Burnaby Updates

[officedweller]

Thanks for posting!

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Sheba

I don't think so. There's not much info about them. The last Burnaby Major Updates was late Nov so the info I pulled was from there and a bit of scouring their meetings (that don't like to be directly linked to). All of the buildings are about mid-way between Beresford and Maywood St.

REZ #17-26 Telford Avenue Project LP - 6525 Telford Avenue
Construction of a single high-rise apartment building with townhouses fronting Telford Avenue. 33 storeys, 298 units
Second Reading 2018 June 11

REZ #17-34 Belford (McKay) Properties Limited Partnership - 6366 Cassie Avenue and 6433 McKay Avenue
High-rise apartment building with street oriented townhousing and full underground parking. 274 units
Second Reading 2018 June 11

REZ#17-39 Belford (Silver 3) Properties Limited Partnership - 6444 Silver Avenue
High-rise apartment building with townhouses fronting Silver Avenue. 16 - 20 storeys
Initial Report TABLED 2018 June 11

The Belford site seems to indicate that they actually have 4 proposed tower projects in that stretch, which means one more in addition to the above three that will be located on Silver and Maywood.

So two towers on Silver avenue. The one whose address you have shown there is higher up north closer to Beresford (sitting just behind Metroplace), and the other one would be right on the corner of Maywood and Silver to the south.
And then the Telford tower, and M Place and the 2 Sun Towers would give them 6 towers in that area.

And the graphic at the top of the site seems to corroborate this.

Pretty impressive.
Especially for a developer that doesn't seem to have any highrise projects anywhere else.

[Klazu]

Oh, wow. The south side of Metrotown is going to see some serious density go up! While there is a lot of exciting things going on in my 'hood, I would love to see it sprouting the whole town centre rather than being concentrated in the two super dense clusters around south of Beresford and east of Nelson. Concord Metrotown would really do wonders for the skyline and the cityscape.

It would also be great to see more 15-25 storey towers, especially at the edges of the dense areas to provide a more gradual stepping in the skyline. It looks ridiculous to have low-rises next to 35-40 storey towers...

[osirisboy]

ugh omg. Are developers not allowed to build anything different??

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Oh, wow. The south side of Metrotown is going to see some serious density go up! While there is a lot of exciting things going on in my 'hood, I would love to see it sprouting the whole town centre rather than being concentrated in the two super dense clusters around south of Beresford and east of Nelson. Concord Metrotown would really do wonders for the skyline and the cityscape.

It would also be great to see more 15-25 storey towers, especially at the edges of the dense areas to provide a more gradual stepping in the skyline. It looks ridiculous to have low-rises next to 35-40 storey towers...

Burnaby Major Development Projects lists all the projects - and there's more in the Metrotown section than just the Maywood neighbourhood. The latest council meeting just happened so hopefully they update it soon.

The Metrotown plan has towers step down (pdf link at the bottom of the page).

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Sheba

I was up at Edmonds and Kingsway the other day and noticed both the former Seniors Center at the corner (7282 Kingsway) and the former library building just up the street (7252 Kingsway) were fenced off. I searched and found the Seniors Center is going to be demolished and the land sold. I haven't been able to find anything about the library though - and they're separate sites as shown on this pdf.

The trees are fenced off so they're protected for now but I'm not holding my breath that a developer will go out of their way to retain most of them.

Some news from BC Housing on this:

The Province, BC Housing and the City of Burnaby are partnering on the Hall Towers redevelopment project. The project includes one provincially owned site and three sites owned by the city at 7282 and 7252 Kingsway and 7255 Edmonds St. – previously the Edmonds 55+ Community Centre and the Kingsway branch library precinct. The sites will eventually include high-density, mixed-use affordable rental housing, new market housing, commercial space, community services and public amenities.

“Our government is committed to making sure that people with low incomes, including seniors and people living with disabilities, can find a home that meets their needs at a price they can afford,” said Raj Chouhan, MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds. “Working with our partners, we will provide safer and more comfortable homes for Hall Towers residents, without adding to their monthly rent. I look forward to seeing how these sites develop in the long term to build a vibrant community with the homes that people in Burnaby want and need.”

[vanman]

The trees are fenced off so they're protected for now but I'm not holding my breath that a developer will go out of their way to retain most of them.

