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

[Marshal]

Originally Posted by Vin

We are referring to a one in a hundred year event, like a freak storm that can cause massive flooding. No matter how waterproof u/g parkades can be, water can always enter via the driveway ramps when floodwater gets high enough, etc. You just never know. Better to be safe than sorry right?

Sorry Vin, but that is just not how things work.

[Feathered Friend]

Generally, I've tried to avoid this thread because I'm admittedly more focused on Vancouver (limited for my own sanity), and this thread has been pretty "unique."

However, my curiosity has gotten the best of me, so I have to ask, why on earth is Onni building such a large office tower here?

I've long heard that the nearby Broadway Tech Centre has had trouble filling up, and Marine Gardens just recently managed to fully lease its office space. So, how is Onni expecting to get this proposal fully leased anytime soon? as I'm unfamiliar with Burnaby's policies, am I just missing something?

[officedweller]

There are existing office parks to the south on either side of Hwy 1, so this site improves on those with better SkyTrain connections. Could be that they are wanting to induce existing Burnaby offices to move.

Electronic Arts recently rented 68,000 sq ft on nearby Still Creek Drive (old Yellow Pages building?), away from its campus.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/electronic-arts-4260-still-creek-drive-burnaby

Brentwood also has an office tower planned (hopefully more).

Good to see in my view.
Hopefully they will fill it as the boost in customer base would enable higher quality retail tenants, versus a mostly residential complex.

[GilmoreStation]

You can pay workers less in Burnaby than in Vancouver, attractive for companies.

[jlousa]

Originally Posted by GilmoreStation

You can pay workers less in Burnaby than in Vancouver, attractive for companies.

Would love to see the stat on that one. We have over a hundred thousand sqft downtown that we could offload and move to the burbs but our workers want to be downtown and if we moved we would be forced to pay more not less. A good chunk of our workers would just quit and go work for someone else downtown over having to head even to Burnaby.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by GilmoreStation

You can pay workers less in Burnaby than in Vancouver, attractive for companies.

I didn't realize exacerbating inequality was part of the Onni sales pitch for this development.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

Generally, I've tried to avoid this thread because I'm admittedly more focused on Vancouver (limited for my own sanity), and this thread has been pretty "unique."

However, my curiosity has gotten the best of me, so I have to ask, why on earth is Onni building such a large office tower here?

I've long heard that the nearby Broadway Tech Centre has had trouble filling up, and Marine Gardens just recently managed to fully lease its office space. So, how is Onni expecting to get this proposal fully leased anytime soon? as I'm unfamiliar with Burnaby's policies, am I just missing something?

I wondered about that. If they want to build any more residential towers, the Master Plan phasing apparently requires the construction of the office space. From the report to Council this week: "The site has been designed as one integrated development with the underground parking, commercial podium, office building and open spaces to proceed to construction first. The rezoning reports for the individual residential tower rezonings will be brought forward in due course when a plan of development suitable for presentation to a Public Hearing is achieved. It is noted that the subject rezoning must be advanced to Final Adoption as a prerequisite condition of the two residential components (Rezoning References #18-25 and #18-26). (my emphasis added).

The last big office building in Burnaby was Metrotower 3 - which was started, and abandoned as rebar sticking out of the ground for years. Eventually it was finished on spec, and almost nobody moved in. It was finally sold off to Metro Vancouver, who moved their staff from the rental tower they occupied. Without their involvement it was a leasing nightmare. However, times (and demand) have changed, so maybe an office tenant or tenants will take the space.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Changing City

I wondered about that. If they want to build any more residential towers, the Master Plan phasing apparently requires the construction of the office space. From the report to Council this week: ...

Good to see that, as opposed to CoV where Concord was able to avoid building office space at the Spectrum/Costco site and subsequently at the Cambie Bridgehead.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by GilmoreStation

You can pay workers less in Burnaby than in Vancouver, attractive for companies.

I highly doubt that paying workers less is an incentive to build office space. Although the area around Gilmore does have a lot of office space in the smaller buildings. Also, there are quite a few companies in the construction and construction supply industries like distributors, wholesalers, and others that have their operations in the area so relocating to a location beside a Skytrain station may allow for attracting talent that doesn't like to drive.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by GilmoreStation

this is Onni's landmark project, they can't afford to take a hit on their reputation by delivering subpar results

Then they wouldn't want to build seven levels of underground parking. Who wants to park on the bottom floors? Horrible. And like jlousa said the site is large. They don't need to go that deep.

[Cypherus]

This development appears to attract negative publicity, not only due to geological concerns about the lot, but also from certain mindsets of prospective buyers who are doing what they can to turn people off about the development....

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Cypherus

This development appears to attract negative publicity, not only due to geological concerns about the lot, but also from certain mindsets of prospective buyers who are doing what they can to turn people off about the development....

Evidence?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by retro_orange

Evidence?

I think Cypher's talking about GS.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

I think Cypher's talking about GS.

To be honest the negative backlash on this thread about this project by many forum members has been just as annoying as GS posts.

Which further makes me ask if GS's true mission was to create poor buzz around this project and is simply a talented troll.

If he was truly a shrill for this project he would have at least responded to one of my (or other's) posts about supplying real height info / diagrams.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Personally, I've never seen the point of building the "tallest tower" in a floodplain with little in the way of density or nearby amenities, but I still wish the developers all the best.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

I think Cypher's talking about GS.

Oh haha, then yes.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

To be honest the negative backlash on this thread about this project by many forum members has been just as annoying as GS posts.

Which further makes me ask if GS's true mission was to create poor buzz around this project and is simply a talented troll.

If he was truly a shrill for this project he would have at least responded to one of my (or other's) posts about supplying real height info / diagrams.

He kind of brought it on himself.
I personally have nothing against this project, and actually think it could turn out great.
The location (for the various issues and reasons mentioned and noted) is not ideal with all matter of challenges, but then again how often do projects get built on completely perfect locales with no issues to circumnavigate or deal with?

I still don't buy that he's some kind of super-smart super-subversive troll-mole actually working against Onni but presenting himself as a sort of rep. for them or the project in the most obnoxious ways possible. There are easier ways to go about doing that sort of thing and turning people off a particular project. Although, given the number of projects and options for buyers in the area, to what end, really? I mean it's not like Amazing Brentwood or Solo need that sort of extra help in driving buyers their way.

I just think he's been bumbling and bull-in-a-china-shop in his approach, rubbing a lot of people the wrong way and if he is in any way on Onni's payroll to help shill for this project, then they really should get a refund and get their money back ASAP and get him off these boards as soon as they can.

[Vin]

Doesn't matter. Flood mitigation can always be applied if not now, then down the road. Still extremely excited that there will be Lower Mainland's tallest building to be built on this site soon. Is this taller than Edmonton's ICE District towers? Would be nice to have Western Canada's tallest title as well, well at least before the towers at the Sears development in Metrotown is completed.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Vin

Doesn't matter. Flood mitigation can always be applied if not now, then down the road. Still extremely excited that there will be Lower Mainland's tallest building to be built on this site soon. Is this taller than Edmonton's ICE District towers? Would be nice to have Western Canada's tallest title as well, well at least before the towers at the Sears development in Metrotown is completed.

It's not going to be Western Canada's tallest tower.
It's going to be Western Canada's tallest purely residential use tower.

There are taller towers in Calgary and Edmonton that are office use and mixed use (hotel, office and residential).

[Lexus]

By me July 21, 2019
Untitled by Lexus, on Flickr
Untitled by Lexus, on Flickr