Four more towers are being proposed for the Brentwood Town Centre area of Burnaby in two separate rezoning applications that went to Burnaby City Council this week for first reading. They are:

2242 Alpha Avenue

This project is being built by Monark Group, who bought the site in February 2015 for $6,750,000. The plan for the 41,574 SF, M2 zoned site is for a high-rise residential tower atop a 4-storey above-grade parking podium and some underground parking. The above-ground parking is required due to groundwater conditions in the area. The anticipated density is 3.6 FAR under the RM4s designation.

2425 Beta Avenue

This site is located on the West side of Beta Avenue between Dawson Street and the BNSF rail line, and is being developed by Thind Properties, who acquired it in 2013 for $31,500,000. The plan for the 201,247 SF, M2 zoned site includes three highrise residential towers atop a 4-storey parking podium. It is similarly seeking a 3.6 FAR density designation under the RM4s guidelines. The plan includes a 30 metre dedication to extend Alaska Street.

Ledingham McAllister is moving forward with a rezoning application to develop a 59,244 SF site at 5415 Lougheed Highway in the Brentwood area of Burnaby with a four-storey apartment building with three-storey townhouses fronting Broadway and Lougheed Highway. Plans include:

• 101 condo units
• a total density of 1.50 FAR
• 32 one-bedroom units and 69 two-bedroom units
• 123 underground parking spaces
• $3,022,760 CAC ($130 per buildable SF x 0.4 FAR town centre bonus)

Based on the overwhelming success of sales of its first two towers, and with almost all of the 850 units in Brentwood ONE and Brentwood TWO towers having now sold out, Shape Properties is seeking Burnaby City Council approval for a third phase, comprising a further 526 units in a new 51-storey tower on the Lougheed Highway frontage. Details include:

• 429,578 SF of residential space
• 29,195 SF of retail space
• 46,587 SF of office space on floors 2-4
• 317 one-bedroom units and 209 two and three bedroom units
• 579 underground parking spaces
• A total community amenity contribution of $11,987,000 (or $80 per BSF)

When completed, this third tower will bring the total unit count at Brentwood Town Centre up to 1,366 units, about a third of the total overall units planned for the site.

The draft concept plan for Burnaby’s Lougheed Town Centre will be going to City Council for their endorsement. Over the past year, City staff have developed preliminary concepts for the redevelopment of the Lougheed Mall site, owned by Shape properties, as well as the surrounding area. This master planning process follows along the lines of the Brentwood Town Centre area planning that also included Shape’s Brentwood Mall property. The arrival of the Evergreen Line next year provided the impetus for a new high density transit-oriented development in this location.

The Lougheed Town Centre Core Area is defined as the 72 acres bordered by North Road to the east, Lougheed Highway to the South, Bartlett Court to the West and Cameron Street to the North.

The Plan is quite ambitious as it seeks to to create a vibrant new retail strip on Austin Road with 7-storey podiums; a new North-South grand promenade with 6-storey podiums and highrise residential towers; a revitalized North Road with higher densities; a new East-West connector called “Cross Creek”; transitional areas for both Cameron Street and Bartlett Court.

Relevant development and potential zoning details include:

• Overall residential density of 5.0 FAR for all development sites (excluding Cameron St. which is 3.6 FAR)
• Total eventual density of 12.2 Million SF
• Residential towers up to 60-storeys in height
• Potential for 6.0 FAR density for commercial space (or 14.9 Million SF)
• Five new major public open spaces including a 1.6 acre park
• CAC’s including cash contributions and replacement of Cameron Rec Centre and Cameron Library
• New internal road, bike path and pedestrian network

Overall Draft Concept Plan

Proposed Building Heights

As reported on this site, a prime piece of real estate was sold in Metrotown a couple of weeks ago, and now a proposal for the site by Belford Properties is seeking City of Burnaby Council approval to move to public hearing. The site is currently zoned RM-3 and improved with two walk-up apartment buildings. The proposal is to rezone the site for high-density development utilizing the RM-5s designation. Details include:

• Two highrise towers (41-storeys on Beresford and 26-storeys to the South)
• Low-rise townhouse, retail, childcare and strata office components
• 479 residential units
• Total density of 6.36 FAR (5.0 FAR residential, 1.36 FAR commercial/institutional)
• 731 parking stalls