[Burnaby] The Amazing Brentwood | 15 Towers | 186m | 56 flrs | U/C & Proposed

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Tsawwassen Mills will be a bigger failure IMO, if it isn't already. It's a traditional US 80s-90s megamall, built 25+ years too late.

Brentwood isn't very cohesive but it should get better over the years as they figure things out.

I totally agree that AMB just need to redefine it goal , no longer viable to be a high end mall, but should be very desirable as a middle class neighborhood. Rather doubt rich people looking for high end goods will come to Brentwood shopping, they would much rather go to Metrotown for far better choices, or Oakridge eventually. But AMB can still reinvent itself by including services and amenities that a middleclass master planned community needs, such as a good grocery anchor, medical -physio- massage clinic, may be even a Walmart, a decent bakery which has decent birthday cakes would help too, not the 5 coffee shops which only offer snacks. BTW I read somewhere Shape will build a 56 storey rental tower in T7 which I think is a deadly mistake because it totally changes the landscape of the community, a rental tower should be in the periphery of this mega project , not smack in the middle of prime space like a sore thumb. Serious buying who want to make Brentwood their home should occupy prime space. A prime location like Brentwood will not fail with sensible forward thinking planning, quite contrary to Tawassen Mill who was doomed to fail from the start.

[officedweller]

Interesting point about the T7 rental tower, which could be a tacit acknowledgement that the mall will not aim for the high end retail market (and which I doubt would be viable).

I think that probably died when they couldn't get a high end anchor like Holt Renfrew. I think that Towers 1 and 2 are already about half rental each.

With bricks and mortar retail being iffy these days, it may be a good thing that they are playing it by ear, rather than ending up with a white elephant. Even Oakridge scaled back its retail plans from a full 2 level mall to one level plus the food market above.

PS - the acronym for the mall is TAB (The Amazing Brentwood), not AMB (Amazing Mall Brentwood?).

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

I totally agree that AMB just need to redefine it goal , no longer viable to be a high end mall, but should be very desirable as a middle class neighborhood. Rather doubt rich people looking for high end goods will come to Brentwood shopping, they would much rather go to Metrotown for far better choices, or Oakridge eventually. But AMB can still reinvent itself by including services and amenities that a middleclass master planned community needs, such as a good grocery anchor, medical -physio- massage clinic, may be even a Walmart, a decent bakery which has decent birthday cakes would help too, not the 5 coffee shops which only offer snacks. BTW I read somewhere Shape will build a 56 storey rental tower in T7 which I think is a deadly mistake because it totally changes the landscape of the community, a rental tower should be in the periphery of this mega project , not smack in the middle of prime space like a sore thumb. Serious buying who want to make Brentwood their home should occupy prime space. A prime location like Brentwood will not fail with sensible forward thinking planning, quite contrary to Tawassen Mill who was doomed to fail from the start.

How, though?

It almost sounds like you're advocating for banishing the renters (a.k.a. the "poors") to the outskirts.
People renting in this development are likely to be people earning decent wages - especially given how much rent those units will be going for relative to average market rate - who might just have decided against buying.

And how would it be any different if it were a condo tower which ends up with a decent amount of those units being bought as "investments" which then end up getting rented anyway?
You still end up getting the same kind of folks you seem not to want living there,...

"... smack in the middle of prime space like a sore thumb."

And aren't there already renters living in some of those already built towers in the "prime" spaces?

[Lexus]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Tsawwassen Mills will be a bigger failure IMO, if it isn't already. It's a traditional US 80s-90s megamall, built 25+ years too late.

Brentwood isn't very cohesive but it should get better over the years as they figure things out.

I was there 2 month ago and I really liked it. I don’t think I’ll go there much often. 3-4 times a year perhaps. Not sure if that’s enough to make is a sustainable business model.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

BTW I read somewhere Shape will build a 56 storey rental tower in T7 which I think is a deadly mistake because it totally changes the landscape of the community, a rental tower should be in the periphery of this mega project , not smack in the middle of prime space like a sore thumb. Serious buying who want to make Brentwood their home should occupy prime space. A prime location like Brentwood will not fail with sensible forward thinking planning, quite contrary to Tawassen Mill who was doomed to fail from the start.

Tower 1 of TAB was 300 market rental and 291 strata units. Tower 6 has a total of 443 apartment units with 369 market strata units, 21 market rental units and 53 non-market rental units. Tower 7 will be market rental.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

T8 details finally coming out. Much taller than originally planned, though I doubt with WeWork ditching their TAB location Shape will go with the office tower version of the project.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/the-amazing-brentwood-tower-7-rental-housing-burnaby

Either way, another for your list MetroOne

Thanks! Added to the list at the lower height.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Thanks! Added to the list at the lower height.

Note that's tower 7, not Tower 8.

[Metro-One]

Noted! Thanks!

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

Serious buying who want to make Brentwood their home should occupy prime space. A prime location like Brentwood will not fail with sensible forward thinking planning, quite contrary to Tawassen Mill who was doomed to fail from the start.

If you think strata towers are 100% owner occupied, I have some news for you...

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Lexus

I was there 2 month ago and I really liked it. I don’t think I’ll go there much often. 3-4 times a year perhaps. Not sure if that’s enough to make is a sustainable business model.

Which one? My post had TAB and Tsw Mills.

My wife likes to shop at the Mills when there is a BF level sale for kids stuff. TAB doesn't hold much appeal generally. I went to check out a Rivian for personal interest and I can see going to Rec Room at least once in my life, but that's about it.

