A rezoning application has been submitted for the Lakewood Multicultural United Church site a the Northeast corner of East 12th Avenue and Semlin Drive in the Grandview Woodland area of East Vancouver.

The Church is located just South of the Skytrain line on a 31,381 SF irregularly shaped site. The property was redesignated for medium density development under the Grandview Woodland Community Plan.

The plan for the site is a mixed-use building with a new church and a 6-storey residential building. The project will be 100% rental housing project is developed in partnership with BC Housing to be owned and operated by BCUCC. A minimum of 30% of these homes will be permanently secured as affordable housing, to be occupied by households with incomes below the Housing Income Limits (HILS) at a rent tied to household income. Details include:

• 104 rental apartment units (30% as Affordable Housing, 70% as market);
• 7,415 SF of church space at grade;
• a total density of 2.47 FSR;
• a building height of 65 ft.; and
• 43 underground parking stalls and 224 bike spaces.

The application describes the rezoning rationale: ” Our design proposal is a carefully considered response to the neighbouring context with a mind to Passive House principles. The following are key factors in determining the design of the building:

• Situating the Church along E 12th Avenue to allow for a greater Church presence and visibility along the building’s most public face;
• Allowing the landscaped courtyard to act as a buffer between our new development and the Lakewood Terrace Co-op;
• Stepping down the building form along the north edge of Semlin Drive as transitional massing to lower density buildings towards the north;
• Providing a highly articulated facade in the form of articulated balconies and sunshading devices aligned with Passive House Design Principles;
• Increasing occupant access to green space via outdoor amenity space.”

The application is being considered under the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

The architect for the project is Shape Architecture.

Beedie has submitted a rezoning application to the City of Burnaby for a two acre site at 3133 Sumner Avenue. The site is located between Canada Way and Highway 1, just East of Gilmore and across the street from the Grand Villa Casino.

The site is currently zoned M1 but the rezoning seeks a designation based on the M2 General Industrial District, M5 Light Industrial District and C1 Neighbourhood Commercial District. The site is in the OCP for “Business Centre Development”.

The site is currently improved with an older industrial building.

The rezoning plan is to permit the construction of a 5-storey light industrial and office building with a small retail component. Details include:

• 111,779 SF of office space;
• 58,488 SF manufacturing/industrial space;
• 2,577 SF of retail space;
• 495 parking spaces;
• a total density of 1.98 FAR.

The development concept includes “extensive glazing and architectural character. The first two floors provide a number of flexible, high-volume, industrial spaces with some common amenities on the ground floor. A ground floor commercial/restaurant space is also proposed, which would provide a commercial amenity to the area. The top three floors provide for office spaces.”

The architect for the project is Taylor Kurtz.

Aoyuan International has submitted the rezoning application to develop the conceptual master plan for their 9 acre site in the Brentwood Town Centre area of Burnaby.

The site, entitled ‘the Grove’, is located at the Southeast corner of Willingdon Avenue and Dawson Street. Aoyuan acquired the site, which consists of seven parcels currently improved with older industrial buildings, in 2017 for $152,000,000.

The master plan for the site establishes general built form, maximum building heights, development densities, permitted uses, public open space requirements, and proposed subdivision and phasing pattern. A further site specific rezoning application for Phase I will come at a future date.

The overall highlights of the master plan include:

• 5 condo towers ranging from 36 to 51-storeys in height;
• 4 lowrise affordable rental buildings of 6-storeys;
• a new 1.14 acre City park;
• retail and restaurant space;
• four development phases;
• An overall max density of 2,206,557 SF;
• 20% inclusionary rental units at 20% below CMHC average per new Rental Use Policy.

The application describes the concept: “the Grove is a pedestrian-oriented community that reflects the strong urban design principles and an urban form unique in the City. At its heart is a new City park framed by a mix of buildings with a variety of uses that all contribute to an energetic heart for the community. The park is to be connected to the Dawson High Street via a central north-south pedestrian linkage that bisects the entire site from Alaska Street to Dawson Street. From east to west, Alpha Avenue will be connected to the mix of residential and commercial retail / restaurant uses on Willingdon Avenue, via an extension of Juneau Street through the site.”

The City of Burnaby’s recently adopted Rental Use Zoning Policy requires 20% of the proposed strata units as affordable rental housing. This provides 0.85 FAR offset density available under the RM4s District.

The maximum density outlined above equates to 8.35 FAR, which includes 3.6 FAR (RM4s), 1.7 FAR (RM4r), 0.85 FAR (offset), and 2.2 FAR (C9 – Commercial) subject to Council approval and individual rezoning applications for each phase.