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Plans are coming together for the Southgate neighbourhood, the 48-acre Safeway distribution centre that was sold to Ledingham McAllister in 2012. The City of Burnaby has been working through a draft plan since last year and has now released a concept for the site.

Overall Site Plan

The preliminary plan includes the following:

• A gross density of 2.8 FAR
• 5.8 Million SF of Market Residential
• 200,000 SF of Commercial Space
• Approx. 20 towers up to 46-storeys in height
• 15-20 year build-out

Tower Heights

The B.C. government has signed an agreement with three Lower Mainland First Nations that includes the sale of Burnaby’s Willingdon Lands and the Liquor Distribution Branch warehouse site in Vancouver.

The agreement with the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish nations outlines how the proceeds of Crown land sales within the bands’ territories will be shared and how to develop the properties in partnership with the government.

“This agreement is so important for our three communities and we hope it sets a positive example of what can be achieved when we truly work together as one,” Tsleil-Waututh Chief Maureen Thomas said in a news release.

Andrew Wilkinson, the minister of technology, innovation and citizens services, called the agreement “historic” in a written statement.

Under the agreement, the Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh have purchased the Willingdon Lands at Willingdon Avenue and Canada Way, while all three nations have signed a contract to buy the LDB warehouse site on East Broadway. Representatives of the three nations could not be reached for comment on what the lands will be used for.

The sale price for the Willingdon property was $57.9 million, a price that the province says was based on an independent appraisal. The LDB property sale is expected to close by the fall, at which time the price will be publicly available.

Two rezoning applications went before Burnaby City Council last night for 4-storey projects in the Hastings Heights area of Burnaby:

4295 Hastings Street

Developer: Citimark-Omicron

Site: Currently vacant and previously a gas-station. 14,994 SF. Zoned C-8 (Urban Village Commercial District) 3.0 FAR density.

Proposed Development: 4-storey mixed-use development with retail at grade and three and a half storeys of residential above. The development proposes to take advantage of the potential C-8 framework allowing an additional storey at the rear lane.

418 Gamma Avenue

Developer: Epta Properties

Site: Currently vacant. 23,141 SF. Zoned CD from 2010 – the previous rezoning included office space which has proven difficult in the current market.

Proposed Development: 4-storey mixed-use development with retail at grade and 3 storeys of residential above. The rezoning anticipates a redesign based on RM-3 and C-2 to scrap the office component.

Here is a snapshot of pricing for resales of concrete condos in Vancouver’s submarkets over the past two years. It shows moderate price gains in most areas, with those more pronounced gains in Burnaby and North Vancouver as a result of newly completed projects which saw some resales upon completion.

The analysis used only condos built since 1999 and concrete construction. Surrey was the only submarket without any price growth since 2012.