Tallest tower coming to Gilmore Place

Western Canada's tallest residential tower appears to be coming to Onni's Gilmore place.  According to the article below, the first 3 towers of Phase One will include the tallest residential tower west of Toronto at 65 stories and the other 2 will stand at 55 stories.

Article and Video from Urban YVR below

Tallest residential tower in Western Canada coming to Gilmore Place

Development will bring 2,000 new homes to Gilmore SkyTrain station

March 25, 2017

A massive new development with the tallest residential tower in Western Canada is set to transform a Burnaby intersection and SkyTrain station.

Onni has begun marketing the highly-anticipated Gilmore Place, a 10-tower residential, office and retail development around the Gilmore SkyTrain station on the Millennium Line.

Phase one will include three residential towers, with the tallest “signature” tower around 65 storeys tall, making it the tallest residential tower west of Toronto. The two other towers in phase one will be around 55 storeys tall.

The signature tower will be taller than the Trump Tower, Shangri-La and upcoming Burrard Place towers in downtown Vancouver.

100,000 sq. ft. of commercial space is also proposed in the first phase, as well as an yet-to-be-determined amount of office space.

Gilmore Place will be integrated with the SkyTrain station, featuring public plazas and retail surrounding the rapid transit station.

In total, four phases are proposed at Gilmore Place, with towers in phases one, two and three between 35 and 50 storeys, as well as 500,000 sq. ft. of office space and 185,000 sq. ft. of retail.

The development is targeting a LEED Gold certification, according to City of Burnaby documents. The development’s architects are IBI Group.

The developer, Onni, describes the Gilmore Place development as follows:

Gilmore Place: a master-planned community that will transform Burnaby’s western gateway into an incredible urban hub for residents and visitors alike. Featuring Western Canada’s tallest residential tower, the seamlessly-integrated Gilmore SkyTrain Station, world-class shopping and entertainment, convenient office space and luxurious residential towers, Gilmore Place will redefine metropolitan living in one of Burnaby’s most up-and-coming neighbourhoods, Brentwood. Live above your own city centre, with stunning panoramic views, contemporary finishes, and unrivalled amenity spaces exclusive to residents.

The Brentwood area of North Burnaby is transforming, with redevelopment of the Brentwood Town Centre shopping mall by Shape Properties. When complete, “The Amazing Brentwood” will be home to 10 new towers up to 60 storeys tall, as well as a new outdoor shopping mall integrated with the SkyTrain station.

Complete build-out of the Gilmore Place development is expected to take up to 15 years.

Scariest spot to stand; Beta and Lougheed

As the photos and following video show, the most dangerous spot for pedestrians is the island on the northwest corner of Beta Ave and Lougheed Hwy.  Pedestrians wishing to cross from or to there are essentially offered no protection from unsafely driven vehicles.  I myself alone have witnessed several  near collisions of vehicles into the island and nothing prevents vehicles from going right through the island and killing anyone unfortunate enough to be standing there.

The photos below show broken parts of a vehicle that probably collided into the light or sign post there.

The only real solution to this hazard is the placement of short, evenly-spaced steel posts along the perimeter of the island with enough space for wheelchair access. The barriers may not prevent flying car parts from injuring pedestrians but would certainly prevent pedestrians from being run over by a car.

If you don't believe me, watch the video below of what happened during the heavy snow and icy conditions.

Vancitybuzz provides some vague details on Amazing Brentwood

Although it has nearly sold out the first 3 towers of its redevelopment of Brentwood Mall, Shape Properties has yet to provide any concrete details about new retail or restaurant tenants in the commercial part of the massive transformation at the corner of Lougheed Hwy and Willingdon Ave.

As 2016 progresses, we will hopefully begin to see which stores and restaurants have made the same commitment the condo buyers have made.

Albeit still without concrete details with company names, the vancitybuzz.com article below has been able to get a bit more information than previously made public by Shape Properties.

Brentwood Town Centre to become 'The Amazing Brentwood'

By Helen Siwak

5:07 PM PST, WED JANUARY 20, 2016

Brentwood Town Centre is undergoing a spectacular overhaul that, when completed in the fall of 2018, will make it one of the largest urban destinations in North America. According to Retail-Insider, the first phase of development of the new centre will feature a modern luxury retail zone, fashion anchor stores, new upscale restaurants and a cinema, all in a indoor-outdoor configuration located directly on and around the SkyTrain station.

Currently under construction,The Amazing Brentwood will become one of BC’s largest shopping centres with an excess of 250 stores and restaurants. The property’s master-plan features community gathering places, office space, and 11 residential towers housing 6,000 homes on the 28-acre site.

The existing 500,000 square foot centre will be transformed into a mixed-use super regional shopping centre featuring in excess of 1.1 million square feet of retail space. As many as three large stores may anchor the centre, and landlord Shape Properties confirms that they have been in discussions with four upscale fashion department stores. Discussions continue with a variety of smaller retailers, including a number of luxury brands that are interested in locating in the centre’s new ‘modern luxury zone’.

Not all retail will be luxury focused and the developer is looking to add various lifestyle, aspirational and approachably-priced retailers in the centre, including a number of sports and athleisure focused brands.

The centre will feature four distinct retail areas; ‘Brentwood Interior’, ‘Brentwood Boulevard’, ‘West Mews/Grand Lobby’, and ‘The Plaza’. Each is described below.

