting to notice a flurry of highrise development because of a two- to three-year delay between presales and construction, said Darren Kwiatkowski, Shape Properties executive vice-president. “The basic philosophy has been there, whether Burnaby, Central Surrey or Richmond,” Kwiatkowski said. “What you’re seeing now is just market economics and social economic trends.” Young people are increasingly choosing car-free lifestyles, so transit has become a key driver for residential condo sales. “The projects that are selling the best in the Lower Mainland, are on SkyTrain [lines,]” Kwiatkowski said. “What that translates into is more highrise.” Kwiatkowski predicted that office development will soon be driven by tenants seeking similar convenience. “What’s coming is a fundamental shift from low-density business parks to office facilities on transit.” The final height of a tower is determined by a fine balancing act between presale numbers and building costs. “Once you get over 50 to 55 storeys, you’re looking at premiums,” for additional elevator banks, and wind and earthquake considerations, Kwiatkowski said. He does not foresee many of the current Metro Vancouver projects coming in at over 50 stories. “There is a premium to concrete over wood frame construction. Not every Lower Mainland market will support it. the housing price has to get to a certain point where concrete is an alternative. Over the last 15 years, downtown, you could build a highrise, the economics there worked. In Metrotown it worked and in Richmond it worked. So you’re now starting to see the economics work as housing prices rise gradually and it becomes a more accepted form of living.” Lower Mainland residents still trying to live with values left over from the 1950s have an emotional disconnect that comes from a lack of clear government policies encouraging alternative kinds of housing other than single family, said Penny Gurstein, a University of BC professor community and regional planning. “It isn’t necessarily [about] the housing type,” Gurstein said. “It’s the kind of values underlying that.” “There is nothing inherently wrong with highrise especially in a place like Brentwood which is a transportation node and there’s shopping, there’s entertainment, there’s work there. If you want to do density, that’s the best place to be doing it.” jennylee@vancouversun.com © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The election has come and gone...
...and believe it or not, many may not even have known what kind of election it was let alone have been aware of it at all. Once again, the participation rate was around 25% of eligible voters. For some reason, 75% of eligible voters don't feel that voting is important enough to set aside some time. Enough of my frustrated ranting about voter apathy.
The next 3 years will continue to see changes occurring in the Brentwood area as the city continues to build up the density here. The Brentwood Mall redevelopment will be the largest project in the area, if not Burnaby and will be an opportunity for local residents to share their concerns and to provide input into what they would like to see for the redevelopment. This is where the public's direct input can have a direct impact on how the Brentwood area will evolve if enough people have their collective voices heard.
The Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan envisions creating a pedestrian-oriented development according to the City of Burnaby website. Even with such a bold statement being made, citizens should question what criteria was used to envision a pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood. We should question whether or not the criteria used is current or out-dated. Is the current criteria for sidewalks good enough to meet the standards of a walkable neighbourhood? What was considered to be pedestrian-friendly in the 1990's may no longer be good enough to meet our expectations in 2012 and beyond.
Cycling infrastructure must go hand-in-hand with the development both within and outside the Brentwood area as it will become more of a hub of activity for people living in the surrounding areas located outside the Brentwood Town Centre zone. The widening of Willingdon Ave between Lougheed Hwy and Hastings St is part of a Provincial Government plan to increase traffic flow in the area. Although I don't believe that it is the best idea to add another lane on Willingdon Ave, it should be an opportunity for Burnaby to initiate a collaboration with the Province to build a cycling and pedestrian thoroughfare alongside the widened Willingdon Ave to connect Brentwood to the Burnaby Heights area to the north where community amenities at Confederation Park could be accessed by walking and cycling. The pedestrian and cycling thoroughfare can be separated by barriers and vegetation to create a buffer along its length to provide an element of safety for pedestrians and to minimize the impact of the road widening on the homes immediately to the east of Willingdon Ave in the Brentwood Park area.There is currently no direct north-south pedestrian or cycling route on either side of Willingdon Ave between Burnaby Heights and Brentwood. Accessibility between neighbourhoods should not be built around automobiles alone and the addition of a pedestrian/cycling path would begin to remedy the decades-long automobile-centered growth that we continue to witness as I write this post.
