The City of White Rock is going through a period of considerable new residential development after a prolonged period of inactivity following the downturn of 2008-2009. At that time, two of White Rock’s tallest towers were being completed – Bosa’s Miramar Village, after which the market for concrete condos in White Rock languished for 3 or 4 years.

More recently, the success of projects such as Cressey’s Beverley project signals strength for new concrete product in White Rock. Beverley is a 13-storey, 89 unit project sold out earlier this year and is now under construction on the Western Edge of White Rock’s town centre area. Newer concrete product is now selling in the $650 – $750 per SF range.

Here is an overview of some more recent projects seeking planning and zoning approval:

1484 Martin Street

This 2.5 acre site was sold by our team in 2015 to Landmark Premiere Properties for $22,000,000. Landmark filed a development application in early 2016 for a new multi-tower project that is now at the Advisory Design Panel.

Details of the project include:

• three residential towers with retail and office space
• tower heights of 25, 25 & 24-storeys
• a total buildable area of 614,043 SF
• 334 residential units
• a total density of 5.74 FSR

The architect for the project is IBI Group.

1454 Oxford Street

This 2.7 acre site in the Everall neighbourhood was originally envisioned for development back in 2014.The project is by Elegant Development Inc. Elegant acquired the site in January 2016 for $14,050,000.

Development details include:

• two residential towers (241 and 21 storeys)
• 121 residential units
• total density of 3.00 FAR
• building heights of 269 feet and 233 feet
• $3,600,000 community amenity contribution
• a 1+ acre portion of the site dedicated as parkland
• 414 underground parking spaces

14809-14815 Thrift Avenue & 1434 Oxford Street

This is a 0.5 acre site located at the corner of Thirft Avenue and Everall Street, just next to the project listed above. It is currently an assembly of three single family lots. The plan for the site includes:

• a 13-storey residential tower
• 17 units
• large two and three bedroom units rangin from 2,178 SF to 3,734 SF
• total density of 2.83 FAR
• 44 underground parking spaces

14825-14835 Thrift Avenue

This site is a two lot assembly adjacent to the site above and is located on the North side of Thrift Avenue between Oxford and Everall Streets. The site is also 0.5 acres in size. The developer is Forge Properties. Plans include:

• a 12-storey residential building
• 33 condo units
• total density of 3.46 FAR
• 87 underground parking spaces
• a community amenity contribution of $350,000

14022-14034 North Bluff Road & 1590 Nichol Road

This is a 0.66 acre site owned by Texor Homes at the southeast corner of North Bluff Road and Nichol Road.

This site has seen several development applications since 2012 including proposal for a 3-storey mixed use building, followed by proposal for a 15-storey building, an 8-storey building and even townhouse use.

The most recent plans include:

• a 5-storey building with a small commercial component
• 51 residential units
• total density of 2.18 FAR
• 107 underground parking spaces

1350 Johnston Road

This proposal comes from Solterra Development for a 35,563 SF site on Johnston Road in the Town Centre area of White Rock.This proposal requires an OCP amendment, rezoning and a development permit.

Plans include:

• a 20-storey tower with a 3-storey commercial podium
• 138 residential units
• 9,528 SF of commercial space
• 300 parking stalls

1516-1556 Finlay Street & 15601-15621 Russel Avenue

This proposal is for a site owned by Oviedo Developments that is an assembly of lots at the corner of Finlay Street and Russell Avenue, also in the town centre area. The proposal will require an OCP amendment and includes:

• a 13-storey tower
• 126 residential units
• 9,262 SF of retail space and 36,546 SF of office space
• a total density of 3.77 FAR
• 337 underground parking spaces

1310 Johnston Road

This is an interesting proposal for a 16,345 SF site at the Northeast corner of Johnston Road and Roper Avenue in the Town Centre area. The proposal requires an OCP amendment and rezoning. The proposal includes:

• a 15-storey tower
• 36 residential units
• 5,998 SF of commercial space
• a total density of 5.50 FAR
• 90 underground parking stalls

15241 Thrift Avenue

Marcon is behind this proposal for a site at the corner of George Street and Thrift Avenue next to the Saltaire development. The site area is 0.61 acres. Details of the proposed project include:

• a 14-storey tower
• 88 residential units
• a total density of 5.40 FAR
• 160 underground parking spaces

1554-1564 Johnston Road & 1563-1565 George Street

PARC Retirement Living has filed a development application for this 0.9 acre site in the Town Centre Area. The plan is for an independent living project that includes the following details:

• a 23-storey tower
• 204 units
• a total density of 5.39 FSR
• 100 parking spaces

The latest rezoning application to emerge along the Cambie Corridor is for a small 7,863 SF single-family corner lot at the Southeast corner of Cambie Street and West 35th Avenue. The site sits adjacent to another large rezoning application to the South, but the site qualifies for a standalone development with 62 feet of frontage.

The plan for 5110 Cambie Street is for a 6-storey residential building with townhouses on the lane. Details include:

• a total of 12 condo units (7 in the building + 5 townhouses)
• 11 three bedroom units and 1 two-bedroom unit
• average unit size of 1,277 SF
• a building height of 66 ft.;
• a building efficiency of 81%;
• a total density of 2.40 FSR; and
• 14 vehicle parking spaces & 18 bicycle spaces on one level of underground parking

The building features one elevator and ‘city style’ townhomes on the bottom two floors, with two units per floor on floors 3-5, and one penthouse unit.

