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Posted Jul 9, 2010, 8:26 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Surrey
Posts: 2,014
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its alot to read but should answer some stuff people are wondering
Quote:
Initial Application
On November 20, 2006, a Planning Report was considered by Council related to the discharge of Land Use Contract No. 365 that covers part of the site on which the Guildford shopping centre is located and a general Development Permit to allow for the following new development on that shopping centre site:
The phased construction of a new 20,438 square metres (220,000 square foot) Wal-Mart store with a grocery component;
A new parking configuration providing approximately 5,819 stalls at full build-out;
Construction of approximately nine separate free-standing commercial retail units (CRUs) on the parking structure and along 152 Street; and
An internal expansion and renovations to the existing mall, including a new food court.
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Based on staff’s recommendation, Council referred the project back to staff to work with the applicant to develop a more urban and pedestrian-friendly development, which better responded to the location of the Guildford Town Centre Mall as the heart of the Guildford Town Centre, in accordance with the design strategies listed in the report.
On December 18, 2006, a second Planning Report related to the subject project was submitted to Council for consideration, which in addition to a partial discharge of Land Use Contract No. 365 and a Development Permit included a Development Variance Permit to vary the building setback along the west property line (150 Street) from 7.5 metres (25 feet) to 7.0 metres (23 feet). The applicant had modified their proposal to include the following:
The redevelopment of the Guildford Town Centre Mall based on a general development concept; and
The construction of a new 18,808-square metre (202,451 square foot) Wal-Mart store with a grocery component and the associated parking facilities forming part of proposed Phase I.
The project included a two-level mall expansion due south of the existing mall, the addition of a new food court to the shopping centre, a "nature walk" and "terrace steps" as part of an improved pedestrian connection through and within the site, 2 two-level parkades with one level constructed underground, improved loading areas, additional retail opportunities along 152 Street, a facelift to the existing exterior facades and the renovation and updating of the interior spaces of the existing mall to match the new addition. Council approved the application to proceed to a Public Hearing related to the LUC discharge.
On January 15, 2007 the related Public Hearing was held and subsequent to that Hearing, Council granted Third Reading to By-law No. 16221, to allow for the partial discharge of Land Use Contract No. 365 and approved the Development Variance Permit for the variance of the building setback along 150 Street.
Due to the economy the applicant did not proceed with the project at that time. The applicant has now decided to reactivate the project but with some modifications.
Current Application
On September 16, 2009, a revised application was submitted, which changed the scope of the original application. The construction of a new Wal-Mart is still proposed and includes a grocery supermarket and a garden centre.
The key differences between the original proposal which proceeded to Council in 2006 and the current proposal are as follows:
The most significant change is a decrease in floor area of the Wal-Mart store by over 5,000 square metres (54,000 square feet) to a proposed floor area of 15,329 square metres (165,000 square feet).
The Wal-Mart store has been shifted further south and the vehicular access from 150 Street has been eliminated in response to traffic flow studies conducted by the developer’s consultant. These studies supported the elimination of the below grade vehicular access south of Wal-Mart which previously resulted in CPTED issues;
The floor elevation of the Wal-Mart store has been raised to match the existing floor elevation of the existing lower mall level to eliminate grading difficulties and to improve accessibility;
The access point to the parking deck has been moved further to the west. The associated new on grade ramp creates a new landscape berm into the site and connects to the landscape buffer along 150 Street;
There is only one entrance into the Wal-Mart store;
The grocery store component has been relocated to the south side of the Wal-Mart component and the mechanical equipment has been shifted in location; and
One less loading bay is proposed at the rear of the store, which allows for a north orientation of all bays and the access point for the truck loading ramp has been shifted further to the north.
The revised development application was forwarded to the Advisory Design Panel (ADP) on October 15, 2009 and received general support, subject to some design revisions.
The applicant has further modified the project as follows (see the attached Appendix I):
The Phase I boundary has been changed to exclude a parking deck west of the Phase II retail expansion;
The sidewalk along the north side of the lower level has been widened by slightly shifting the parking grid to the south;
The Wal-Mart pavilion has been redesigned using a pyramid profile to reflect a better relationship to the existing building;
Light wells have been introduced on the south side of the parking to allow day light penetration, as recommended by the ADP;
The sidewalks on each side of the main vehicular entrance off of 152 Street will be enhanced. The ADP had recommended that the sidewalks be of equal dimensions;
Further design has been incorporated along the east/west pedestrian connection along the south elevation of Wal-Mart and along the south elevation of the parking deck from 150 Street to 152 Street;
The treatment along the west facade of the mall, along 150 Street, has been revised to provide vertical landscape elements and tree textured motifs within the concrete walls; and
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The upper deck is to be regraded at the west entrance and along the sidewalk to the east of the entrance to satisfy drainage issues and to have a better relationship with the upper level of the retail floor.
A separate Development Permit application for Phase II, Application No. 7909-0174-00, has been submitted by the applicant, to allow for the following:
Expansion of the upper and lower retail components on the southerly portion of the site along 152 Street;
Facade renovations to the existing building, except for the Bay and London Drugs;
Modifications to the existing entries to the mall;
Existing free-standing canopies will be demolished and will be replaced with new entry canopies;
Surface parking will be restriped to maximize parking layout and landscaped to include surface lighting; and
Demolition of the building west of Sears.
Phase II will also include the reorientation of parking, which is currently within road dedication areas but which will remain as part of the Phase I project to support existing tenant agreements. The developer proposes to have the new parking in place at the end of Phase II, when all improvements have been completed to the mall. A separate Planning report will be forwarded to Council when the applicant is ready to proceed with the Phase II application.
