Suburban Updates - All Other Metro Vancouver Municipalities - Page 69

SFUVancouver · #**1361** Posted **May 13, 2010, 9:27 PM**

At first I thought the surface parking lots in Onni's Fremont Village would probably represent phases II, III... But upon further reflection I think that this is a standard suburban automobile-dependant retail power centre with a couple of marooned apartment buildings thrown into the mix.

wrenegade · #**1362** Posted **May 13, 2010, 9:57 PM**

I don't think you could really call this standard. Obviously the Wal-Mart parcel is (and likely whatever follows in the unlabeled phase), but the village/walk portion with the residential (600 units!) is far from it. And that's a huge portion of the project. I think it's a step up from what Larco did in South Surrey. It's not quite what Shape is doing it Abbotsford or what Morguard is doing at Town & Country, but still, a step forward from traditional retail developments.

Spork · #**1363** Posted **May 14, 2010, 12:56 AM**

New (small) office building announced for New West's uptown at 6th ave & 5th street:

Quote:

By Sean Kolenko - New Westminster News Leader
Published: May 13, 2010 3:00 PM
Updated: May 13, 2010 3:19 PM

Now that the nearly 100-year-old Wadsworth house has made its way to its new home on St. Patrick Street, plans for the development of its former location at 508 Sixth Ave. are underway.

Bart Slotman, vice president of the Uptown Property Group, says his firm plans to build a four-storey office building on the empty Uptown site at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Fifth Street.

The proposed building will have retail space on the ground level, with offices slotted for the top three floors.

The design of the building, Slotman says, is inspired by similar structures in Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown neighbourhood with a modern office concept on the inside, but a traditional style brick frontage. The fourth floor is to be called the penthouse because of its steel artifice and floor-to-ceiling windows.

“It was purposefully designed in a traditional way to respect the character of the Queen’s Park neighbourhood,” said Slotman. “But it also has this high-gloss office environment with qualities like exposed cement walls inside.

“It will be a nice transition from the zone of Uptown commerce and the tradition of Queen’s Park.”

Slotman's company has also approached the city about connecting parking underground from the proposed building to the Westminster Centre parking lot next door to allow for easy passage for shoppers, and also to reduce the number of driveways in the area.

Slotman said he anticipates hearing back from council on the proposal in September and says shovels could be in the ground by late 2010.

This would be the fourth building for the company on that block as it currently manages the Uptown Centre and both the original Westminster Centre and Westminster Centre South, home to businesses like London Drugs and Save On Foods.

Source: http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/newwestminsternewsleader/news/93725164.html

Millennium2002 · #**1364** Posted **May 14, 2010, 1:30 AM**

I find any development that has even a resemblance to a strip mall to be a strip mall. The fact that they throw a few apartments in there and make it look all fancy doesn't make this all really green and forward thinking.... it's more of an illusion that they're just placing on people so that they can work around all of the environmental and urban planning issues.

idunno · #**1365** Posted **May 14, 2010, 1:36 AM**

Yeah I agree with that. Although it might look less like a traditional strip mall, it essentially functions exactly like one. 99% of the people arriving will be in a car and possibly will end up driving between different sections of the development. The towers are a bonus, but they aren't ideal.

vanman · #**1366** Posted **May 17, 2010, 8:26 AM**

This article is just over a month old, but it sounds very promising:

Quote:

Brentwood Town Centre sold, new owners plan to add density

Expect big changes at the northeast corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway after Brentwood Town Centre changed hands on April 1.

The mall was jointly purchased from OPB Realty Inc. by Vancouver-based real estate and development company Shape Properties Corp. and Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.

The shopping centre is located on 27 acres of land adjacent to a SkyTrain station, with a major bus loop on the property.

Burnaby city hall’s Brentwood Town Centre Plan, meanwhile, supports added density on the site, including retail, residential and office space.

Shape said in a press release that it plans to “revitalize the existing Brentwood mall and take advantage of the density opportunities, transforming the property into a vibrant transit-oriented mixed-use central core.”

