Burnaby Updates

[vanman]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Slightly better rendering of AKIMBO:


https://twitter.com/jacgarvin

Some higher res renderings.

[Klazu]

So many balconies must mean that Akimbo has 9-10 units per floor, so all units are either 1BR or very small 2BR which is not great for anyone but singles.

[rofina]

Originally Posted by Klazu

So many balconies must mean that Akimbo has 9-10 units per floor, so all units are either 1BR or very small 2BR which is not great for anyone but singles.

At the prices Brentwood has gotten to its going to be very small units only, as I imagine its well over $1000 psf.

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

There's a certain smugness in that comment that's rather unsettling.

A lot of the people who live in those "rundown buildings" are seniors and retired individuals who don't have family or close relatives or a support system within easy reach and who also are on a fixed source of income (mostly their retirement or pensions), and who therefore cannot afford to stay a senior living facilities or retirement homes (nor would they want to as most of them are very independent and capable of living on their own).
Some may have physical disabilities or limitations that limit how far they're able to move around on their own (even while still being able to live on their own with minimal support from outside groups) - and that's setting aside the notion of even getting back into the workforce or the job market (which some of them do anyway).

But I suppose in your perfect world, those "entitled" cheapos should get off their dusty moldy lazy asses and get to affording what the spanking bright new Developments bring and stop being such a drag on everyone else, right?

And let's also not even forget (in some cases) new immigrants or immigrant families who don't have legacy wealth or support systems either (even while they support themselves), or newly graduated young people who are probably still a decade or more from being in the "non-entitled" 'capable of affording living costs on their own' phases of their lives and who also might not have support systems nearby.
Although we know how some on here feel about immigrants, so it's probably a topic best left unbroached.

There's nothing inherently wrong with subsidized or social housing and they are pretty common in most metropolitan mature cities of the world and are a recognition of the fact that not all members of the city or the society will be able to start out their adult lives (or end them, for that matter) with $100k salaries or with "daddy and mommy's" trust fund waiting for them.

P.S.:-
And for the record, in Accounting and Business terminology, the phrase "Entitlement" means something that's actually OWED and should be paid back as soon as possible to help balance accounts - and it's typically used from the perspective of the party that OWES, rather then the one that feels owed, or "entitled" to repayment.

Such as in the case of those seniors, many of whom have already contributed to society for most of their productive lives and would hope, at the very least not to be treated like crap and with a modicum of dignity and respect at the final stages of their lives as their "entitlement" from the society they've already given to.

Given what month this is and what and whom we chose to remember and commemorate for what they did for everyone, you would think that some would actually remember that.

The flip side would be the argument that since these units are being subsidized, everyone else on the same tower has to pay higher prices to subsidize their lower rents.

Originally Posted by owenhujb

Will Burnaby ever get a supertall?

About a decade ago, Burnaby has been mingling with the 100 -120 meter range, with buildings like the Metrotowers, Centrepoint, etc...

Fast forward five years and the heights are going up, to around 125 - 150 meters, buildings including, Silver, Metroplace, and The Sovereign.

Currently the hieghts are going up more, to around 160 - 190 meters. 4670 Assembly Way, the Brentwood towers, Altus, etc...

Another 5 years into the future and you've got buildings in the 210 - 240 meter range (proposed), like Gilmore Place and Concord Metrotown.

So in around another decade or so, will a tower break the 300 meter mark?

If that happens, it'd be an embarrassment to Vancouver...

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by fredinno

The flip side would be the argument that since these units are being subsidized, everyone else on the same tower has to pay higher prices to subsidize their lower rents.

You'll still end up "subsidizing" them one way or another, when they become homeless - through your taxes and other costs.

And also just because you don't have the subsidized units in your building doesn't automatically mean that the unit costs for the rest of the units will automatically become lower.

The real estate market doesn't work that way.

The developer will still make (more or less) the same profit he will from you regardless.
The subsidized units will take a chunk out of HIS pocket and his profit margin and it's usually a cost that they factor in when they're getting some other consideration or concession (like more FSR or building height) from the city.

Your unit cost is determined by the market - not whether or not you have subsidized units in your building.
If they end up not putting subsidized units in your building and instead have market units, they don't then turn around and use the extra profit to enable or allow other residents pay less for their units.
It doesn't work that way.

If they could get away with having no subsidized units (like they have had in Burnaby for the longest time) they would.
It's obviously become a political problem on the cities' and various municipalities' end that this hasn't been factored or aggressively addressed before and it's a new reality that developers (even in Burnaby) now have to grapple with.
You - the person buying a unit in the building - pay the same, either way.

[owenhujb]

Station Square has a lot of incorrect renderings - were those previous plans? The only accurate one I could find was the one on their website.

[owenhujb]

Originally Posted by fredinno

If that happens, it'd be an embarrassment to Vancouver...

Sure. Burnaby is already proposing towers taller than the ones in Vancouver.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by owenhujb

Station Square has a lot of incorrect renderings - were those previous plans? The only accurate one I could find was the one on their website.

The design and design architects changed at some point midway through the rezoning and design application process.

Initially I believe it was Chris Dikeakos firm that was responsible for all the design and then later on American firm KPF (Kohn Pederson Fox) - who have worked with Dikeakos in the past - was brought in to re-do the phase 3 (Towers 4 and 5) tower designs.