The Brentwood neighbourhood is going to look much different 10 years from now and the space allocated for pedestrian infrastructure built today must meet our needs 20 years from now and beyond. It would be a big mistake to not consider our needs decades into the future as it would be more costly to impose harsh reactionary measures later on due to the lack of foresight by our planners today. The pain of change being felt in neighbouring Vancouver is an example of what I am talking about as the struggle between car-users and cyclists rages on in Downtown.
The City will not know what is expected of its citizens if enough people do not participate in public hearings related to development projects. The public hearings held at Burnaby City Hall should be standing room only with a steady stream of input and ideas as to what the citizens expect with the Brentwood redevelopment. People need to start thinking about it now well before the project is announced. Automobile traffic, walkability, cyclability and density are issues that immediately come to mind. What do you think? What needs to be done and what do we need to make Brentwood a complete neighbourhood?
The next 3 years will continue to see changes occurring in the Brentwood area as the city continues to build up the density here. The Brentwood Mall redevelopment will be the largest project in the area, if not Burnaby and will be an opportunity for local residents to share their concerns and to provide input into what they would like to see for the redevelopment. This is where the public's direct input can have a direct impact on how the Brentwood area will evolve if enough people have their collective voices heard.
The Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan envisions creating a pedestrian-oriented development according to the City of Burnaby website. Even with such a bold statement being made, citizens should question what criteria was used to envision a pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood. We should question whether or not the criteria used is current or out-dated. Is the current criteria for sidewalks good enough to meet the standards of a walkable neighbourhood? What was considered to be pedestrian-friendly in the 1990's may no longer be good enough to meet our expectations in 2012 and beyond.
Cycling infrastructure must go hand-in-hand with the development both within and outside the Brentwood area as it will become more of a hub of activity for people living in the surrounding areas located outside the Brentwood Town Centre zone. The widening of Willingdon Ave between Lougheed Hwy and Hastings St is part of a Provincial Government plan to increase traffic flow in the area. Although I don't believe that it is the best idea to add another lane on Willingdon Ave, it should be an opportunity for Burnaby to initiate a collaboration with the Province to build a cycling and pedestrian thoroughfare alongside the widened Willingdon Ave to connect Brentwood to the Burnaby Heights area to the north where community amenities at Confederation Park could be accessed by walking and cycling. The pedestrian and cycling thoroughfare can be separated by barriers and vegetation to create a buffer along its length to provide an element of safety for pedestrians and to minimize the impact of the road widening on the homes immediately to the east of Willingdon Ave in the Brentwood Park area.There is currently no direct north-south pedestrian or cycling route on either side of Willingdon Ave between Burnaby Heights and Brentwood. Accessibility between neighbourhoods should not be built around automobiles alone and the addition of a pedestrian/cycling path would begin to remedy the decades-long automobile-centered growth that we continue to witness as I write this post.
 |
| Houses along the east side of Willingdon Ave have gradually been torn down to make way for another traffic lane between Lougheed and Hastings. There should be ample space to add a pedestrian/cycling lane alongside the new lane which would greatly improve the look from its current state of pedestrian unfriendliness. |
The Brentwood neighbourhood is going to look much different 10 years from now and the space allocated for pedestrian infrastructure built today must meet our needs 20 years from now and beyond. It would be a big mistake to not consider our needs decades into the future as it would be more costly to impose harsh reactionary measures later on due to the lack of foresight by our planners today. The pain of change being felt in neighbouring Vancouver is an example of what I am talking about as the struggle between car-users and cyclists rages on in Downtown.
The City will not know what is expected of its citizens if enough people do not participate in public hearings related to development projects. The public hearings held at Burnaby City Hall should be standing room only with a steady stream of input and ideas as to what the citizens expect with the Brentwood redevelopment. People need to start thinking about it now well before the project is announced. Automobile traffic, walkability, cyclability and density are issues that immediately come to mind. What do you think? What needs to be done and what do we need to make Brentwood a complete neighbourhood?
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