Burnaby’s Brentwood Town Centre could see another 12 highrise towers come to its northwest neighbourhood, as council reviews a proposal for the Buchanan West master plan.
The 10.68-acre site between Gilmore Avenue, Halifax Street, Madison Avenue and Lougheed Highway is larger than any of the Brentwood master plans approved last year.
The site would see up to 12 mixed-use residential and commercial towers, with “upwards of 6,000 homes,” a new neighbourhood park, two new streets connecting Gilmore Avenue to Madison Avenue east-west, and Halifax Street to Lougheed Highway north-south.
The development would include a variety of uses beyond residential, such as retail, office and hotel space.
With potential for “thousands of jobs in the retail, hospitality and knowledge-based industries,” the report to council states the “most significant goal” of the master plan is creating a “truly pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood.”
The city will host an open house for the public to share their thoughts on the Buchanan West master plan on Feb. 9 at Willingdon Community Centre from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Brentwood a growing district
Coun. Pietro Calendino celebrated the plan at council on Jan. 23, noting the area had not been developed because ownership of the land is not consolidated.
The master plan would be an incentive to owners to move ahead with development, Calendino said.
“I hope that this gives an incentive to the – whoever the owners are there – to maybe get moving and start some development, because it’s undeveloped area; it’s not very appealing to look at.”
Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley told the NOW the overall plan for Brentwood will see about 60,000 people reside in the neighbourhood.
“Now – who knows when it will all get built, depending on the economy,” Hurley said.
“But certainly, that’s why we’re building the new community centre, because we want to make that a walking community.”
Last year, four master plans at Brentwood were approved: Grosvenor Brentwood, the South Yards, the Bassano site and Brentwood West totalling 19 towers and a minimum of about 8,100 residential units.
What’s planned
Grosvenor Brentwood
- By Grosvenor
- Between 3,000 and 3,600 housing units
- Located at 4600 block of Lougheed Highway, between Alpha and Beta avenues and Dawson Street
- Six towers
- 7.9 acres
- Includes city-owned community centre and almost three acres of green space
The South Yards
- Owned by Anthem Properties and KingSett Capital (the property was sold for $215 million last January, according to Bloomberg Tax)
- About 2,500 housing units
- Located at 2223 – 2375 Alpha Avenue, 2350 – 2430 Willingdon Avenue and 4500 – 4554 Dawson Street
- Five towers ranging from 36 storeys to a maximum of 47
- Eight acres
Bassano
- By Boffo Developments
- About 1,240 housing units
- Located at 2100, 2160 and 2210 Springer Ave. and 5334 Lougheed Hwy.
- Four towers ranging from 34 to 45 or 50 storeys
- 4.1 acres
- Plans to provide non-market rental housing as a “swing site” to temporarily house tenants displaced by development in Metrotown.
Brentwood West
- By Bosa
- About 1,400 housing units
- Located at 4430 and 4488 Halifax St., 4461 Lougheed Hwy., 1801, 1925, and 1967 Willingdon Ave. (across the street from Brentwood Mall, where the Petro Canada gas station is)
- Four towers between 39 and 64 storeys
- 3.27 acres
Update and correction: This article has been updated to include the date of the public open house and edited to include the name of the correct developer of Grosvenor Brentwood. The NOW apologizes for the error.
