Burnaby Updates

[sburnaby33]

Originally Posted by officedweller

From VancouverMarket.ca:

Boffo has a 4 tower project in east Brentwood:


http://www.vancouvermarket.ca/2017/0...rentwood-site/


http://www.vancouvermarket.ca/2017/0...rentwood-site/

Is there really this much demand from residents in Vancouver that justifies building upwards of 25 towers in the area in the next 5 years? Or, is the level of speculation so high that these towers are justified purely for investment vehicles? Wish there were better statistics kept in terms of units that are actually lived in and those that sit empty.

When I bought in the area I saw quite a few red passports and overheard people talking about investment opportunities. I bought my unit to live in, not as a speculative play.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by sburnaby33

Is there really this much demand from residents in Vancouver that justifies building upwards of 25 towers in the area in the next 5 years? Or, is the level of speculation so high that these towers are justified purely for investment vehicles? Wish there were better statistics kept in terms of units that are actually lived in and those that sit empty.

Well there are 30,000 new people moving into the region so keep that in mind. It's not all "speculative". Also if people buy for investment more often than not they rent their units out

[rickvug]

Isn't population growth something like 20k-30k per year in Metro Vancouver? If you assume 25k a year that means 125k more people need to be housed within 5 years. 25 towers in Brentwood x 200 units in each x 2 people in each unit = room for 10k people. That's 8% of Metro Vancouver demand. These are rough numbers of course. 8% of all of Metro Vancouver's growth happening in Brentwood sounds high to me but is within reason for such a booming area. Based on all of the construction happening and high demand I could also see growth coming it at or above the high end of forecasts. There's also pent up demand from under-building after 2008.

[swan_ch]

Originally Posted by flipper316

Why oh why didn't Cameron Station get constructed? Seems very short sighted.

http://www.burnabynow.com/news/burna...ation-1.412533

Possibly because they never reach a deal on the station. According to this Burnaby Now news report back in 2012, the province wants Burnaby to pay $3Mil on their own for the station and an empty lot on North Road first and the province will put another $3Mil+ for the rest of the project later. However, Burnaby states that simply wants both Burnaby and the province to split the bill altogether whenever it costs both side $3Mil or so.

[BodomReaper]

Originally Posted by flipper316

Why oh why didn't Cameron Station get constructed? Seems very short sighted.

Because Corrigan wanted to generate bad news stories about how the Liberal government isn't "coming to the table" blah blah blah. That's it.

[Klazu]

You are talking like it could never happen. All our lines will have stations added in the future.

[officedweller]

I don't think Cameron Station will ever happen - because:
- the line is built too low to the median for a mezzanine to be built under it; and
- you'd need a level section of track for the platforms.

The disputed additional cost was to raise the heights of the columns and build a level section of track.

[POCO]

Now if we can finally get rid of that ugly bowling alley directly to the East of this project.

[sburnaby33]

Originally Posted by rickvug

Isn't population growth something like 20k-30k per year in Metro Vancouver? If you assume 25k a year that means 125k more people need to be housed within 5 years. 25 towers in Brentwood x 200 units in each x 2 people in each unit = room for 10k people. That's 8% of Metro Vancouver demand. These are rough numbers of course. 8% of all of Metro Vancouver's growth happening in Brentwood sounds high to me but is within reason for such a booming area. Based on all of the construction happening and high demand I could also see growth coming it at or above the high end of forecasts. There's also pent up demand from under-building after 2008.

In other words we should be building more rather than less. The developments makes sense then given the population growth. So, should be mostly residents buying with a bit of speculation sprinkled in.

As for the pent up demand it is real. The number of people that wanted a unit when I purchased last year was crazy. Lucky to get a unit that day. Given the growth and demand in the area there is nothing stopping further growth. Will be incredibly dense in a few years and feel more urban and city-like than Metro.

As for the bowling alley it should go soon. Cant see it holding on with all the pressure being exerted on industrial properties in the area. Revs and Carters are now vurtually the last two prime areas to be developed.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by sburnaby33

In other words we should be building more rather than less. The developments makes sense then given the population growth. So, should be mostly residents buying with a bit of speculation sprinkled in.

As for the pent up demand it is real. The number of people that wanted a unit when I purchased last year was crazy. Lucky to get a unit that day. Given the growth and demand in the area there is nothing stopping further growth. Will be incredibly dense in a few years and feel more urban and city-like than Metro.

As for the bowling alley it should go soon. Cant see it holding on with all the pressure being exerted on industrial properties in the area. Revs and Carters are now vurtually the last two prime areas to be developed.

Not to derail but metro Vancouver has been overbuilding for a while now. Speculation is not just a sprinkle, it is certainly the number one reason for purchase in many areas. Brentwood will grow naturally no matter what but there is no doubt it is overbuilding and being heavily targeted by speculators.

[sburnaby33]

Originally Posted by cornholio

Not to derail but metro Vancouver has been overbuilding for a while now. Speculation is not just a sprinkle, it is certainly the number one reason for purchase in many areas. Brentwood will grow naturally no matter what but there is no doubt it is overbuilding and being heavily targeted by speculators.

