[Burnaby] Gilmore Place | 214.8m | 64fl | Phase 1 Completed

[GeeCee]

Once all of these projects come online, Lougheed Highway is going to have a very tough time coping with all the traffic. It's already a gong show during rush hour - or at least it was before the construction on Highway 1 finished.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Vin

Today. the suburbs are getting denser, and with huge projects like the Amazing Brentwood and proposal for Gilmore centre eventually completed, I'm sure, future developers may invest more that way, especially when downtown Vancouver is running out of space, and worse still, locals are reluctant to let downtown expand outwards.

The Waterfront Hub alone will provide enough real estate to satisfy future demand for office space downtown for at least the next few decades. Then you have the area around the old post office where there are very large pieces of real estate that could accommodate very large office projects.

While it would be cool to have our version of Bellevue at Metrotown or Brentwood, I don't see it happening when it's clear (imo) that the 2nd choice for the office market is Central Broadway and the Mt. Pleasant industrial area where land use policy is being revised to fit this demand. The future Broadway Line should only intensify demand in that area.

[Krissy]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Once all of these projects come online, Lougheed Highway is going to have a very tough time coping with all the traffic. It's already a gong show during rush hour - or at least it was before the construction on Highway 1 finished.

Lougheed is indeed a nightmare during rush hour. But I would think being located at the skytrain would mitigate some of the impacts of increased traffic. I'm liking what I see so far, but I'm a bit skeptical if there's enough demand for office space.

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by Krissy

Lougheed is indeed a nightmare during rush hour. But I would think being located at the skytrain would mitigate some of the impacts of increased traffic. I'm liking what I see so far, but I'm a bit skeptical if there's enough demand for office space.

Office space will gravitate as leases allow towards SkyTrain stations. Still Creek will probably suffer.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by logan5

The Waterfront Hub alone will provide enough real estate to satisfy future demand for office space downtown for at least the next few decades. Then you have the area around the old post office where there are very large pieces of real estate that could accommodate very large office projects.

While it would be cool to have our version of Bellevue at Metrotown or Brentwood, I don't see it happening when it's clear (imo) that the 2nd choice for the office market is Central Broadway and the Mt. Pleasant industrial area where land use policy is being revised to fit this demand. The future Broadway Line should only intensify demand in that area.

Well, glad you are very optimistic there. Waterfront should have been implemented a decade ago but there never seems to be a coordinated process involving all stake holders for a grand central type of transportation/office/retail hub at the Waterfront. There will be massive protests for the area to go high density, and I foresee the City scaling future structures down to short "human-size" towers and a huge Waterfront park. Well, typical Vancouver project is what you will get. In lieu of that, commercial developers will likely look to the suburbs to build their 60-storey office towers.

Same goes for Mount Pleasant/Broadway neighbourhoods. An office tower under planning at the corner of Oak and Broadway is taking forever to take off. It has been approved for 3 years at least. I'm sure if it's a 30-storey tower instead of a 10-storey one, it would've been built by now.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by djmk

http://www.burnabynow.com/news/five-community-precincts-planned-1.2151989

I wonder what will go into that "Commerce Precinct". Would it be mostly retail or an office park? That area is by Lougheed Hwy, therefore anticipating something high density. Hope to see a 40-storey office tower erected.

[LeftCoaster]

Glad to hear they plan to actually go tall. Couldn't care less that Metro Van's tallest will be in Burnaby, just happy to see density going near transit. Could also help remove the height stigma in the region and push heights in appropriate sites downtown higher. Of course if executed poorly it could have the opposite effect.

[TourOdeon]

I'm really interested in this project now. Reputable builder + high potential profit. Does anybody know which tower will go on sale first?

[vanman]

The website is now live for Gilmore Station. A couple of screengrabs I took from the brochure:






http://www.gilmorestation.ca

[GeeCee]

The retail portion kinda looks like a cheap version of Brentwood.

