Burnaby Updates

[mr.sandbag]

i agree somewhat is jlousa, however the car dealership immediately south of the skytrain station will one be redeveloped with Highrises as well, the impact will be similair, also depending on where you are in burnaby, the views of the mountains are always different.

[officedweller]

I like the way the building form a separate "peak" rather than just blocking or lining up with the mountains.

[dleung]

the skyline study is a joke... the relationship to the mountains is even more arbitrary and useless than the cambie bridge viewcone. When will Brentwood town centre ever be viewed at such an angle? I'd be more interested in how it looks from the skytrain approaches.

[officedweller]

Also just noticed this post at the Brentwood Station blog.
I can't see buses using the "High Street" as they would be significantly delayed (unless there aren't many routes that actually turn around at Brentwood (?))

http://brentwoodstation.blogspot.com...-to-begin.html

Entertainment Plaza completed in 3 years

Representatives of Shape Properties indicated that the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment (BMR) will begin with the Entertainment Plaza (EP) as Phase 1 of the project. The EP will include the "Fashion District High Street" which project representatives likened to Robson Street with space for pedestrians and a road for cars to go through between Willingdon and Lougheed with parking along both sides. Another representative made the comparison to Park Royal in West Vancouver. The EP will be an all-weather gathering place. It was mentioned that there would be a stage for live performances and speaking. Shape Properties hopes to get approval to move ahead with this phase by the end of this year and begin construction in 2013. The EP is expected to take 3 years to build and will include an open plaza surrounded by buildings and overhead walkways connecting to the existing mall.

...

No Bus Loop

It was mentioned that the bus loop will disappear to make room for the EP and buses will line along Lougheed Hwy between Alpha & Willingdon and along Willingdon Ave between Lougheed & Halifax. In order to change direction, the buses will enter the mall site and move along the high street to turn around.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I've seen the Brentwood pdf earlier, I have to say looking at page 23 I'm not a fan of the proposed skyline. The height at Solo seems to follow the Mountain backdrop well as does most of the other towers. The Brentwood proposal just throws it all out of whack. It would be more suited for more towers at ~30 stories, bulkier podiums instead of a tower up to 60 stories. Anyways that's my opinion.

Why does every skyline in our metro have to be a tabletop? I personally find peaks and valleys much more appealing. 20-30 years from now metro Vancouver will end up looking alot like Seoul if we don't allow some serious height in the burbs.

[jlousa]

Did you look at the pdf in question, doing what I mentioned wouldn't result in a table top effect at all, it would simply mimic the mountain ranges to the north, which are not flat.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that it appears JKMC is working on this one, think we have an idea on what to expect.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by jlousa

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that it appears JKMC is working on this one, think we have an idea on what to expect.

I noticed that - but since the developer isn't Concord - maybe we'll get something more like Fairmont Pacific Rim, Shangri-La, Palisades or Residences on Georgia?? (although Burnaby isn't as high-end as some of those ones)

I found it interesting that the entertainment plaza is circular, whereas I don't think of his designs as being "organic".

[logan5]

I really hope these proposals at Brentwood and Metrotown (Station Square) come to fruition. Tall buildings aren't all about ego and status, they make for a more interesting 3 dimensional landscape.

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by logan5

I really hope these proposals at Brentwood and Metrotown (Station Square) come to fruition. Tall buildings aren't all about ego and status, they make for a more interesting 3 dimensional landscape.

I think both of these projects are certainly moving forward at this point. Brentwood especially - apparently they are requiring some tenants to move to other locations in this mall as early as October of this year in order to accommodate construction. With construction at that intersection (Lougheed and Willingdon) beginning for Solo this summer, it's going to be a very busy area!

I'm assuming that underground parking will be required at Brentwood, given that they seem to be building out the vast majority of the property.

[phesto]

Given the expected price points, hard to believe JKMC would design something really distinctive for Brentwood, although Shape and their institutional partner haven't really done any highrise buildings, so you never know. To that end, taller buildings usually mean better views, higher price points, and better exterior design/finish - as opposed to another round of 30-storey nondescript towers.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Did you look at the pdf in question, doing what I mentioned wouldn't result in a table top effect at all, it would simply mimic the mountain ranges to the north, which are not flat.