Some of the marketing material that's been used to market this project still shows the very initial designs from when the first three towers (now completed) looked nothing or very little like they look today.

It's not unusual for a project of this size to undergo some major re-design changes throughout the course of the design application and construction.
Nothing major otherwise you have to re-start the design permit application process from scratch (which takes months to complete) hence the reason they could get away with doing it for the Phase 3 towers without much impact to their scheduled timeline for completion.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Klazu

So many balconies must mean that Akimbo has 9-10 units per floor, so all units are either 1BR or very small 2BR which is not great for anyone but singles.

Could be more than one balcony per unit. My last unit had two balconies on either side of the building one accessible from the living room and one off the master.

[officedweller]

From the Anthem Fall Newsletter:


https://issuu.com/anthemproperties/docs/...FJ9IRxbywUSzUAVrzyx3JyThWye4j%2BPg%3D%3D

[owenhujb]

Does anyone have an update pictures of Sussex by Townline? Yesterday noticed the crane was up.

[officedweller]

Saw an ad for Maywood on the Park in the paper.
Ordinary tower, but nice rendering of the area.


https://vancouversun.com/homes/buying-se...-park-will-be-near-amenities-green-space

[SpongeG]

I can't tell what's real and whats rendered

[skylinegazer]

found a project (tentatively?) named Telford on the Chris Dikaekos website - http://www2.dikeakos.com/projects/gallery-view/telford

it's for Beresford St. and Telford, so just east of the Metroplace tower, adding to the wall of towers along Beresford

[skylinegazer]

another one, a 41 storey for Dawson & Alpha in the Brentwood - http://www2.dikeakos.com/media/2000x1000/Dawson_2.jpg

the ghost tower is Milano and the other four are Lumina

and another, named Willingdon, though not the same Willingdon that OfficeDweller posted about above - http://www2.dikeakos.com/media/2000x1000/Overall%201.jpg

source - http://www2.dikeakos.com/projects/gallery-view/filter=filter=canada,canada,high-rise

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

I can't tell what's real and whats rendered

It's the one in the foreground that's rendered.
(a really great rendering despite the bland tower design.
It's nice to see a render for once where they don't show the tower like it's standing in the middle of a desolate park or a desert or something and as if the towers and buildings in the surrounding context are not actually there.
At least this way you know what's going to be blocking your view when you by a unit).

Here's another slightly overhead angle - lower resolution image.



Seems like the site is already cleared and prepped to begin excavation.

So this is the project where they're going to extend the park on the South side into the lot currently occupied by a lowrise and in exchange, the developers (who owned that lot too) were given extra density and height by the city to build a taller tower.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by skylinegazer

found a project (tentatively?) named Telford on the Chris Dikaekos website - http://www2.dikeakos.com/projects/gallery-view/telford

it's for Beresford St. and Telford, so just east of the Metroplace tower, adding to the wall of towers along Beresford

Well, there are two lots just east of Metroplace tower on either side of Telford street - the farthest of which has already had the lowrise demolished and the site cleared in preparation for construction.

I wonder which of them this project is in reference to/

The lot just adjacent to Metroplace still has a lowrise on it, but it's my understanding that that lot has already been bought by a developer, with plans for development sometime in the future.

The other site is supposed to have a market tower and a lowrise non-market rental component in collaboration with BC Housing. I can't remember who the developer for that project was, but I don't think it was Westland (the ones referenced in Dikeakos site) and we still haven't seen a single image or rendering for that project despite the fact that they already seem well underway into the construction process now.

But looking at the rendering on Dikeakos site, based on how it's positioned I would argue that that project is for the site immediately East of Metroplace tower (with Metroplace Tower being the grey one slightly in the background.

I really hope they do that envelope/lattice framework the way it's shown in that rendering and it doesn't get watered down by the time it gets to construction.
It looks amazing and would really make that row pop.

Thanks for sharing those.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by skylinegazer

another one, a 41 storey for Dawson & Alpha in the Brentwood - http://www2.dikeakos.com/media/2000x1000/Dawson_2.jpg

the ghost tower is Milano and the other four are Lumina

source - http://www2.dikeakos.com/projects/gallery-view/filter=filter=canada,canada,high-rise

Nice find!
Maybe part of Lumina?

[rofina]

Originally Posted by skylinegazer

another one, a 41 storey for Dawson & Alpha in the Brentwood - http://www2.dikeakos.com/media/2000x1000/Dawson_2.jpg

the ghost tower is Milano and the other four are Lumina

and another, named Willingdon, though not the same Willingdon that OfficeDweller posted about above - http://www2.dikeakos.com/media/2000x1000/Overall%201.jpg

source - http://www2.dikeakos.com/projects/gallery-view/filter=filter=canada,canada,high-rise

At this rate Brentwood Town Centre will be built out and out of land in the next decade.

[skylinegazer]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

The other site is supposed to have a market tower and a lowrise non-market rental component in collaboration with BC Housing. I can't remember who the developer for that project was, but I don't think it was Westland (the ones referenced in Dikeakos site) and we still haven't seen a single image or rendering for that project despite the fact that they already seem well underway into the construction process now.

here's a rendering of the non-market building - https://storage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user-28070654/images/5a6c31e316a2aXt4cfkl/Sussex.JPG

a crude drawing of 6525 Sussex can be seen here - http://www.thind.ca/project/metrotown/