Dealerships and restaurants for Lougheed and Boundary

According to the City of Burnaby, the northeast corner of Lougheed Hwy and Boundary Rd will eventually become the site of auto dealerships, restaurant/commercial spaces and office buildings over multiple development phases.

Parts of the May 27 City of Burnaby Council meeting minutes regarding this development below

. CITY MANAGER DIRECTOR PLANNING AND BUILDING

REZONING REFERENCE #12-28 Mixed-Use Office and Automobile Dealership

"OpenRoad Development - 2020 Boundary Road, Burnaby, B.C." prepared by Christopher Bozyk Architects Ltd.)

APPLICANT: Christopher Bozyk Architects Ltd. 414-611 Alexander Street. Vancouver BC 

TO seek Council authorization to forward this application to a Public Hearing on 2013 June 25.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

That a Rezoning Bylaw be prepared and advanced to First Reading on 2013 June 10, and to a Public Hearing 2013 June 25 at 7:00 p.m.

THAT the following be established as prerequisites to the completion of the rezoning:

The submission of a suitable plan of development.

The deposit of sufficient monies, including a 4% Engineering Inspection Fee, to cover the costs of all services necessary to serve the site and the completion of a servicing agreement covering all requisite services. All services are to be designed to City standards and constructed in accordance with the Engineering Design. One of the conditions for the release of occupancy permits will be the completion of all requisite services.

The installation of all electrical, telephone and cable servicing, and all other wiring underground throughout the development, and to the point of connection to· the existing service where sufficient facilities are available to serve the development.

REZONING PURPOSE

The purpose of the proposed rezoning bylaw amendment is to permit the construction of a mixed-use office, commercial and automobile dealership development.

Background

The subject site was the focus of a similar rezoning application in 2007 (Rezoning Reference #07-24). The developer, Bosa Development Corporation, purchased the site from Terasen Gas (Fortis BC) with the intent of developing the site with a mix of office, commercial and automobile sales and service uses. 

A detailed design was for the site by Christopher Bozyk Architects, but was not advanced to Public Hearing. In 2008, Translink purchased the site with a mixed intent to either develop the site under the prevailing M3 Heavy Industrial District as a bus depot and service facility, or alternatively to work with the. City towards the re-designation of the site for high-density residential uses. As neither a bus depot nor high-density residential uses were considered supportable on the subject site, the City initiated a Rezoning Application (Rezoning Reference #08-10)in line with the intent of the previous rezoning application (Rezoning Reference #07-24), and advanced it to a Public Hearing and Second Reading. In 2012, the Planning Department was approached by Open Road Auto Group who wished to purchase the site with the intent of completing the mixed office, retail and automobile showroom concept brought forward in 2007, and has retained the original architect to work with the City towards the preparation of a suitable plan of development. Subsequent to discussions with the Department, the site was purchased by Open Road Auto Group and the subject rezoning application was submitted.

A key gateway into Burnaby from Vancouver, the subject site is located adjacent to the Brentwood Town Center plan area, separated by the Horne Payne BC Hydro Substation. It should be noted that the OCP recognizes the need to provide for a diverse range of development opportunities, in part, by encouraging and guiding the transition of key sites that are no longer conducive to continued industrial use, and where compelling community benefits are realized through more intensive development for other purposes. Supportive of this direction, the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth strategy designates the subject site as Mixed-Employment, which is intended for industrial, commercial and other employment related uses to help meet the needs of the regional economy. The intent behind this regional land use designation is to continue to support industrial activities, and complement the planned function of urban centres and frequent transit development areas.  Given the subject site's location adjacent to the growing Brentwood Town 'centre, its proximity to SkyTrain service and increasing pressures for more efficient use of urban land, the development of the subject site for office, light-industrial and commercial uses is considered appropriate within the policy context ofthe City's OCP and the Regional Growth Strategy.

The subject property is located at the northeast comer of Lougheed Highway and Boundary Road, and is currently being used for car storage. The subject property was formerly part of 3700 Second Avenue owned by Fortis BC. The property was subdivided in 2004 (Subdivision Reference #04-05) which created the 7.44 acre subject lot. To the north of the subject site is the remainder portion of the Fortis BC site and an industrial area further north, beyond Second Avenue. To the east is the BC Hydro Horne Payne substation. To the south across Lougheed Highway is Bridge Business Park, which is predominantly comprised of offices and office/warehousing, movie studio space and accessory commercial uses. To the west, across Boundary Road in Vancouver, is a mix of light industrial and commercially- oriented uses including offices and automobile dealerships. Vehicular access to the subject site is currently available to the site from Lougheed Highway.