Those trees are somewhat of a landmark for that neighbourhood. It would be a massive shame to see them removed before their time.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Some news from BC Housing on this:

I had always liked that library building, even before I knew anything about architecture. It was just a beautiful, crisp little mid-century gem. Too bad it couldn't have been incorporated as the podium to a new tower next to it.

An excellent photo essay of the 1962 library here:
https://designkultur.wordpress.com/2010/...ublic-library-kingsway-branch-1962-2009/

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by vanman

Those trees are somewhat of a landmark for that neighbourhood. It would be a massive shame to see them removed before their time.

A couple of them were removed when they demolished the seniors center. Seeing as they've listed 7255 Edmonds that means they're redeveloping south of the seniors center (basically the surface parking) so a few more trees are likely to go, along with the smaller ones next to one of the existing towers.

Originally Posted by retro_orange

I had always liked that library building, even before I knew anything about architecture. It was just a beautiful, crisp little mid-century gem. Too bad it couldn't have been incorporated as the podium to a new tower next to it.

I liked it too but it was a small building so unlikely to survive. At least the new library across the street looks nice.

[Skygazer]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Burnaby Major Development Projects lists all the projects - and there's more in the Metrotown section than just the Maywood neighbourhood. The latest council meeting just happened so hopefully they update it soon.

The Metrotown plan has towers step down (pdf link at the bottom of the page).

Very interesting, I'm particularly intrigued by the developments on Olive Avenue in Metrotown. I used to live in the building at 5888 Olive, and it looks like the buildings immediately north (5868) and south (5900) are both slated to be turned into highrises.

I was told several times when I lived there that the owners aren't interested in selling, and indeed they were actively upgrading it (one of the few woodframe buildings in the area that was actually nice and well maintained), but with all the re-development coming soon to the area I can imagine it's only going to be a matter of time before it meets the same fate as its neighbours....

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Skygazer

Very interesting, I'm particularly intrigued by the developments on Olive Avenue in Metrotown. I used to live in the building at 5888 Olive, and it looks like the buildings immediately north (5868) and south (5900) are both slated to be turned into highrises.

I was told several times when I lived there that the owners aren't interested in selling, and indeed they were actively upgrading it (one of the few woodframe buildings in the area that was actually nice and well maintained), but with all the re-development coming soon to the area I can imagine it's only going to be a matter of time before it meets the same fate as its neighbours....

A big chunk of Wilson is also listed on there, plus the lowrise on Barker. That's a lot of the area planned to be turned into highrises with townhouses. How long until the houses along Kathleen Ave are sold for another tower?

[Tetsuo]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Some news from BC Housing on this:

Called it

Originally Posted by Tetsuo

A lot more awkward to redevelop those two city sites, due to the BC Housing seniors towers. Currently flattened and grassed to not pay upkeep.

Last I heard (2 years ago) was that the city and BC Housing might want to combine everything and sell it off to a developer on the condition of getting replacement building/units. With the BC Housing seniors project by Stride on 14th taking in existing tenants.

But that depends on the quality of the two remaining towers, and if it's cost effective to demo.

[officedweller]

From Grids Vancouver yesterday.
Views from Metrotown.


https://twitter.com/GRIDSVancouver


https://twitter.com/GRIDSVancouver

[Klazu]

Great photos of my hood! The first view is already starting to look quite dense, but there is so much more development needed on both sides of Kingsway to compliment rest of Metrotown. It's coming, but not soon enough.

[officedweller]

Yeah, the stretch of short retail along Kingsway really stands out in the 2nd pic.
The longer it takes, the more likely you'll see a taller podium rather than just a couple storeys.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by Sheba

A couple of them were removed when they demolished the seniors center. Seeing as they've listed 7255 Edmonds that means they're redeveloping south of the seniors center (basically the surface parking) so a few more trees are likely to go, along with the smaller ones next to one of the existing towers.

So it looks like the city as well as BC Housing is interested in demolishing the Hall towers and redeveloping the entire site with a mix of market and non market housing. I don't think there is much hope for any of those tall trees surviving.

