A rezoning application has been submitted for a 12,011 SF site in the Norquay Village area of East Vancouver. The site consists of three single family lots located at 2312-2328 Galt Street. It is currently zoned RS-1 single family and is being proposed for a 4-storey apartment building. It is located in an area of the Norquay Village Plan that is considered an apartment transition area. The proposal includes:

• 28 secured market rental units;
• a density of 2.25 FSR
• a building height of 41.5 ft.
• 24 underground parking spaces.

This application is being considered under the Norquay Village Apartment Transition Area Rezoning Policy and the Secured Market Rental Housing (Rental 100) Program.

With nine ‘SOLD’ signs in a row prominently featured on Granville Street, this has hardly been kept a secret, but the nine lots listed by Michelle Yu of RE/MAX on the West side of Granville Street have sold. While only 7 of the 9 lots appear to have completed already for a purchase price of $22,100,000, it is likely that the total assembly will approach the asking price of $33,640,660. The buyer is Hui Xiang International Realty Developments Ltd.

The site covers a 612.75 ft, two-block stretch of Granville Street from West 45th to West 47th Avenue. The lots are presently zoned RS-3 and the brochure describes “potential rezoning for multifamily”.

Exterior work on Bentall/bcIMC’s 745 Thurlow project appears to be nearing completion.

Photo by 604 City on Flickr

Pennyfarthing Developments has applied to rezone a 22,166 SF site at Northeast corner of Cambie and West 26th Avenue. The plan for 4162-4188 Cambie Street is to rezone from RS-1 to CD-1 for a 6-storey condo building that includes:

• 56 units
• a building height of 64 ft. from grade
• a density of 2.56 FSR
• 66 underground parking spaces

Ledingham Mcallister is in the latter stages of rezoning approval for it’s second Aviara tower in the Brentwood are of Burnaby. Originally conceived as a 52-storey tower for which they received second reading in 2013, this second phase of the project has now been scaled back to 42-storeys, with 4-6 storeys fronting Gilmore Avenue and Douglas Road.

The report to council explains the change:

“Through this design work it became apparent to the applicant that the structure required to support the specific building form for the proposed 52 storey building would be inefficient and uneconomical. As a result, the applicant has redesigned the tower and reduced its height to 42 storeys, with a reduced development density. Given the change in form and density of the tower, the rezoning is required to be forwarded to a new Public Hearing.”

The previous proposal had 595 units in a 5.0 FAR density. The new proposal has 520 units and 4.41 FAR. There is a community amenity contribution of $73 per buildable SF, or $11,027,061.

This is not the first Burnaby highrise development that has not pursued maximum allowable height upon rezoning. The tallest towers at Station Square in Metrotown were also scaled down in 2014 after initially proposing towers as tall as 57-storeys (all towers are reportedly less than 50-storeys now). Shape Properties’ Amazing Brentwood project is envisioned as two 56-storey towers despite preliminary approval to go as high as 70-storeys.

These cases in Burnaby are an interesting contrast to the City of Vancouver, where taller buildings are more economically viable due to higher residential sales values for view units higher up in towers. In Vancouver however, building height limits are vigorously enforced by the City, particularly downtown where view cones now restrict heights on all but a few remaining sites.