The proposed development plan is for a phased development consisting of two to three high- end automobile dealerships; a 4-storey fully enclosed and glazed structured car storage . building, and an 8-storey office building with underground parking and grade level commercial/restaurant uses. It is proposed that the two initial automotive dealerships be pursued as part of the first phase of development followed by the office building and car storage building as a second phase. The undeveloped second phase will be suitably landscaped until development advances; with a restriction on interim car storage. A further future phase of development at the southeast comer of the site may be pursued under a separate rezoning application for an additional automobile dealership, office and retail building. Upon completion of the development, surface parking will be limited to patrons, . with only a select number of display vehicles located at giade. All other display vehicles will be located within the dealership buildings themselves. Vehicles awaiting servicing will also be stored within the dealership buildings, with access to screened roof parking by way of internal car lifts and ramps. As noted, the car storage building will be fully enclosed and glazed, with vehicles not being visible from adjacent streets. The maximum density permitted for the site upon build-out is 2.4 FAR reflective of the maximum density under the M2 General Industrial District. As part of the first phase of development, the density being pursued is 0.77 FAR.

To complement the built form, a progressive landscape treatment is proposed for the bounding streets including separated bicycle and pedestrian facilities on Lougheed Highway, complete with Rainwater Management Amenities (RMAs), to help soften the urban environment. Substantial on-site landscaping is also proposed including a treed buffer to the industrial properties to the north and northeast, a landscaped front yard along Lougheed Highway, a public plaza with specialized paving and landscaping at the base of the office. building fronting Boundary Road, landscaped islands and specialized paving within designated parking areas.

As part of this substantial development a public art contribution is required. Given the development's prominent location at Lougheed Highway and Boundary Road, which is a major gateway into the City of Burnaby, it is proposed that a "Welcome. to Burnaby" monument sign and landscape feature be provided as the public art component for the development.

Future Brentwood area school

With the expected increase of the population brought on by massive high density developments in the Brentwood area, the population of school-aged kids is also expected to grow and create demand for more school space.  The recently re-elected MLA, Richard Lee has expressed his desire to see a new elementary school built somewhere south of Lougheed Hwy.

Burnaby NewsLeader article below

New Brentwood-area school likely at least five years away: district

By Wanda Chow - Burnaby NewsLeader
Published: May 28, 2013 11:00 AM

The fact a new elementary school in the Brentwood area is on local MLA Richard Lee's priority list is music to the ears of Burnaby school district.

For a number of years, the district has put forward a request to the education ministry for just such a school in its five-year capital plans, said its secretary-treasurer Greg Frank.

In a recent interview, Lee, the newly re-elected BC Liberal MLA for Burnaby North, said he'd like to see a school built to serve families living in the highrise towers already built or planned over the coming years.

Calling it his "dream project," he said he plans to advocate for it if it proves warranted.

"We're very pleased that this is a priority for him," Frank said of Lee. "We look forward to working with him in terms of having this project approved."

There is a growing community of highrises south of Lougheed Highway both east and west of Willingdon Avenue, and Shape Properties is working towards a major redevelopment of the Brentwood Town Centre mall property that will also include several residential towers.

Brentwood Park elementary is the closest existing school near Lougheed and Willingdon and it's "already beyond capacity," Frank said.

It currently has 460 students while the ideal capacity—where portables would not be needed—is 400, he said.

The district would like a new area school with enough space initially for 240 students. Such a project is estimated to cost $15 million to $20 million in total for purchase of the land and construction, he said.

As for the location of the school, Frank said Burnaby city hall's community plans for  the area have identified potential locations amid the developments just south of Lougheed and just east of Willingdon.

"No site has been purchased but within the city's development plans it does identify an area for additional park space and school space."

The district is still a long way from looking at a potential catchment area, Frank said.

While it all depends on what the provincial government's priorities are, once such a project is approved it's typically a three- to four-year process before it would be completed, he said.

"Because we don't have a project yet approved, I would suspect we're looking at a five-year window depending on how quickly it actually is approved."

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

twitter.com/WandaChow

Area plan needed for south of Dawson

The following article in the Burnaby NewsLeader highlights difficulties that developers may face when seeking approval of rezoning applications for property owned in and around Brentwood.  In this case, it's not an issue of conflict with an existing community plan but rather an issue with the fact that a community plan currently does not exist.  The area in question is the land located south of Dawson Ave between Willingdon and Beta on Alpha Avenue.

