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

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I also like that they included the neighbouring projects. Looks sweet and it's all underway! I just hope we will see a variation of building styles as 11 identical towers would be very boring.

I do think that the video makes the towers look like they are further apart than they will be. One has to remember that all towers will be massive and the site is not that huge IRL, so it will feel very dense.

I also don't understand why they wanted to build the surface street for cars? Why not force traffic from all directions underground and make it a pedestrian-only area. I can see that there will allways be line-ups of cars stopping for pedestrians everywhere.

You need somewhere to show off your lambo don't you?

[sburnaby33]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

Really amazing video. It captures the transformation of the whole region, no doubt in my mind this will surpass Metrotown in time. I also like the new configuration of the Brentwood town center. It just look cleaner without the building right in the middle. Besides I love fountains, I can see 3 in this video, One central one as one arrives, and 2 smaller one on each each end of the boulevard. Amaaaaazing.!!

I personally like the scale of the development and how it is designed. The mix of retail and restaurants allows for diversity, similar to Park Royal South. I am looking forward to its completion in a couple of years.

[ClaytonA]

Without the office tower, there's less people around mid-workdays. As a retailer or the land owner, the extra traffic lowers the value of the retail space at the margin.

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by ClaytonA

Without the office tower, there's less people around mid-workdays. As a retailer or the land owner, the extra traffic lowers the value of the retail space at the margin.

I rather doubt one office building would make that much impact on the retail value , considering the traffic brought about by the population explosion from the whole Brentwood region. Not to mention people coming in by Sky train.
Don't forget there are potentially tons of people from the yet to be developed Carter dealership, SOLO ALTUS, ONNI also have tons of office workers.

[Caliplanner1]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

I rather doubt one office building would make that much impact on the retail value , considering the traffic brought about by the population explosion from the whole Brentwood region. Not to mention people coming in by Sky train.
Don't forget there are potentially tons of people from the yet to be developed Carter dealership, SOLO ALTUS, ONNI also have tons of office workers.

The inclusion of more office buildings is one way to encourage a more urban landscape/ambiance away from the current suburban mode/feel that the overwhelmingly residential Brentwood project seems to engender! Further, such land use function (re: offices) would reduce the need for out of area travel (re: smaller carbon footprint) for those who want to live and work in the same location.

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by VarBreStr18

I rather doubt one office building would make that much impact on the retail value , considering the traffic brought about by the population explosion from the whole Brentwood region. Not to mention people coming in by Sky train.

Yes, but without office, the majority of those who live in Brentwood won't be there during the day. They'll be Downtown or at Metrotown where they work. Office towers give you all-day traffic, especially for food.

[nickbeaulieu]

It is disappointing that the office tower was deleted. There needs to be more encouragement to bring businesses out of the downtown core.

[Vin]

I think more office towers will come once the area becomes better established. In the meantime, Soho development will provide quite a bit of work space, as is the future development at Gilmore: Onni's business centre, comprising two blocks of office towers (I think). Still a loss that the office tower is removed from Brentwood.

[GilmoreStation]

How many office towers will the Gilmore Place project bring?

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by GilmoreStation

How many office towers will the Gilmore Place project bring?

If anyone would know the answer to that, shouldn't it be you?

[HelloKitty]

Sigh! That was an amazing video. Can't wait for 2018, Amazing Brentwood! Or at least 'til your commercial/retail portion's done. See also my comment in purple below.

Originally Posted by Klazu

I also like that they included the neighbouring projects. Looks sweet and it's all underway! I just hope we will see a variation of building styles as 11 identical towers would be very boring.

I do think that the video makes the towers look like they are further apart than they will be. One has to remember that all towers will be massive and the site is not that huge IRL, so it will feel very dense.
Agree. It's actually beginning to look small. The video makes it seem like the property is vast but it's not. The construction looks massive when seen from the food court at the mall though.

Anyway, I am from the area, and when I walk past the construction at the corner of Willingdon and Lougheed, the structure that's nearest is kinda in-your-face since it's right there by the sidewalk pretty much.. almost like no breathing space between the pedestrian/sidewalk and the side of the nearest structure to the sidewalk/property perimeter. Hopefully when it's all complete it's not that overwhelming and turn out to look awesome. At least the old outside parking lot's gone, the one that one had to cross to get to the mall after getting off transit. That was a waste of space and land indeed! Unfortunately the bus loop was kicked off as well. *shakes head* The bus loop is one of the reasons why Metrotown thrives... foot traffic from transit users dropping by to run errands/go shopping/eat/get takeout/meet friends on the way home after work.

Also, would have been nicer had there been an iconic building architected in this district, whichever corner of willingdon/lougheed... not glass towers that all look alike. There's plenty enough of that.

I also wish they'd build a pedestrian walkway whether above or underground of Willingdon. Not really the safest-feeling road to cross as a pedestrian. And it's a pain, those stoplights and having to stop to wait to cross.

I also don't understand why they wanted to build the surface street for cars? Why not force traffic from all directions underground and make it a pedestrian-only area. I can see that there will allways be line-ups of cars stopping for pedestrians everywhere.

[djmk]

an north/south skytrain line between Brentwood and Metrotown would be a really good idea. There are going to be lots of people living in these two neighbourhoods travelling back and forth I think

[HelloKitty]

Originally Posted by djmk

an north/south skytrain line between Brentwood and Metrotown would be a really good idea. There are going to be lots of people living in these two neighbourhoods travelling back and forth I think

Yeah.. I think I read somewhere before re the 130 route bus (terminus Metrotown) becoming a B-Line. But that's not yet confirmed.

[officedweller]

I'm hoping that the infrastructure will be there for an office tower in future.

[logan5]

I thought there was supposed to be a certain % of office space to go along with all this residential density. There aren't too many better spots for an office tower than right at Brentwood station. Office towers attract ridership more than residential towers.

[officedweller]

What looks like a big white steel elevator core has been erected near the south end of the theatre section:

http://webcampub.multivista.com/index.cf...B1-AE94-402F-A587-72E8A32A2B5B&width=800

This one:

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Starting to take shape..

[VarBreStr18]

Originally Posted by djmk

an north/south skytrain line between Brentwood and Metrotown would be a really good idea. There are going to be lots of people living in these two neighbourhoods travelling back and forth I think

N/S Skytrain is pure fantasy. Express bus is all that is needed.

[osirisboy]

Look at the sea of single family homes! Love these big projects but I hope burnaby will encourage these sfh to get redeveloped. Like how vancouver, finally is starting to see them get torn down, even if just replaced by stacked townhomes

[Jebby]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Look at the sea of single family homes! Love these big projects but I hope burnaby will encourage these sfh to get redeveloped. Like how vancouver, finally is starting to see them get torn down, even if just replaced by stacked townhomes

There is so much land open for development in Burnaby that it just isn't necessary to start demolishing SFHs yet.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Jebby

There is so much land open for development in Burnaby that it just isn't necessary to start demolishing SFHs yet.

Nope, Burnaby is preserving its land stock as parks and green space, and only redeveloping existing built-areas. Hence there are so many high rises. They also have no problem building a 50-storey beside a SFH, which helps in putting pressure on SFH or lower density neighbourhoods to be redeveloped in the long run. Vancouver needs to learn from that.