Lot Consolidation and Road Dedication
Under the current Phase I application eight of the 14 lots within the overall site will be consolidated (Appendix II). The three lots at the southeast corner of 150 Street and 104 Avenue will remain as separate lots, along with the three lots north of 104 Avenue.
The lot consolidation will facilitate road dedication along 150 Street, 104 Avenue and 152 Street. The remaining parcels not being consolidated will be subject to the registration of rights-of-way to secure future road widening.
Since a revised application has been submitted, new Engineering requirements were generated for the revised proposal (Appendix III).
Engineering staff has confirmed with TransLink that a possible 39.0-metre (128 f00t) wide road right-of-way will be required along 104 Avenue and along 152 Street to facilitate the implementation of Light Rapid Transit. This requires a 3.9552-metre (13 f00t) road dedication along the 104 Avenue and 152 Street frontages of the site that is the subject of the current application, which is an increase from 1.455 metres (4.5 feet) previously stipulated along the south side of 104 Avenue and the west side of 152 Street under the earlier development proposal.
Circulation, Access and Parking
The main vehicular access points to the mall have not changed significantly. There are currently two access points from 150 Street, one from 101 Avenue, one from 104 Avenue and three access points from 152 Street. The main access point at 152 Street and 102 Avenue will be
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enhanced with landscaping and a median to provide a more formal entrance to the mall. The northerly access points from 150 Street and 152 Street are to be shifted further north; however, this will not occur until the Phase II component of the project proceeds. The current most northerly vehicular access point along 150 Street must be shifted further north to accommodate two loading bays for the development. These new loading bays are to be screened with mesh panels and climbing vines and hedging.
Median along 150 Street
An existing vehicular access off 150 Street is being relocated further north to accommodate the new location of a loading bay for Wal-Mart. As a result, Engineering staff has requested that a median be constructed along 150 Street to restrict access to right in/right out at this driveway. This median will also restrict traffic movements to right in/right out on 150 Street for those commercial sites located along the west side of 150 Street, south of 104 Avenue.
The developer held a meeting at Guildford Town Centre Mall on April 21, 2010, with Surrey Planning and Development Department and Engineering Department staff in attendance, to present information about this proposed median to the owners of the businesses on the west side of 150 Street that will be affected by its installation. Only three business owners attended the meeting. Generally, the sentiment was that the mall renovations were supportable, welcomed and much-needed for the community. The property owners understood that the median construction would only formalize the existing traffic movement currently permitted along 150 Street, south of 104 Avenue.
Multi-use Walkway
The applicant has agreed to provide a 2.5-metre (8 foot) wide multi-use walkway along 150 Street, which will allow for a pedestrian connection from Guildford Town Centre Mall to the Guildford Recreation Centre and Library at 150 Street and 105 Avenue.
Inclusion of Future Transit Exchange
Ultimately, a Transit Exchange will be required in the Guildford Town Centre area, north of 104 Avenue, which will be located within the area covered by Phase II component of the project.
TransLink has not provided any details at this time regarding the design of such a facility. City Engineering staff are involved in continuing discussions with TransLink.
TownShift Competition
On November 2, 2009, the City of Surrey announced a competition to generate a future vision and design ideas for the five Town Centre areas within Surrey. The site selected as the focus of the competition in Guildford consisted of lands on the west side of 152 Street at 104 Avenue, which are in part included in the Phase II component of the redevelopment of the mall. The overall winning submission for the Town Shift competition was an entry by Mr. Renate Solivar, MAIBC, related to the Guildford site. Coincidentally, Mr. Solivar is an architect with Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership, the architectural firm for the subject application.
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The TownShift design brief for Guildford presented a challenge to temper and humanize the busy corner of 104 Avenue and 152 Street, to introduce place-making and to provide a sense of arrival to Guildford. Most of the entries that were received focused on enlivening 152 Street as the "Main Street" of Guildford. The winning submission as referenced above developed a building that engaged the street while addressing the mall, with a sophisticated scheme that included “permeable" retail at the ground floor along 152 Street and a mix of uses above including residential all housed in a bold building and colourful forms.
Given that the Guildford TownShift site is situated partially within the boundary of the Phase II component of the Guildford Town Centre redevelopment, Mr. Solivar has presented his winning submission to the developer. The master plan for the mall site, including Phase II, shows the addition of three retail buildings located along 152 Street on both sides of 104 Avenue. This gives a sense of street engagement. As well, a wider sidewalk and public realm treatment will be provided along 152 Street in Phase II. Beyond that, the mall owner has stated that any additional buildings in front of the mall's major tenant (The Bay) cannot be considered due to leasing constraints. The loss of surface parking would also be a concern. Staff would encourage the mall owner to take into consideration the ideas from the TownShift competition as part of the planning and design when they proceed with the Phase II component of the mall redevelopment (Application No. 7909-0174-00). This could include an enhanced public realm involving art sculptures and greening solutions. The three retail buildings should engage the street rather than turning their backs on the street. These considerations will be reviewed in Phase II.
Application Status
The developer is completing all outstanding requirements for finalization of the development application. It is anticipated that this application will be proceeding to Council in May 2010 for consideration of final adoption.
CONCLUSION
Based on the above discussion, it is recommended that Council approve the revised design for Phase I of the Guildford Town Centre Mall redevelopment, as described in this report, including all necessary adjustments to the Development Permit related to Development
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