The City of Burnaby needs to develop a plan for the area in question and give prospective developers a definitive guideline for their plans and create more interest in the Brentwood area.

Stuck in redevelopment limbo near Brentwood

By Wanda Chow - Burnaby NewsLeader

Published: April 23, 2013 11:00 AM

Wiinton Williams will likely one day get a nice windfall from the sale of a property he owns in the Brentwood area.  

Today, though, his industrial property has a breathtaking property tax bill based solely on its development potential. 

If only he could develop it.  For now, with the taxes so high, he’s having trouble just leasing out the place. Williams says he can’t redevelop his property and sell it for what it could be worth because Burnaby city hall has been slow to come up with an area plan.

Since 1993, his company, Vernon-based Sako Pacific Properties Ltd. has owned the property at 2450 Alpha Ave. in Burnaby where it also owned and operated Universal Concrete Accessories, a business that first opened there in 1970. Starting in 1995, Burnaby city hall started sending Williams’ company notices about redevelopment plans for the Brentwood area, including the industrial lands south of Dawson Street where Sako’s property is located. Williams said since then, his property taxes have soared from about $17,000 in 1995 to an expected $70,000 this year.

Seeing the writing on the wall, he started working with a developer several years back and has spent about $70,000 on site investigations necessary for any redevelopment. But while Burnaby city hall has indicated for years that redevelopment is on the horizon for the area, the planning department has yet to complete a plan for the area south of Dawson to allow any such transformation to begin. 

To make matters worse, when Sako sold its Universal Concrete business it continued to lease the property to its new owners. The business’ owners just vacated the site a couple months ago, relocating to an area with lower property tax costs.  Williams said he found two possible tenants in the film industry, but they decided to look elsewhere when they found out Sako planned to redevelop in the next few years and that the property taxes they’d be expected to help pay were high.

“We’re stuck in limbo, we can’t sell it, we can’t rent it, all we can do is click off 25 grand a month,” said Williams.  About eight years ago when the taxes went up to $32,000, Williams spoke to B.C. Assessment Authority and explained the land is zoned industrial, it’s being used for industrial so it should be paying industrial-level taxes.

“They said, ‘yeah, but it’s going to be high density and then it’s going to be worth a lot more.’”  Williams replied, “When it is high density then it will be worth a lot more, just like you actually have to win the lottery before [you can benefit].”

Sako has yet to appeal its assessment and while they’ve missed this year’s deadline, Williams said they may do so in future. He recently wrote to Burnaby’s community development committee describing his company’s predicament.

Coun. Colleen Jordan, chair of the committee, said the city’s master plan for the area bounded by Dawson and the railway tracks and Gilmore and Holdom avenues, “is kind of up in the air.”   Even in the late 1990s it was designated for redevelopment but the form and type was never defined by city hall, Jordan explained.

A property on the western section of the area was rezoned several years back for highrises but council decided to put any further applications on hold until a plan could be developed.

One of the issues to be determined is whether some areas are suitable for highrises since some of the land is peat bog.  “You have to consider whether or not stuff is going to sink,” she said.  As it stands currently, property owners could apply to rezone “but we would say no.”  Jordan said she sympathizes with the situation Williams and others in the area find themselves.  “We appreciate that so we’re just asking our staff how much work it would take to get this on the table and moving forward,” she said, noting staff already have their plates full doing similar work for other areas of the city.

Jordan hopes the planning work for the area south of Dawson will be completed by the end of the year.  Kash Kang, B.C. Assessment Authority’s area assessor for the North Fraser region, said Brentwood town centre is a “really good example” of such situations which are not unusual for urban areas in transition.

Kang stressed that property assessments are based on market value and take into account what similar properties in neighbourhoods have sold for recently.  The market will discount properties if there are constraints, such as the fact redevelopment is not yet able to go ahead. But if land is at the stage where it could be rezoned, its value would be “substantially higher,” he noted.

“There’s a distinction between what somebody could do with it if it’s already rezoned versus something that has a horizon that’s possibly three to five years out.”   Kang said similar situations have occurred in Richmond since the Canada Line has gone through there, and will likely also occur with the Evergreen Line out to the Tri-Cities.

He said property owners could appeal their assessments if they believe they’re higher or lower than those given to similar properties in a similar situation.  As for Williams, he said he’s been “pleasantly surprised” by the responsiveness of city hall staff and council.  “While we feel a little hard done by it’s not really anybody’s fault.”