I initially mentioned that the level of speculation was high, but was countered by the fact that the Metro area is growing by 30000 people a year. Based on this fact than we are building for that need, and need to continue to build. Personally, I do not agree with it because of the level of development occurring in the area is staggering. I wish there was better, and more reliable, data collected on condo purchases. Would give us an indication who is buying to live, like what I did, and those looking to make a quick buck.

[Bdawe]

Originally Posted by sburnaby33

I initially mentioned that the level of speculation was high, but was countered by the fact that the Metro area is growing by 30000 people a year. Based on this fact than we are building for that need, and need to continue to build. Personally, I do not agree with it because of the level of development occurring in the area is staggering. I wish there was better, and more reliable, data collected on condo purchases. Would give us an indication who is buying to live, like what I did, and those looking to make a quick buck.

One of the interesting things from the last census period was that population per household fell from 2011. The numbers are close enough that they might not seem substantial, but when you reckon net new person per net new household, the rate in 2016 is drops from something like 2.4 to 2.1 (IIRC, did the calculation a while ago). This says that households are absorbing units at a much faster rate than they would of at the previous pattern. If the average new household has 2.1 people there needs to be a bit less than 15% more units than if it has 2.4 people

[excel]

Willingdon Linear Park:












mine.

[Marshal]

Instant 'special' street for the region.

[rickvug]

Can someone explain the background of Willingdon Linear Park to me? My understanding is that Burnaby has been buying up this land for decades. Were they always planning for a linear park or was the assumption road widening? Also, is part of the reason for this protecting a large right of way for future LTR or Skytrain extension that would directly connect Brentwood and Metrotown?

If I were Burnaby I'd look at rezoning the first 3-5 single family lots that front the park. Allow for 6 story midrise on the condition that even more frontage is given to the city to widen the park. If this park works out suddenly living along Willingdon could be really nice.

[Vin]

I'm pretty sure the original intent was to assemble those lots for eventual road widening back in the days. With the construction of the Millemium Line and the subsequent rezoning to high density of the Brentwood neighbourhood, I suppose it was anticipated that future traffic situation would not be as dire as previously predicted along the stretch. If the Millenium Line were to be built along Hastings Street, things would have been very different now, as a high density node would probably be shifted north to Hastings/Willingdon.

Currently and well into the future, the part of Willingdon with heavy vehicular traffic use is probably between Brentwood and Metrotown, and thus we wouldn't be expecting a linear park along this area.

Besides, Brentwood neighbourhood really needs a community park, and I don't think the cemetery cuts it as one. I have to say either by luck or through good foresight, Burnaby's development in the last decade is very progressive. Many areas are converted to green land or parks due to high-density rezoning: something Vancouver should be ashamed about.

[SpongeG]

Etoile is going south of the red outlined area, where it says REM1 is part of etoile, those 2 towers plus the proposed 4 will have 6 towers in that area

[urbancanadian]

^I think the red outline in that pic might be an error. AFAIK, the property at 5396 Lougheed Highway (Rem B) is not included within this development. Also, don't forget the Beedie tower across Springer on the Kirmac lot.

-------------------------

Originally Posted by rickvug

Can someone explain the background of Willingdon Linear Park to me? My understanding is that Burnaby has been buying up this land for decades. Were they always planning for a linear park or was the assumption road widening? Also, is part of the reason for this protecting a large right of way for future LTR or Skytrain extension that would directly connect Brentwood and Metrotown?

Burnaby has planned to extend the Bus-only lanes north to Hastings for years now. In typical Burnaby fashion they took forever to actually get going on the project, and it's paid off in this case since we now know that there just aren't the traffic levels to justify the expenditure. So they decided to go with the "linear park" instead.

I'm certainly in favour of it, I just wish they would've extended the separated bike lanes north of Brentwood instead of another "mixed-use" path.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by urbancanadian

I'm certainly in favour of it, I just wish they would've extended the separated bike lanes north of Brentwood instead of another "mixed-use" path.

As I understand it, there are a number of reasons why they are not doing that. Obviously a separated path would be much wider, in places leaving no space for anything else. That would entail the loss of more existing trees, and complicate the many intersections (you'll notice how the planned path curves away from the road, then back towards it at the intersections). I also believe it would have been more expensive.

In effect, the choice was between a travel corridor, probably something like the Solo frontage, and the more park-like design that we are getting. Which is better? That depends on what you want. If you're just passing through, you probably want the bike lane. If you live in the neighbourhood, you might be happier with the park. There are definite trade-offs either way. Seeing that video (and living in the neighbourhood), I am optimistic that they made a good choice. But like you, my bottom line is that, perfect or not, I'm in favour of it, and so happy they decided not to extend the bus lanes (something I wrote them about years ago).

[flipper316]

While i'm sure it'll look nice, come on let's call it what it is. It ain't no park. It's a fancy sidewalk/bike path.