Beedie Living has submitted a rezoning and development permit application to the City of Coquitlam for the Safeway site at 1029-1033 Austin Avenue. The application seeks to permit the development of two residential towers integrated with the Safeway store currently under construction.

The 2.27 acre site is currently partly under development for a new Safeway store with a scheduled opening of Summer 2019. The recently approved Austin Heights Neighbourhood Plan allows redevelopment of the site. The concept is for two towers to flank the new Safeway store, built in two phases.

The proposal calls for:

• Two residential highrises of 26 and 27-storeys in height;
• 356 total condo units;
• 167 one-bedrooms, 153 two-bedrooms, 32 three-bedrooms and 4 four-bedrooms;
• 10 units of non-market housing;
• a total density of 3.97 FAR;
• 741 underground parking spaces (including currently contemplated Safeway spaces).
• A density bonus funds payment of $5,180,000.

The architect for the project is Chris Dikeakos Architects.

Beedie Living is proposing changes to its proposed development on the 89 acre ‘Fraser Mills’ site in Southwest Coquitlam, branded the Village at Fraser Mills.

The project, one of Metro Vancouver’s largest ever master planned communities, was approved nearly a decade ago when the City of Coquitlam approved a master plan including up to 3,700 residential units. In the years that followed, there has been very little development of the site, with only three industrial buildings having gone under construction more recently.

Beedie has now applied to the City to revise the overall plan for the site, citing “changing market conditions over the past nine years”.

Key changes being proposed include:

• Adding 1,000 residential units (up to 4,700)
• Increasing the number of towers from 10 to 15;
• Increasing tower heights up to 41-storeys;
• Increase in total density from 4,062,430 SF to 4,757,000 SF;
• Expanding the plan area to include vacant 4.8 acre Air Care site;
• Addition of a 40,000 SF public community centre with aquatics;
• Reducing the industrial space by 250,000 SF;
• Reducing the proposed retail space by 50,000 SF;
• Replacing the post-secondary use with a 4-storey strata office building;
• Retaining the Kiewit Wharf as a public amenity;
• Removing the elementary school use;
• Reduction in number of project phases from 16 to 9.

Should council endorse staff’s recommendation to move forward to the next phase, the proposed changes would go through further planning and another round of public consultation before the development is fully approved.

Further details regarding the application can be viewed here: http://www.coquitlam.ca/docs/default-source/council-agenda-documents/councilincommittee_2017_10_23_-_item_6.pdf?sfvrsn=2

A number of rezoning applications head to Burnaby City Council this week. Below is a brief summary of some of the larger projects planned.

4460-4482 Juneau Street

Solterra owns this three-lot assembly of older M1 zoned industrial buildings along Willingdon Avenue at Juneau Street in the Brentwood area. The plan for the site is a 25-storey tower with townhouses under the RM-4s designation. There is a 23-storey tower just across Juneau Street at second reading.

6525-6585 Sussex Avenue

The plan for this 57,116 SF Metrotown site at Sussex and Beresford is for a mixed-use high-rise and low-rise market residential apartment building including retail and office uses. The project will also include a separate non-market housing building developed in conjunction with B.C. Housing. The proposed density is 5.0 FAR per the RM-5s and C2 guidelines. The site was acquired by Thind Properties in May 2016 for $32,680,000.

7422-7470 Buller Avenue

This 132,000 SF site is currently occupied by a multi-tenant warehouse building and is located next to a section of former rail line in the Royal Oak area. The site is designated for medium-density residential development, and the application is for a mix of stacked-townhouses and traditional townhomes with full underground parking to a density of 1.1 FAR.

5180 Lougheed Highway

Another highrise condo tower is being planned for the Brentwood area; this one at the corner of Lougheed Highway and Springer Street. The 51,204 SF site is currently occupied by two older industrial buildings owned by Beedie Living. The plan calls for a 269,000 SF tower with 250 to 300 residential units. The concept includes “breaks” throughout the building to add visual interest to the massing and scale of the tower.