Lots of coverage of today’s public hearing on the rezoning of Burnaby’s Brentwood Mall (map here), which used to look like this in 1953 (aerial here):
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And now looks like this:
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And will, if the rezoning is approved, look like this in about two decades:
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UPDATE: Development details here, from Habilis.
For a detailed backstory, check out David Pereira’s analysis of Brentwood Town Centre here, including other recent rezoning proposals. (Or a shortened version here at Price Points in SpacingVancouver.)
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Interviews with James Cheng, the architect; Burnaby Councillor Paul McDonell; and me:
SFU city programs director Gordon Price says Burnaby is really leading the charge.
“Good transit, they’ve got it. Good mix, they’ve got. A good street, a good feel – well, they are working on it. But all the elements are here,” says Price.
As David points out repeatedly in his thesis, Burnaby more than any other municipality has led the way on developing visions for its town centres, approving projects that actually got developed, and taking advantage of rapid-transit to lever dense highrise development for its station areas. One need only compare the difference in Vancouver along the Expo line, where some station areas have been essentially unchanged for the last quarter century .
I just read those towers would be the tallest in the region. That seems a bit strange to me – that 70-story tower would look very strange in Brentwood from afar, completely dwarfing everything built nearby. Not sure if I agree with the developer when he says height isn’t important.
That said, it’s about time this mall got redeveloped and I’m glad to see them taking this path generally speaking. Same with Oakridge. I think Coquitlam Centre has a real opportunity to redevelop that site as well as the Evergreen Line comes on, and same with Lougheed. Let’s hope we see more plans.
As a resident within eyesight of Brentwood Mall, I’m generally supportive of the plan…Condo towers continue to rise west of Willingdon, sooner or later the massive parking lot would be developed. The plan is here. More ambitious than plopping down a few “TGI Lobsters” or “Generic O’ Pubs’. The public plazas look idyllic in the artist’s conceptions compared to the parking lot. http://www.shapeproperties.com/sites/default/files/22JUN2012%20-%20BTC%20OPEN%20HOUSE%202%20-%20BOARDS%20-%20FINAL%20DRAFT%202.pdf
You can see all of the conceptual drawings for the Brentwood redevelopment here: http://habilisblog.com/brentwood-town-centre-redevelopment-details/