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

Grocery store envisioned for Beta and Lougheed

I've heard from different sources that a food store on the corner of Beta Ave and Lougheed Hwy will be a part of Phase 2 of the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment.  The arrival of this grocery store will result in 3 supermarkets along a 3 block stretch of Lougheed Hwy.  A Save-On-Foods is located at Madison and Lougheed and a Whole Foods will be located at Rosser and Lougheed where Phase 1 of the Solo District development is currently underway.

No Frills recently backed out of its plan to open a store at the Greystone Plaza next to Burnaby Mountain Golf Course.  According to the Burnaby NewsLeader article below, a SuperValu store is set to open there instead on May 22.

An explanation for No Frills backing out of Greystone might be that  it has plans to open in the Brentwood Town Centre but this has not been confirmed.  A No-Frills store might be a good counter-balance to the pricier Whole Foods and Save-On-Foods stores.

 

Supermarket set to return to North Burnaby location

By Wanda Chow - Burnaby NewsLeader
Published: May 14, 2013 11:00 AM

Mike Belich could be the most popular guy in North Burnaby.

As the franchisee of a new SuperValu store set to open in Greystone Plaza May 22, all he has to do is show his face and he's got area residents wanting to talk to him.

"I stand out here, the people queue up to talk to me," said Belich, who grew up in East Vancouver and now lives in Chilliwack. "They wait for me to come out and then ask questions."

And while Belich has been busy inside in recent weeks setting up the store, "I'm pretty sure every person in this neighbourhood for a mile around has peeked in the window."

Indeed, while he talks with a NewsLeader reporter outside, a man gets out of his car and shouts across the parking lot, "It's about time. We've been waiting two years for this place to open!"

After a quick friendly chat with Belich, the man turns to his father and tells him to "say goodbye" to the supermarket where he's been shopping in the meantime.

It appears customers at the location, on the corner of Burnwood and Greystone drives near Burnaby Mountain Golf Course, are a loyal bunch.

Ever since the former Marketplace IGA closed in that location in November 2011, the NewsLeader has received periodic calls and emails from area residents wondering when a new grocery store would be opening.

At first Loblaw Companies Ltd. said it planned to open a No Frills store there but by the summer of 2012, it was to be a SuperValu "due to a change in the strategy of the business," the company said at the time.

With many seniors living nearby without easy access to transportation, the location provided a convenient place to shop. Area resident Allison Johns said in an interview a year ago that the IGA also served as a community gathering place.

That's just the sort of store Belich hopes to create.

A second-generation grocer, Belich grew up in the business and is a meatcutter by trade. He's been in the business for 40 years and has also owned the Supervalu franchise in Deep Cove for the past 12 years.

The new store will target customers who like to shop for fresh groceries daily and will feature organic and natural products, along with meat, deli and bakery departments and a selection of items from Loblaws' brands, such as Presidents' Choice. "We want people to tell us what they want," he said.

He believes the lengthy closure of the location was due to construction delays before he got involved as the franchisee.

Some of the former staff of the IGA will be back and led by manager Michelle who has worked with Belich off and on for the past four decades.

At 14,000 square feet, the store will be known as Greystone SuperValue and be open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Belich aims to offer "real personalized service," including home deliveries and phone-in orders, and be a place where people can grab a sandwich and coffee in an environment where staff know them by name.

"I'd like it to be a little place where you can pop your head in and say 'how's it going?'"

Greystone SuperValu, at 1601 Burnwood Drive, will open Wednesday, May 22 at 8 a.m.

wchow@burnabynewsleader.com

twitter.com/WandaChow

More roadwork at Douglas and Still Creek

Burnaby Council has approved more road improvements for Douglas Rd and Still Creek Ave (Engineering Agreement E-14 2009).  This is a continuation of previous work that saw the widening of Douglas Road between Goring and Still Creek Avenues.  The next phase will see the widening of Still Creek Avenue between Douglas Ave and Westminster Ave.

Once work begins, expect delays to be exacerbated by the scheduled trains that cross at Douglas Rd as was the case with the first phase.

Aviara site excavation underway

Ledingham McAllister's Aviara project at Douglas Road and Halifax Street is underway as the site excavation nears completion and cranes have been installed to begin construction.  The sleek-looking site office is located on Gilmore Ave.

Another 4 years of Richard Lee

After an election in which only 52% of eligible voters even bothered to show to vote in, Richard Lee will hold the seat for Burnaby North for 4 more years as he was re-elected for a fourth term.  As has been the case for the past 12 years, we should expect more of the same which is a lame MLA that makes no effort to represent Burnaby North's interests.  Stay tuned on Twitter to see his hobnobbing exploits at gala and special event photo ops all year for 4 years.   Better luck next time to his opponents.