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

The retail portion kinda looks like a cheap version of Brentwood.

We are talking about onni. I don't recall them ever doing something that says wow

[urbancanadian]

Thanks for the link, vanman! Can't say I expected much from Onni (and it's still preliminary), but this is just depressingly bad for a development of this magnitude.

I'm still holding out hope for the commercial podium. Brentwood mall looks like it'll be quite nice, but on the other hand SoLo District's podium is brutal. The "wood" looks like cheap plastic for one, and the puny size of it doesn't seem to fit on a major street like Lougheed.

Anyway, as long as they use decent quality materials here, I won't be too worried.

[Vin]

Oh boy, suddenly everyone has such high expectations of a suburb town centre. These developments are a lot more progressive than anywhere in the region, so yeah I'm happy, and Brentwood is going to look really great in a few years' time.

[GeeCee]

For a development with a Skytrain station built in? Yes, I expect it to be a cut above.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

For a development with a Skytrain station built in? Yes, I expect it to be a cut above.

Look at Photo "C". Do you see anything better than this in the region?



Try to imagine Broadway, or New Westminster Station, and then compare it to this.....

Besides, a short distance away, there is another grand project going on at the Brentwood mall. Gilmore station's redevelopment is a lot more than we can ask for. Certainly in a few years' time just across the municipal border along the skytrain route, the area would be "suburbia" by comparison.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Vin

Besides, a short distance away, there is another grand project going on at the Brentwood mall. Gilmore station's redevelopment is a lot more than we can ask for. Certainly in a few years' time just across the municipal border along the skytrain route, the area would be "suburbia" by comparison.

Yeah, I'm kind of on the fence about all of these major retail projects going on. Brentwood is a few stops away, and so are other major retail centres. And people already go to Metrotown these days so it's not like they're introducing new stores to a population that was depleted of them. These malls are going to have stiff competition with each other for shoppers. I understand that there are residential components with these projects but those units are just being sold to Chinese investors, and we know how often they live there.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by scryer

Yeah, I'm kind of on the fence about all of these major retail projects going on. Brentwood is a few stops away, and so are other major retail centres. And people already go to Metrotown these days so it's not like they're introducing new stores to a population that was depleted of them. These malls are going to have stiff competition with each other for shoppers. I understand that there are residential components with these projects but those units are just being sold to Chinese investors, and we know how often they live there.

Smart investors won't leave their properties stay vacant. They will rent them out. It is simply not true that majority of condos are sitting empty. Perhaps some of those ultra-luxury ones are, but most mid-range units are still occupied. Mixed transit, commercial and residential developments bring vibrancy to an area, as in the case of International Village, Metrotown, Richmond Centre and even New West Station.

I like the retail structure being envisioned in the Brentwood Town Centre neighbourhood. By congregating the stores to commercial nodes, it makes shopping easier without having to drive so much. More CRUs also mean more types of services, retail outlets and restaurants can be found in this neighbourhood. I only see positive results here.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Vin

Smart investors won't leave their properties stay vacant. They will rent them out. It is simply not true that majority of condos are sitting empty. Perhaps some of those ultra-luxury ones are, but most mid-range units are still occupied. Mixed transit, commercial and residential developments bring vibrancy to an area, as in the case of International Village, Metrotown, Richmond Centre and even New West Station.

Yeah, but who in their right mind would want to rent a 1BR at $1500+ a month + utilities (probably)? If you're planning on starting a family or even paying off student loans this extraordinary living expense actually sets someone back.

Before I get flamed here, I'm not trying to say that no one will rent but this does bring about the issues of affordability. Just playing a little devil's advocate.

[djmk]

I wonder what's going to happen to that white spot across the street. That is a pretty big lot

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by djmk

I wonder what's going to happen to that white spot across the street. That is a pretty big lot

im not sure if it stays but the property behind it are part of a project starting in a year or so. Morrey needs to build a new bodyshop