I did look at the pdf, and from that vantage point maybe so. But from downtown or heading down 1st Avenue towards the highway it would still look very much like a tabletop, and from many other angles as well. Brentwood already has more than enough non descript 30 story towers.

[cornholio]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

I think both of these projects are certainly moving forward at this point. Brentwood especially - apparently they are requiring some tenants to move to other locations in this mall as early as October of this year in order to accommodate construction. With construction at that intersection (Lougheed and Willingdon) beginning for Solo this summer, it's going to be a very busy area!

I'm assuming that underground parking will be required at Brentwood, given that they seem to be building out the vast majority of the property.

Could they be moving ahead faster to avoid construction causing problems for their tenants and customer base later on when they will have some serious competition in the area. There has been allot of retail built in the area outside of the mall and this Solo project will add even more and who knows what else is in the works that we dont know about.

I see some sort of benefit redeveloping the mall lands before even more competition comes on the market and establishes itself in the area.

[red-paladin]

Personally I think the prize lot would be the car dealership adjacent to Brentwood station. A tower at that corner could connect directly to the station concourse level.

[Waders]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

I'm assuming that underground parking will be required at Brentwood, given that they seem to be building out the vast majority of the property.

That seems to be the case according to an artist's rendering in Burnaby NewsLeader of how the Brentwood Town Centre property might looks like.

Source

[officedweller]

Yeah, the original diagrams showed the undergournd parking (the Brentwood Station blog still has small versions of the diagrams I think). See here - labelled "Street Level" due to diving into the hillside from Lougheed:

http://brentwoodstation.blogspot.com...-begin-in.html

One of the underground parking entrances is just north of the purple roundabout. There may also be one directly off Lougheed south of the purple roundabout. I can't help thinking that the "High Street" will be a traffic clogged mess unless there's direct access to parking from Lougheed and from Willingdon (akin to the Eaton Centre part of Metropolis at Metrotown). Imagine having parking entrances off the Park Royal Village high street - Ugh.

[Metro-One]

Just rode the skytrain through Metrotown, talk about a big skyline change happening!

The 141 meter tower (Metroplace?) seems to be nearing full excavation.

The tower near the Rec Centre is a couple floors above grade now.

Metrotower 3 has 4 piers at about 3 floors above grade now.

It also appears that Sovereign has a second crane going up.

That is 4 towers u/c over 100 meters in Metrotown!

And now there is a 5th proposed just above 120 meters (forget the name). And I saw some adds for it on the Canada Line at Waterfront Station.

So a possible 5 towers over 100m u/c! Potentially 3 of them all the new tallest 3.

[red-paladin]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Just rode the skytrain through Metrotown, talk about a big skyline change happening!

The 141 meter tower (Metroplace?) seems to be nearing full excavation.

The tower near the Rec Centre is a couple floors above grade now.

Metrotower 3 has 4 piers at about 3 floors above grade now.

It also appears that Sovereign has a second crane going up.

That is 4 towers u/c over 100 meters in Metrotown!

And now there is a 5th proposed just above 120 meters (forget the name). And I saw some adds for it on the Canada Line at Waterfront Station.

So a possible 5 towers over 100m u/c! Potentially 3 of them all the new tallest 3.

The Silver you're thinking.

But I know eh?

I showed the forum's pictures to my friend from Texas and he was dumbfounded our economy is doing this well. He assumed it was all doom adn gloom here too. Then I showed him the pics from Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto....

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by officedweller

North Road & Cameron (NW corner):

http://www.sitings.ca/currentproject.cfm?projectid=55

Another render here:
with Thriftys, Starbucks and National Bank clearly visible:

http://www.integra-arch.com/portfoli...?id=9&proj=102

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Another render here:
with Thriftys, Starbucks and National Bank clearly visible:

http://www.integra-arch.com/portfoli...?id=9&proj=102

I called the Thrifty's! and the Starbucks was a no brainer

Thrifties is really making a solid push into Metro Vancouver! I wonder when the Vancouver store will be official official? as its semi at this point .....

[SpongeG]

finally my neighbourhood gets a strabucks not inside a safeway or the mall