Brentwood Interior, the centre’s indoor component, will feature about 100 retailers in over 500,000 square feet of space as well as more than 25 restaurants in 36,000 square feet of space. The mall’s anchor retailers will also be housed in this part of Brentwood Town Centre.

Brentwood Boulevard, an outdoor retail street, will feature 22 retailers in 70,000 square feet of space, as well as two restaurants occupying approximately 10,000 square feet, plus some 4,000 square feet of restaurant patio space. Brentwood Boulevard’s design is inspired by some of the world’s most iconic high streets.

West Mews and Grand Lobby will feature 17,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a further 4,000 square feet for at least six restaurants, excluding approximately 1,500 square feet of patio space. The area will offer one-of-a-kind brands, designer stores, and unique restaurants.

The Plaza will be a one-acre open-air social hub featuring fashion brands mixed with patios, pubs and casual dining. It will feature 15 stores as well as six restaurants spanning over 30,000 square feet, plus 7,100 square feet of patio space and 4,000 square feet of garden rooftops. Also, three of the restaurants at The Plaza will be multi-level, according to plans.

According to Shape Properties’ Executive Vice President, Darren Kwiatkowski, Brentwood will feature considerably more space devoted to restaurants than is typically found in shopping centres in Canada. This addresses the fact that malls are increasingly becoming social and entertainment destinations, as opposed to being pure retail centres. Brentwood will feature a variety of diverse food options with chef-driven concepts (and some chains) to be included to elevate the food experience.

The Brentwood SkyTrain Station will become an integral component of the centre, and Mr. Kwiatkowski explained that transit ridership is expected to grow substantially as the Lower Mainland continues to densify. Brentwood is also easily accessible by car and its central location means that this development will be able to pull in shoppers from Burnaby as well as Vancouver, Coquitlam, New Westminster, and even North Vancouver via the Second Narrows Bridge.

Brentwood Central Civic Plaza revealed in video

With Phase 1 of the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment preparing to move ahead,  Shape Properties has just released a video rendering of the Central Civic Plaza on YouTube.

The Central Civic Plaza will sit next to Brentwood Town Centre Station at the northeast corner of Willingdon Ave and Lougheed Hwy.

Brentlawn Drive needs stop signs

A common concern that unites proponents and opponents of major high rise developments adjacent to single-family neighbourhoods is the proliferation of automobile traffic.  I've previously pointed out the fact that many drivers already speed through Brentlawn Drive with absolute impunity as I've never seen police authorities place their already under-supported resources on enforcing traffic laws in Brentwood Park.  This problem will become even worse once the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment unfolds over the next 5 - 20 years.

The following video provides a brief glimpse into some of the perils faced by pedestrians at the intersection of Beta Ave and Brentlawn Drive.  This intersection has stop signs on Beta Ave but gives vehicles and pedestrians on Brentlawn Drive the right-of-way.  In the video, many pedestrians crossing the intersection are simply ignored by drivers as if they don't exist.  Many drivers approaching Brentlawn simply ignore the stop sign by rolling right through it even when there are pedestrians at the intersection with the right of way as they are on Brentlawn Drive trying to cross Beta Ave.  A solution to this would be to place stop signs on Brentlawn Drive and to install well marked crosswalks at the intersection.  Significant coloured markings on crosswalks are effective traffic calming measures as drivers are less likely to recklessly encroach onto a well marked, highly visible crossing without concern for public safety.

Brentwood Mall Redevelopment Video

Shape Properties recently released a video depicting how it envisions Brentwood Town Centre after its development is complete.  The video is on YouTube as well as on its own site at Shape Properties.

Feeling that some music would enhance the feel of the video, I decided to add a track to it.  It is a royalty free track, titled CPU and is by Alexander Perls  from his project, Aalborg Soundtracks. Enjoy!

An accident waiting to happen

The disorganized chaos at Beta Ave and Brentlawn Drive has been allowed to continue for years with no initiative being taken to improve safety at the intersection.  The following are factors that contribute to this intersection being an accident waiting to happen.

1) Abnormally aligned intersection. Because Brentlawn Drive changes direction (bends) at Beta, the visibility for drivers trying to cross Brentlawn is very limited as cars coming along Brentlawn are extremely difficult to see until the last moment only after pulling past the stop sign into the middle of the intersection to cross or make a turn.  Likewise, the visibility of cars pulling out from Beta Ave is limited for drivers coming along Brentlawn due to the bend in the street.

2) Brentlawn Dr is a local collector street.  The fact that many drivers use this street to cut through the neighbourhood at unhindered speeds makes this intersection dangerous to cross.  Vehicles approach this intersection at fast speeds and are not required to yield as no stop signs are in place for drivers on Brentlawn Dr.

3) Setback for stop signs on Beta are too great.  When drivers are stopped as per stop sign regulations, they are unable to see if it is clear to cross Brentlawn.  Although a setback is normally good, it is dangerous in this intersection because of the odd shape of this crossing.

4) Speed limit has never been enforced here.  I have never seen a car being pulled over for speeding even though drivers speed through here all day and night (cars are speeding by as I type this).

A major solution to ease the chaos here would be to install a 4-way stop with clearly marked pedestrian crossings between each corner.  The requirement of cars on Brentlawn to stop at Beta will prevent some of the situations seen in the video below.  This video shows some of the incidents that occurred within a 7-hour period during the day and does not show any of the pedestrian difficulties captured on camera.  The kind of stuff in this video happens all day, everyday at Brentlawn and Beta.