Sushi Garden: A Place to Eat

Yesterday, craving sushi and not having enough time to eat in, my wife and I decided to try take-out at Sushi Garden at the corner of Lougheed Hwy and Madison Ave. Sushi Garden sits next to the Church's Chicken where, despite the rain, LiWen Tan was unfailingly plying his trade as a shakerboarder for the fast-food chicken outlet.

The food is not only good but well-priced for the budget-conscious sushi lover. Another positive about Sushi Garden is the fact that it is open all day everyday. For those of you that have felt the frustration of craving sushi on a Monday or between 1:00-4:00 pm when most decent sushi restaurants are closed, you know what I am talking about.

Brentwood Intersections: Dawson & Alpha

The intersection at Dawson Ave and Alpha Ave lies just south of Brentwood Station in Burnaby.

The Carter car dealerships that lie south of Brentwood Station occupy most of the large piece of land between Lougheed Hwy to the north, Dawson Ave to the south, Willingdon Ave to the west and Alpha Ave to the east. Although the Carter dealerships have been there for as long as I can remember, they are beginning to look out of place as the area around them begins to be developed into the town centre being planned by the City of Burnaby. With the building of an auto mall on Still Creek Ave just a few blocks south, it would make sense to have the dealerships relocate there to allow for the development of the "Carter Lands". With Brentwood Station situated right next to the site, it is an ideal location for a mixed-use residential and commercial development that would bring both residents and jobs into the area.

Brentwood Intersections: Gilmore and Dawson

On the western edge of Brentwood Town Centre is the neighbourhood around Gilmore Station.

Dawson Ave is beginning to develop into a "village street" as envisioned by the City of Burnaby Planning Department. The street-level businesses along Dawson Ave within 1 block of Gilmore Station now include:

Extreme Pita

Kita Sushi

Starbucks

Quiznos

Taco Del Mar

Dawson Dental Centre

Sun Lounge Tanning Studio

Total Therapy Rehabilitation & Wellness Centre

Trinity Salon & Spa

Enhanced Nutrition

Gold's Gym

Wells Fargo Bank

Gilmore Station (below) is the last station in Burnaby if you are traveling west on the Millennium Line into Vancouver.

Brentwood Intersections: Dawson and Beta

The intersection at Dawson Ave and Beta Ave is relatively new as it came into existence along with the recent building of residences that line the street. Dawson Ave will be extended eastward and connected to Douglas Rd. The extended portion of Dawson will eventually be lined with townhomes and condominiums, creating a residential corridor between the Holdom and Brentwood stations. The new corridor along Dawson Ave, Douglas Rd, and Goring St will allow for easier east-west pedestrian access than currently exists. Just south of this corridor lies the Central Valley Greenway.

Brentwood Intersections: Madison and Lougheed

A SkyTrain car passes overhead at the intersection of Madison Ave and Lougheed Hwy.

Save-On-Foods (below) is the first major grocery store to arrive in the Brentwood core to serve the growing population. Winners is also located in the same Madison Centre complex.

Perspectives changing at Douglas and Lougheed

The 29-story Perspectives high-rise development being built by Ledingham Mcallister at Douglas Rd and Lougheed Hwy has begun the transformation of the area between Beta Ave and the Holdom SkyTrain Station from an industrial to a mixed-use residential and retail, pedestrian oriented neighbourhood. Situated south of Lougheed Hwy across the street from the recently built Brentwood Gate complex (Delta and Lougheed), the Perspectives development will include 8 townhomes on Dawson Ave which will be extended eastward and be connected with Douglas Rd. With Perspectives nearing completion and the site of the Affinity high-rise development by Bosa just having been excavated nearby, the area around Douglas Road will look much different a few years from now.

The Affinity development will consist of a 24-story and 29-story tower and 10 townhomes. According to Bosa's website, the phase 1 tower is more than 90 percent sold. Another project that is to be built by Qualex-Landmark and titled The Luxe is currently on hold. The Luxe project will consist of 2 highrise towers along with townhomes and will be built next to the Perspectives site between Douglas Rd and the Dawson Ave extension.

Along with the extension of Dawson Ave from Yukon Court to link up with Douglas Rd, traffic changes will include the closing off of Douglas Rd to and from Lougheed Hwy. Future plans include the building of a pedestrian overpass from Delta Ave to Douglas Rd to provide safe north-south access for residents on either side of Lougheed Hwy. More mixed-use development will lead to the availability of more local retail and community amenities to serve long-time and new residents.

Major Changes Coming for Brentwood Mall

Early last month, the sale of Brentwood Mall to Shape Properties was announced. In a press release, the new owner has announced that it plans to "revitalize the existing Brentwood mall" and transform the 27-acre site into "a vibrant transit oriented mixed-use central core". On it's website, Shape Properties has listed Brentwood Town Centre as 1 of its 9 current projects with information and details to follow.

This exciting development has the potential to positively transform the unattractive parking lot around the mall into a nice mix of residential, office, and retail space including restaurants and cafes. Although the details of the project have yet to be announced, we can probably expect it to include the construction of multi-level parking to counter the parking space lost to the construction of buildings.

If I had a say in what should be part of the development, my wish list would include the following:

-cinemas (the only reason I ever go to Metrotown)
-Tim Horton's, Waves Coffee or both
-an ethnic food market such as H-Mart or T&T Supermarket
-community policing office to add an element of safety

Hopefully the development will attract some major corporate tenants that will create job growth in the neighbourhood.

Old Canadian Tire Building Demolished

2 days ago, the building at Rosser Ave and Lougheed Hwy that once housed the Canadian Tire store 1 block west of Brentwood Station was demolished and site cleared for a major development titled Vantage. According to the City of Burnaby website, the site addressed as 2085 Rosser Ave will be transformed into a 200-unit residential high-rise (30 stories) and townhouse complex along with a commercial and community amenity. The project is being built by Embassy Development on the opposite corner from the Motif at Citi project currently nearing completion. Embassy Development previously built the Legacy project next to the Holdom Skytrain Station on the eastern edge of Brentwood Town Centre. It will be interesting to see what the community amenity will be.