By Frances Bula

Interesting for me to see the new Burnaby First party trying to ride the anti-development horse there. Burnaby has been building towers for quite a while now, apparently with no backlash from anyone. But I have heard more grumbling about the Brentwood development in the last year than I’d heard the previous decade, so maybe there’s something there.

This is the news release that Burnaby First sent out today

Burnaby First Mayor candidate Daren Hancott & Council candidate Helen Ward plan to speak tonight at the public hearing for the controversial 56-story Brentwood Tower II. It will be held at 7:00 pm in the City Council chambers at 4949 Canada Way.

This hearing will be the one opportunity for the general public to have their say on this project before Burnaby’s current BCA monopoly council votes on whether or not to send this project forward.

The previously-approved Brentwood Tower I has already resulted in the closure of vital public transit infrastructure (the bus loop and related access ramp) making it extremely difficult for mobility-challenged transit riders to access Brentwood Mall shops and SkyTrain ground transit connections.

It has further resulted in significant slow-downs of rush hour traffic along Lougheed Highway at …read moreSource:: Frances Bula

The days are numbered for a popular hangout for Simon Fraser University students after Burnaby council gave the go-ahead for a redevelopment proposal.

Council gave approval in principle to a rezoning application for the property at 7174 Barnet Rd., at Pandora Street, currently home of the Mountain Shadow Pub.

The proposal is for a three-storey, mixed-use project with a small commercial space on the ground floor, 21 stacked townhouse units and underground parking, with vehicle access from Barnet Road.

Four speakers appeared at the June 24 public hearing and city hall received five letters about the proposal, said a city staff report. They raised issues including traffic, the closure of the pub, privacy, existing trees on the site, and vehicle and fire access.

Read more: http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/news/269083941.html

Ledingham McAllister is proposing a 150-unit townhouse and low-rise apartment development for a 152,707 SF site encompassing 12 lots between Cameron Street and Beaverbrook Drive in the Lougheed area of Burnaby. The proposal consists of four individual townhouse buildings separated from each other by landscaped courtyards and pedestrian walkways, with a 3-4 storey apartment component at the corner of Cameron Street and Noel Drive. The total density conforms to the RM-2 guidelines of 0.9 FAR.

Two more residential projects are being proposed for the Brentwood Town Centre area of Burnaby:

1. Brentwood Mall Residential Tower 2

After selling out Tower 1 in a day last month, Shape Properties is pushing ahead with rezoning for Tower 2, which will be nearly identical in height at 53-storeys. This tower will similarly contain 591 units, with rental apartments on the lower floors, and 291 condo units above. The total height will be 611 ft., or approximately the same height at the Trump Tower downtown.

2. Willingdon and Dawson Lowrise

Amacon is proposing a 5-storey residential building with commercial on the ground floor; totalling 75 units. The total density is 2.1 FAR.

The site is ideally located near all of the highrise activity in the area.

Rize Alliance‘s plan for two condo towers in Metrotown will take another step forward this month. “Gold House” is a 490-unit project consisting of a 41-storey tower and a 26-storey tower over a commercial and townhouse podium.

The 87,505 SF site is located at the corner of Beresford Street and McKay Avenue. The total proposed density is 6.3 FAR. The unit types are mostly studios and 2 bedrooms.

The project also includes 5,181 SF of retail on the ground floor, and 19,799 SF of office space on floors 2-5.