A new development proposal, on land directly across from Lougheed Town Centre SkyTrain station, is slated to be the tallest building in B.C. — at 80 storeys high.
Burnaby city council moved phase 1 of the proposed project by developer Pinnacle International at 9850 Austin Rd., 9858 Gatineau Pl. and 9898 Gatineau Pl. through its first reading on May 9.
There are two highrises planned for phase 1. The first tower will be 73 storeys and the second 80 storeys, including a podium of commercial and office space.
In a 2019 letter of intent to the City of Burnaby, Pinnacle International's vice-president of development wrote, "The tower podiums will share common thematic elements and will be interconnected with sky bridges allowing pedestrian movement between buildings and a connection to the Lougheed Mall Precinct."
The proposal includes a total of 1,466 market strata residences.
Both buildings incorporate a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
The development will meet its inclusionary rental obligation (required by Burnaby's Rental Use Zoning Policy) by providing 405 rental units at the Burnaby affordable rate of 20% below the market median for Burnaby North in a different building at nearby 3846 Carrigan Crt.
There are 311 adaptable units planned for phase 1 (147 in the first building and 164 in the second) with 173 accessible parking stalls.
The total number of residential parking stalls is 1,612, with 1,067 spaces for commercial parking.
The staff report says the developer will support alternative modes of transportation by including a subsidy for a two-zone transit pass to 15% of the strata units for 24 months, 14 car share parking spaces, and a fund to support car share services — equivalent to one car per 100 units, with memberships available to all strata residents.
The development will include work lounges, parcel storage rooms and a bike repair and storage room (the report allocates 3,374 spaces for residential, visitor and commercial bicycle parking).
It will also include a fitness centre, yoga studio, swimming pool, private party rooms and children's play room.
Further phases of the development are waiting on an agreement to be reached with the developer and the British Columbia Transportation Financing Authority, a Crown corporation which owns the private driveway access for the bus exchange off Gatineau Place.
The tallest building in the province is currently Vancouver's Living Shangri-La at 62 storeys. In Burnaby, construction on the Gilmore Place development is underway for up to 65 storeys.
There will be a public hearing regarding this development on May 31.