How Burnaby plans to build hundreds of affordable housing units in Edmonds
City partnering with province, BC Housing to replace Hall Towers and build market and non-market housing at Kingsway and Edmonds Street
Kelvin Gawley / Burnaby Now
FEBRUARY 10, 2019 01:09 PM


A towering vision for the future of affordable housing in Burnaby is taking shape, as the city plans to redevelop the corner of Kingsway and Edmonds Street.

The City of Burnaby and BC Housing have issued a request for expression of interest (RFEOI) for the four lots in the Edmonds Town Centre.

The lots are the former home of the Edmonds library and community centre and the current site of Hall Towers – two residential towers owned by BC Housing and home to some 334 low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

In January, local and provincial politicians announced the aging Hall Towers would be replaced by a new development and all current residents would be given the first opportunity to move into the new building or buildings.

“We are very excited that we are working closely with BC Housing and the City of Burnaby to make sure people living here in the aged towers ... will be able to move in to a brand new facility that will provide safe and very secure housing for people,” Burnaby–Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan said at the time.

But plans for the four adjacent lots go beyond replacing the existing public housing. The city wants to see commercial space, community services, a new road and new green space built around market and non-market housing – all built at the intersection it calls “the primary node of development in the Edmonds Town Centre.”

First, a new home for the existing Hall Towers residents needs to be built on the former site of the Edmonds branch of the Burnaby Public Library. The land would come under BC Housing ownership, and a developer would be tasked with building a new tower or towers atop a commercial podium.

A city staff report suggests Burnaby could contribute the density bonus usually charged to developers of market housing to allow the construction of taller highrises. This additional space could create “family-oriented low- to moderate-income housing on the site.”

The city says BC Housing would have to provide amenities within the development, “such as recreation facilities, community meeting space and offices for support services.” The housing agency could then sell or lease the commercial space in the podium to offset construction and operations costs.

Once all residents have moved out of Hall Towers, they will be demolished and likely replaced by a new tower atop a townhouse podium, according to the report. The new units would likely be set aside for middle-income renters and buyers under BC Housing’s new HousingHub program launched last year.

But, the city report notes, that plan is not set in stone and the site “would also be a suitable site for market multiple-family housing, should BC Housing opt not to retain” the lot.

Next, the eastern portion of the site, the former home of the Edmonds Community Centre, could be sold to a private developer. The city could transfer density allotted to an adjacent parking lot to increase the value of the third lot and fetch top dollar.

The developer would be able to build two towers atop a podium with residential and commercial space, the city says.

That developer would be required to improve the parking lot next door, “including re-greening existing surface parking areas, providing a better connection between the Highland Park Line Trail and the Kingsway-Edmonds intersection and creating a terminus plaza for the trail.”

The plans also call for an extension of 16th Street through the middle of the three lots.

Developers wishing to express interest have until March 28 to submit proposals. Burnaby city council and BC Housing expect to choose a partner in June

.

[vanman]

[Galaxy]

If the final product of this project is anything like Kings Cross then this will be another great feather in Burnaby's cap. I really would love that stretch that Klazu mentioned on Kingsway across from Metro Town to be built up perhaps a few tall office towers would really help to further develop Metro Town. Also, the cityscape canyon looking down Kingsway would be even better. Burnaby between Brentwood and Metrotown could also use more hotels, art galleries, theatres, and or a major trade and convention center to create a complete community that would, therefore, allow more people in the area to stay in that area and have more experiences to enjoy.

[Tetsuo]

Another BCH 1for1 development deal, you'd think they'd angle for some additional units, at least the city and BCH will get some good coin, unlike 14th ave where they gave a multi million dollar plot away...

Sounds like the want a terminal plaza for the BC Parkway, those trees are in the way, sad to see them go. The 16th st addition is going to be great way to link highgate with south gate

The SE corner with GNF and Rona is another great spot, and there's also the pet store and a large empty plot adjacent.

[owenhujb]

Anyone notice these boards put up on 6525 Sussex? In case you can't see (sorry for the bad photo quality) it says Thind Properties on the right side, with a render of the tower (which was unfortunately blocked by trees) and "48 Stories of Elevated Living" on the left. I never knew this before, but this property is called "highline". You can visit the project's website here:
thind.ca/highline

And the old website that I guess is obsolete now:
http://www.thind.ca/project/metrotown/