[SpongeG]

re: the rental tower in the middle, the outer towers would block the views wouldn't they? loss of views wouldn't be as appealing to buyers.

As it is now it's nothing exciting, but I go for H&M home personally that's about it. It's a phased project over decades so we won't know what the outcome is for at least 10-20 years. Who knows how many retailers we will have lost in that time?

I think it could attract high-end shoppers in the future, the parking is nice, plentiful, and thought out, Metrotown is hell and kinda ghetto currently and the parking is pretty awful right now.

[Lexus]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Which one? My post had TAB and Tsw Mills.

My wife likes to shop at the Mills when there is a BF level sale for kids stuff. TAB doesn't hold much appeal generally. I went to check out a Rivian for personal interest and I can see going to Rec Room at least once in my life, but that's about it.

I was commenting about the Mills. I feel like I’ll be better sometimes going to the Seattle Premium Outlets over mills. But I’m just the guys who like to drive.

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

How, though?

It almost sounds like you're advocating for banishing the renters (a.k.a. the "poors") to the outskirts.
People renting in this development are likely to be people earning decent wages - especially given how much rent those units will be going for relative to average market rate - who might just have decided against buying.

And how would it be any different if it were a condo tower which ends up with a decent amount of those units being bought as "investments" which then end up getting rented anyway?
You still end up getting the same kind of folks you seem not to want living there,...

"... smack in the middle of prime space like a sore thumb."

And aren't there already renters living in some of those already built towers in the "prime" spaces?

Your are jumping to assumption yourself. Never come across my mind renters are lesser people. I was a renter myself for a long time. Moreover earning power of renters has no correlation to being responsible renter what so ever. However renters are transient with turn over of 1 to 3 years generally, they have no pride of ownership or sense of commitment to the place they rent. All they care is a decent convenient place to live close to transit and daily necessities of living. Does not matter one bit where they rent, being in the periphery TAB is not like they are living out in the never land. Don't jump all over and be over protective . Putting them in the prime space is depriving people who truly want to make TAB their home. True there are strata owners who rent out their home , usually due to personal situations. Definitely not 350 strata units all for rent at one time. Besides more and more people find it not financially profitable to rent out their luxury units. Gone are the days of buying a condo to make a quick appreciation profit. Need to encourage people to buy and live in TAB for the long term survival of this mega project.

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Which one? My post had TAB and Tsw Mills.

My wife likes to shop at the Mills when there is a BF level sale for kids stuff. TAB doesn't hold much appeal generally. I went to check out a Rivian for personal interest and I can see going to Rec Room at least once in my life, but that's about it.

TAB is still an up and coming mall, still at a stage of development. Phase one is doing really well, the plaza by the fountain is full of life when the weather is nice. It really has a sense of community to see people dancing and singing , or even simply relaxing having coffee and visiting . No other similar condo project has this kind of vive. The Mills is just a sprawling shopping mall out of reach of most people, has no character as a community.
Having said that TAB really need to rethink their mix of retailers, some retailers are destined to fail such as Basil box or that Sherbet/ice cream place at the corner. This may be good news in disguise though. St Germaine bakery
would be an ideal replacement in the Basil Box location, TAB is truly in need of a proper cake shop instead of 5 coffee shops as a temporary fix. Get rid of the high end retailers that does nothing to draw middle class people, make this a great master planned community for real people to love and enjoy.

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

If you think strata towers are 100% owner occupied, I have some news for you...

Why not? Tower 1 , 2 and 3 of TAB are fully occupied.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

Why not? Tower 1 , 2 and 3 of TAB are fully occupied.

By the unit owners?

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

Why not? Tower 1 , 2 and 3 of TAB are fully occupied.

Tower 1 is over 50% rental (as well as any investor owned rental condos).

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

TAB is still an up and coming mall, still at a stage of development. Phase one is doing really well, the plaza by the fountain is full of life when the weather is nice. It really has a sense of community to see people dancing and singing , or even simply relaxing having coffee and visiting . No other similar condo project has this kind of vive. The Mills is just a sprawling shopping mall out of reach of most people, has no character as a community.
Having said that TAB really need to rethink their mix of retailers, some retailers are destined to fail such as Basil box or that Sherbet/ice cream place at the corner. This may be good news in disguise though. St Germaine bakery
would be an ideal replacement in the Basil Box location, TAB is truly in need of a proper cake shop instead of 5 coffee shops as a temporary fix. Get rid of the high end retailers that does nothing to draw middle class people, make this a great master planned community for real people to love and enjoy.

Do you think the move to a food and beverage focus is viable, or something that needs to be worked through over time to see if it will work?

It would be a shame if London Drugs left for another location (if there's no replacement space in the redevelopment).

If Sporting Life closes, it would be a prime big box for a large supermarket like CityMarket or TandT (is there a Loblaws presence nearby?) or Winners/Homesense.

[teriyaki]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Do you think the move to a food and beverage focus is viable, or something that needs to be worked through over time to see if it will work?

It would be a shame if London Drugs left for another location (if there's no replacement space in the redevelopment).

If Sporting Life closes, it would be a prime big box for a large supermarket like CityMarket or TandT (is there a Loblaws presence nearby?) or Winners/Homesense.

That unit has both the disadvantage of being more "hidden-away" from foot traffic upstairs, it has the advantage of being directly adjacent to parking which most other units do not have.

It really does seem more fitting for a grocery store of some sort.

[jollyburger]

It would cost so much to stick a grocery in that unit, I seriously doubt that is in the cards. Probably makes more sense in a new CRU that is designed with the requirements of a grocery store.