The application is being considered under the Cambie Corridor Plan. The architect for the project is Billiard Architecture.

The lot was acquired in March 2016 for $3,898,000, which equates to $206 per buildable SF.

Pennyfarthing Homes has submitted a rezoning application for a single family lot on the East side of Cambie Street, just South of West King Edward Avenue at 4138 Cambie Street. The plan for the 11,095 SF site is for a 6-storey concrete condo building, including:

• 22 units including 2 townhouses on the lane
• 1 studio unit, 15 two bedroom units & 6 three-bedroom units
• a total density of 2.33 FSR
• a building height of 67 feet
• 25 underground parking spaces on one level

The rezoning is being done under the Cambie Corridor Plan.

Pennyfarthing is enjoying success on projects already underway in the Cambie Corridor including Bennington House on King Edward, The Grayson (which is now sold out and sits directly south of the above mentioned site), and Hawthorne, which is rezoned and soon to be released.

The City of Burnaby has released a draft of the new Metrotown Downtown Plan, to be considered by City Council prior to adoption. The new plan comes after years of anticipation of finalizing planning efforts in Metrotown, which has seen rapid redevelopment following the City’s revision of the four town centre areas several years ago, and the creation of the ‘s’ zoning designation in 2010 that facilitated many of the highrise rezoning applications that have occurred in the past five years.

The Metrotown Plan was originally drafted in 1977 and has been amended many times since. Planning efforts have been ongoing but the formal planning process got underway in the spring of 2016 with a draft report on the proposed changes in the plan area. The new plan seeks to designate Metrotown as the true core of Burnaby’s four town centre areas; essentially calling it Burnaby’s Downtown.

Core principles in the plan include:

1. Creating an Official Downtown
2. Establishing Neighbourhoods and Community
3. Providing Greater Connectivity
4. Enhancing the Public Realm
5. Providing New Amenities

Of primary interest to those in the development industry are the proposed updates and changes to the land uses within the plan area.The changes will create some new density, but more importantly will clarify potential zoning and urban design possibilities in some of the peripheral areas of Metrotown that had been in limbo for several years. The plan also shapes potential large-scale rezonings in the core area for big sites along Kingsway.

The general land use map and zoning designation framework is included below (click for greater detail):

Other highlights:

• high density mixed-use sites will require a minimum site area of 1.5 acres and will require a minimum commercial use of 1:3 per residential uses. (1 commercial SF per 3 residential SF)
• Core downtown sites with RM5s/C3 designation allowing density up to 11.0 FAR
• Large scale sites such as Metropolis at Metrotown, Sears, Old Orchard Shopping Centre and Plaza 5000 will require Master Plans prior to rezoning enactment
• Sites in the Maywood area (south of Beresford), subject of rampant speculation over the past few years, will become a mix of RM5s and RM4s, allowing heights of 12-30 storeys South of Beresford, and 4-storeys along Imperial
• new highrise opportunities North of Kingsway between Boundary and Halley Avenue
• the creation of Central Boulevard as an ‘entertainment and garden street’ with new retail opportunities
• a significant new open space in a redeveloped Metrotown Mall site
• minimum frontage of 200 feet and minimum site area of 24,000 SF for a single tower project
• minimum frontage of 400 feet and minimum site area of 48,000 SF for a two tower project (minimum 80 foot tower separation)
• 6 ft minimum front and side-yard setbacks for commercial/mixed-use developments, and 15 ft front and side-yard setbacks for residential developments
• larger floorplates for residential buildings over 50-storeys only (8,100 SF max floorplate) – office towers exception

The plan does not contain a unique set of community benefit policies. The City of Burnaby’s Community Benefit Bonus Policy would apply to any rezoning being brought forward.

The full draft of the Metrotown Downtown Plan can be downloaded here: https://burnaby.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/?preview=16934

A rezoning application has been submitted to the City of Burnaby for Lougheed Village, a 7.4 acre rental apartment property that is currently improved with two 25-storey concrete high-rise apartment buildings and two 9-storey mid-rise apartment buildings. The site has a total of 528 current rental apartment units.

The property was acquired in December 2015 by Starlight Properties, based in Toronto, for $160 Million. Located within the Lougheed Town Centre Plan area, the property’s value was partially based on the potential to add density, now the subject of a current rezoning application. The rezoning calls to use the RM4s and C1 zones as the basis for a redevelopment that includes four new residential buildings and reconfiguration of some of the existing buildings.

The site fronts Lougheed Highway, but has an address on Erickson Drive.

Details include:

• a new 36-storey rental apartment tower (south tower)
• a new 22-storey rental apartment tower (north tower)
• a new 8-storey rental apartment midrise (“middle lodge”)
• a new 3-storey rental townhouse building
• demolition of the 2nd storey of existing commercial building
• conversion of existing larger penthouse units into 43 new smaller units
• creation of new amenity spaces
• 645 total new rental units
• 1,173 rental units in total
• total density of 3.6 FAR (up from existing 1.88 FAR)

The site sits just one block West of Shape’s large scale mixed-use development “The City of Lougheed” currently in initial stages of development.

If supported at Council, the application will move forward to a more detailed package that would be presented at a public hearing early next year.