The conceptual master plan for the 7.9 acre Grosvenor Brentwood site goes to Burnaby City Council next week.

The site, acquired by Grosvenor in 2020, includes five parcels at Lougheed and Alpha that were formerly occupied by a Chrysler dealership, and are currently being used for a weekend public market and food truck festival. The largest parcel, 4664 Lougheed Highway is occupied by an older office building.

The first step in the planning process for this transit oriented, high density site involves preparation of a Conceptual Master Plan for the site, and Committee and Council consideration of amendments to the prevailing land use framework of the current Brentwood Town Centre Plan.

The preliminary concept is summarized as follows: “The preliminary concept plan for the subject site is comprised of different districts, each with a distinct and unique architectural and landscape expression. These districts are described more fully in Section 3.4 of this report. The site sits at the centre of the Brentwood Town Centre and will become a hub of activity with a variety of open air shopping experiences, cafes and restaurants, office space, and highdensity rental and strata residential opportunities, all designed around new public plazas, and terraced open spaces. These changes will help create a new, high quality, integrated neighbourhood in Burnaby that will be a seamless extension of existing surrounding neighbourhoods.”

The site is envisioned to have multiple phases, broken down into 5 districts, as follows:

The High Street District

• Corner of Alpha and Dawson
• A condo tower between 30-45 storeys, over a podium with 3-storeys of condo and 2-storeys of commercial

Urban Gateway District

• Northwest corner at Alpha and Lougheed, next to Brentwood Station
• Two high-rise market rental towers between 45 to 65 storeys in height, over mid-rises with up to 9 storeys of non-market rental, with retail and flex office at grade

Civic Heart District

• At centre of the site fronting Dawson
• Comprises a community centre and pathways linking the site, described as a multi-story cantilevering structure designed to shelter outdoor areas on the south side and provide open sunny balconies and a sky park over the rest of the structure, with large recreational facilities cut into the grade of the sloping site to provide easy access for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and motorists of all ages and abilities.

Oasis District

• Northeast corner of the site at Lougheed and Beta
• two high-rise market rental towers between 40 to 60 storeys in height, over mid-rises with up to 9 storeys of non-market rental atop retail, flex office and amenity space at the ground level.

Green Link District

• Southeast corner of the site at Beta and Dawson
• Condo tower between 35 to 45 storeys in height, over a 5-storey podium including condo and retail

The total proposed density for the site is 9.0 FAR, or 3,080,000 SF.

The site will be rezoned in multiple phases and utilizes the RM5s and RM5r Multiple Family Residential Districts; commercial utilizing the C3 General Commercial as guidelines and for a community centre utilizing the P3 Park and Public Use.

Below is a breakdown of the permitted and proposed density per the rezoning guidelines:

Virtual open houses will be held on March 16th and 17th.

Project website.

Polygon has submitted a revised formal application to the City of Richmond for permission to rezone a 13.5 acre
site at Cambie Road and Sexsmith Road. An earlier application from 2020 envisioned a similar overall plan, however, a revised proposal includes more affordable housing and more public space.

The assembly acquired by Polygon in 2018 for $147 Million sits on the Eastern edge of Richmond’s City Centre Area.

The proposal for the site, entitled ‘Talisman’, which has gone through a couple of rounds of feedback and revision, in part due to request for tree retention and more rental housing, includes development of a mixed-use, mid-rise and high-rise development consisting of two woodframe lowrise buildings and six concrete highrises. The overall master plan includes:

• 1,014 condo units;
• 156 affordable (low end of market) rental units;
• 171 market rental units;
• 8,438 sq ft of commercial space fronting Capstan;
• 1.23 Million SF of total gross floor area;
• 1.34 acres of new City Park;
• 2.10 acres of public open space.

The site is to be developed in four phases, as follows:

The proposed unit mix is as follows:

The architect for the project is IBI Group.

Strand Development has submitted a rezoning application for the gas station site at the Southwest corner of Arbutus & West 16th in Vancouver. The site at 3205 Arbutus Street is 16,776 SF and currently zoned C-2.

The proposal is a 4-storey rental building that includes:

• 54 market rental units;
  • 12 studios, 23 one-bedrooms, 17 two-bedroom & 2 three-bedrooms;
• 4,274 SF of retail space facing Arbutus;
• A total density of 2.50 FSR;
• rooftop amenity space;
• A building height of 60 ft.;
• 39 car parking spaces and 102 bike parking spaces.

The application is being considered under the Secured Rental Policy

The slope of the site allows parkade access directly into the P1 level and facilitates a mezzanine level of residential units along the lane, while maintaining a 4-storey expression along Arbutus Street.

The project is meant as a “sister” building to the recently completed Kits Walk building located at 2075 West 12th Avenue.

The architect for the project is Yamamoto Architecture.

Polygon has submitted their formal development application for the former Coronation Park Elementary School site that they own on the Western border of Coquitlam, adjacent Port Moody’s municipal boundary.

Polygon acquired the 10-acre site, which includes the former school and an assembly of 7 adjacent single family lots to the South, in 2016. It is designated for high density residential use in the City of Coquitlam’s City Centre Area Plan.

The site is directly East of another major master plan community in the works by Wesgroup, at Coronation Park on the Port Moody side. The site is about 350 metres from Inlet Centre Station.

Polygon’s preliminary proposal for the site includes eight towers in a multi-phased and predominantly residential development. Details of the overall plan include:

• Up to 8 project phases;
• 6 condo towers and 2 market rental towers ranging from approx. 30-50 storeys in height;
• 2,558 total residential units;
  • 1,968 condos;
  • 590 rental units including 98 units below market;
• a total density of 5.22 FAR;
• a one acre public park in the Northwest corner of the site;
• a new north/south road that connects Barnet Highway to Palmer Avenue;
• 3,600 sq ft of retail space in Phase 1;
• a 24,000 sq. ft. standalone amenity building;
• a 6,000 sq. ft. childcare facility (capacity for approximately 37 children) in Phase 4.

The estimated full build out date for the project is 2038.

The application could proceed for consideration of First Reading by council sometime in mid-2022 and may include refinement related to the location of the daycare and the amount of rental housing.

Gryphon Development has applied to the City of Vancouver for permission to develop the former Scotiabank property at 5659 Dunbar Street, a 16,376 SF site at the Northwest corner of Dunbar and West 41st.

The site has been used as a presentation centre by Gryphon since their acquisition of the site in 2017.

The plan for redevelopment of the site is a 5-storey mixed-use building containing retail uses on the first and second floor and condos above, with:

• 25 condo units;
• 4 one-bedrooms, 14 two-bedrooms & 7 three-bedrooms;
• 10,321 sq ft. of retail space;
• a total density of 2.50 FSR;
• A building height of 45.3 ft.;
• Two levels of underground parking providing 48 parking stalls.

Under the site’s existing C-2 zoning(External link), the application is “conditional” so it may be permitted. However, it requires the decision of the Director of Planning.

The architect for the project is IBI Group.

The full development application can be viewed here: https://shapeyourcity.ca/5659-dunbar-st