479 homes and new retail proposed for Lynn Valley Safeway redevelopment in North Vancouver

Dec 3 2021, 12:19 am

The District of North Vancouver has received a preliminary application to turn the Safeway grocery store site at Lynn Valley Town Centre into a major mixed-use development.

The lot at 1170 East 27th Street spans an area of 2.8 acres immediately west of Lynn Valley Centre shopping mall, just south of the intersection of Lynn Valley Road and East 29th Street.

The existing Safeway, with a floor area of 36,000 sq ft, was first built in 1970, and the building is surrounded by a surface vehicle parking lot.

Preliminary plans by architectural firm IBI Group show a site-wide retail podium containing a 43,600 sq ft replacement grocery store, 13,400 sq ft civic amenity space, and 1,840 sq ft of additional retail space.

1170 East 27th Street North Vancouver Safeway Crombie REIT

Lynn Valley Centre Safeway at 1170 East 27th Street, North Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Four residential towers containing a combined total of 479 homes would rise over the podium, reaching 12 storeys, 11 storeys, 10 storeys, and nine storeys. Three underground levels would contain 713 vehicle parking stalls.

The redevelopment’s proposed total floor area is approximately 432,000 sq ft, providing the project with a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 3.51 times larger than the size of the lot.

1170 East 27th Street North Vancouver Safeway Crombie REIT

Preliminary concept for the redevelopment of Lynn Valley Centre Safeway at 1170 East 27th Street, North Vancouver. (IBI Group/Crombie REIT)

1170 East 27th Street North Vancouver Safeway Crombie REIT

Preliminary concept for the redevelopment of Lynn Valley Centre Safeway at 1170 East 27th Street, North Vancouver. (IBI Group/Crombie REIT)

The proposed uses, heights, and density generally align with the municipal government’s Official Development Plan for Lynn Valley Town Centre.

It also mirrors the type of mixed-use development recently built by Bosa Properties and designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects across the street on the southern half of the shopping mall, which contains about 360 homes and about 300,000 sq ft of retail, restaurants, and services, including a Save-On-Foods.

Crombie REIT owns the Safeway lot, which it acquired from Sobeys owner Empire Company in 2013 as part of an acquisition of 68 Safeway locations across Western Canada for $1 billion. They also own the Safeway next to SkyTrain Commercial-Broadway Station in Vancouver, and are in the process of seeking approval for a major mixed-use redevelopment with a replacement grocery store and residential uses that are mainly rental housing.

1170 East 27th Street North Vancouver Safeway Lynn Valley Centre

Crombie REIT’s Lynn Valley Centre Safeway grocery store site (left) and Bosa Properties’ 2020-built Lynn Valley Centre complex (right). (Google Maps)

Kenneth ChanKenneth Chan

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