According to the company’s executive vice-president, Darren Kwiatkowski, “Shape looks forward to working with the existing tenants, the neighborhood and the City of Burnaby to create an environment that while urban in nature creates a pedestrian-friendly ambiance that seamlessly blends the indoor and outdoor experience.”

Shape president, John Horton, said, “Assets/sites of this quality seldom come available and we are extremely excited about this opportunity to reposition an already great regional shopping centre.”

New co-owner, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, is one of the largest pension plans in Canada.

20 VIC Management Inc. was and will continue to be the property manager for Brentwood Town Centre even with the ownership change.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/burnabynewsleader/news/90030927.html

SpongeG · #**1367** Posted **May 17, 2010, 8:34 AM**

good news
there is so much wasted parking lot there and so vast it could do with some more buildings on it

GeeCee · #**1368** Posted **May 17, 2010, 8:50 AM**

There used to be a gas station on that corner, plus some other soil remediation issues due to the car repair shop on that lot. On top of all that, the existing parking lot easily fills up, so if they do build anything in that corner, they'll need to build underground parking IMO plus work around the bus loop.

officedweller · #**1369** Posted **May 17, 2010, 6:56 PM**

FYI - Shape is the one involved in that lifestyle mall in Abbottsford - the one at Mt. Lehman with the underground parking.

http://www.shapeproperties.com/projects.html

SpongeG · #**1370** Posted **May 17, 2010, 7:32 PM**

yes they will have to add underground parking but of all malls they have so much space to use and fill up it seems bring th mall to the street more

cornholio · #**1371** Posted **May 21, 2010, 6:36 PM**

Few observations I made but have no time to investigate them right now.

Noticed that Affinity the two tower project between Holdom and the UC Perspectives tower in Brentwood seems to be going ahead and the sales center sign said May 15 tower two goes on sale. I would think that means the plans are to start building tower two before tower one is complete so long as sales go smoothly.

Also noticed that Oma 2 has sold out and that would mean that Oma 3 should be going on sale soon, that would be the fourth and final tower in that development and would be the second half of that blocks retail strip on Dawson street. The buildings on sight are still standing last I saw but not sure if there are any businesses still present.

Also noticed that the Brentwood gate development has also sold out, that means those 600+ units have been fully absorbed in to the neighborhood which is good for developments in the Brentwood mall area.

SpongeG · #**1372** Posted **May 25, 2010, 4:38 AM**

the lights have been installed on 3 of the 4 corners - one more corner still has to be done - at gaglardi and lougheed - they look good - weird that it seems like the middle of nowhere bt they are nice - have not seen them on yet its always been daytime when i pass them...

pics by me

paradigm4 · #**1373** Posted **May 25, 2010, 4:42 AM**

^^ Ah! They've escaped from Granville Mall!

officedweller · #**1374** Posted **May 25, 2010, 7:18 PM**

I guess it's a gateway location to SFU.

red-paladin · #**1375** Posted **May 25, 2010, 7:52 PM**

Look like supersized hepa air filters

Kwik-E-Mart · #**1376** Posted **May 30, 2010, 9:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanman

This article is just over a month old, but it sounds very promising:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/burnabynewsleader/news/90030927.html

I almost thought it's the same pension plan that owns the Toronto Maple Leafs (Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan) and was about to say boycott the mall because of it.

LeftCoaster · #**1377** Posted **May 31, 2010, 1:50 AM**

Well OTPP does own pacific centre and richmond centre so you might have to rethink your shopping habbits.

SpongeG · #**1378** Posted **May 31, 2010, 2:08 AM**

why?

whats the boycott about?

invisibleairwaves · #**1379** Posted **May 31, 2010, 4:02 AM**

Ah, the ol' OTPP...didn't know they own Pacific Centre. Not that it matters to me...that mall's much too upscale for my tastes. I'll join this boycott though

worldwide · #**1380** Posted **May 31, 2010, 5:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by invisibleairwaves

Ah, the ol' OTPP...didn't know they own Pacific Centre. Not that it matters to me...that mall's much too upscale for my tastes. I'll join this boycott though

i agree, I prefer the extra foods plaza in Aldergrove