[Burnaby] Concord Metrotown (Former Sears site) | 65,45,33 fl | 230.1m | U/C

[Klazu]

While I love to see this project go up, I think the location is bad for Metrotown. It's far from SkyTrain and Central Park is almost beyond walking distance.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by Klazu

While I love to see this project go up, I think the location is bad for Metrotown. It's far from SkyTrain and Central Park is almost beyond walking distance.

For what its worth, Bonsor is next door

[officedweller]

Yeah, location of your condo is just personal preference wrt what your activities are.
You could just as easily say it's far from Burnaby Lake Park.

[Klazu]

I am sure people have different preferences but in my mind Central Park is the gem in Metrotown. It is not your regular park and really, really nice. Deer Lake is another great green space, but it is not really "walking distance" from anywhere in Metrotown due to how much downhill it is. I always drive to it to spend the energy walking around the lake, not to and from it.

Based on my personal preference and after 5 years of living in Metrotown, I would rank the Beresford tower row the best location in the area, followed by the area around Patterson. Both are green on their own, quiet and have great access to Central Park and SkyTrain. Patterson is a bit far from the mall. The tower cluster east of Nelson Street is not nearly as nice no matter which direction you walk and I don't see that changing.

Maybe once they redevelop the mall space it will improve access and add green space for all parts of Metrotown.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I am sure people have different preferences but in my mind Central Park is the gem in Metrotown.

Based on your post I would assume you would live in the west end in Vancouver (to be close to Stanley park), but there are plenty of people who want to live in Yaletown or Downtown where they are closer to shopping but farther from nature.

The long-term vision for Metrotown is important. If it does indeed become a true downtown with the population density and commercial space to match, Concord will essentially be in the geographical center of that downtown.

I agree with your assessment of Beresford, but that's only because most of the street has already been redeveloped. Meanwhile Concord is essentially the first project of the Metropolis redevelopment that will take over 80 years to complete.

[Klazu]

I cannot figure out how to embed an Instagram photo on this forum, but is this another iteration on the Grand Tower's crown?

• Video Link

• Video Link

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I cannot figure out how to embed an Instagram photo on this forum, but is this another iteration on the Grand Tower's crown?
......

Would be cool and interesting if it was, but I'm not entirely convinced that it is.
I've seen (slightly more) updated images for this project from publications and Chinese-oriented marketing material that hews closer to what they've already shown, but with somewhat different treatment of the form (Read: "value engineered").
The crown didn't seem all that markedly different from the initial forms

[officedweller]

Is there a curved glass-screen crown that actually looks good?

The Melville's crown is too see-through to be prominent.
The Capitol's crown doesn't light up brightly enough.
601 West Hastings isn't great either.

Maybe Carina or Callisto down at Harbour Green.

Wall Centre's solid aluminum-clad mech penthouse looks better that most glass crowns.

[Klazu]

High-resolution images of the first phase Sky House.

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

is that view they're showing actually accurate? it looks insanely high up.

also, is that blue ribbon looking thing on the last picture a walking/running tack?

[officedweller]

Yes, running track.

I wonder if those moveable glass screen walls will fair well on high wind days?

[Mininari]

I can only imagine what the strata fee is going to ultimately be on a unit in this... (i.e. after a year of running operations, and discovering the developer set the budget way too low...)

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

is that view they're showing actually accurate? it looks insanely high up.

I took it from the Sky House page, so the middle tower that is sold out. It's definitely exaggerated for that tower but shouldn't be far off from the view from the top of Grand Tower, which is going to be almost 50 meters talker than Station Square 5. It is going to feel like your above everything from up there, as you can see just above Metro King.

[Klazu]

I don't quite like the sloping skyline they are planning with all six towers and hopefully (and very likely) the future phase will see a redesign to something else. Even Station Square changed significantly over the years.

[urbanight93]

This is a pretty bland design but i really hope the execution is good. Also dislike how wide the podium is. Maybe it's not a megablock necessarily but i can't imagine this iteration doing much for walkability

[Klazu]

Kingsway is already a megablock of sorts with few entryways far in between. I do like how wide sidewalks it has on the southside.

I also like what looks like a waterfall along the street in this plan. I hope it would be one as those are one nice element about Downtown that we don't have too much of in here.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Klazu

I took it from the Sky House page, so the middle tower that is sold out. It's definitely exaggerated for that tower but shouldn't be far off from the view from the top of Grand Tower, which is going to be almost 50 meters talker than Station Square 5. It is going to feel like your above everything from up there, as you can see just above Metro King.

The image you posted shows that the two smaller towers are both sold out.

Must be why they kicked off and are ramping up the sales on the Grand Tower.

I have to wonder, if they do manage to sell that out too in relatively record time (like say, by the end of this year), will it prompt them to kick off their plans for phase 2 and the other 3 towers.

It certainly seems like the appetite for high-end high-rise condos wasn't dented one bit by the pandemic like many in the industry were fearing/hoping for.

[djmk]

woah.

Metrotown will be an impressive city by itself.

And that blue ribbon is a great idea. especially for the elderly and/or those with dementia

[jasonpark]

I trust concord to pull this one off easily considering their experience. With a 2026 completion date, anything can happen within those 5 years. The problem with presale condos is that you're paying a premium for the developer because there's a real chance some smaller developers might not be able to complete.

I'm skeptical about the sliding balcony windows. It seems like a nightmare to maintain and the reliability is just not there.

[FarmerHaight]

I went to the Tour de Concord on Sunday (some out-of-the-box marketing by Concord Pacific) and walked through the sales centre.

The units are super luxurious and the amenities are killer! The curtain wall seems like a great idea. Even if it isn't useable space in the winter, between the sliding glass panels and the additional patio doors I don't see a lot of heat being lost from the units. It's no different from the number of buildings in downtown Van that have solariums, except I wouldn't want to use a solarium without an open-air component in the summer or winter.

The dollhouse model of the podium also had a Booster Juice logo in one of the commercial spaces. Maybe the first commercial tenant has signed on?