772 homes with reduced parking eyed to replace gas station at Lougheed SkyTrain

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of 3965 North Road, Burnaby. (Canderel)

The City of Burnaby is set to initiate the formal review process for a rezoning application to build mixed-use towers replacing the Esso gas station next to SkyTrain Lougheed Town Centre Station.

This gas station is located at 3965 North Road — the southwest corner of the intersection of North Road and Austin Road. This is not to be confused for the Shell gas station just to the south.

Montreal-based developer Canderel acquired the 1.3-acre property in 2021.

“The acquisition of 3965 North Road is an exciting opportunity to be a part of the Lougheed Core Area’s transformation into a vibrant neighbourhood,” said Bryce Margetts, vice president of Western Canada for Canderel, at the time. “We are very excited to be working on the redevelopment of this site to support the evolving needs of this neighbourhood.”

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Two years later, the firm has now indicated they are looking to develop a mixed-use complex with a 56-storey condominium tower and a 43-storey rental apartment tower. This includes a 10-storey base podium with 173,000 sq ft of office and retail/restaurant uses.

There will be a total of 772 homes, including 456 condominium homes, 239 market rental homes, and 77 non-market rental homes.

The unit size mix is 74 studios, 192 one-bedroom units, 183 two-bedroom units, and seven three-bedroom units for the condominium housing, 50 studios, 92 one-bedroom units, and 97 two-bedroom units for the market rental housing, and 14 studios, 32 one-bedroom units, and 31 two-bedroom units for the non-market rental housing.

Site of 3965 North Road, Burnaby. (Google Maps)

The significant rental housing component is made possible by City staff’s conditional support for a second tower, which deviates from the City’s Lougheed Core Area Master Plan’s prescription for one tower on the site.

The total building floor area will reach 753,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 13.1 times larger than the size of the lot.

Preliminary building uses of 3965 North Road, Burnaby. (Canderel)

As for vehicle parking, there will be 502 stalls for strata condominium residents, 190 stalls for rental residents, 19 stalls for retail, and 329 stalls for office uses. These tallies include about 100 visitor spaces for visitors.

During Burnaby City Council’s public meeting last month discussing the interim transit-oriented development parking strategy, Margetts shared their project is hoping to shave 472 vehicle parking stalls from what would typically be required under City policy. This also means they will be building six underground levels instead of 11 underground levels.

It is estimated the reduction of 472 vehicle parking stalls and five corresponding underground levels will save 1,791 tonnes of steel, 11,415 cubic metres of concrete (1,425 fewer concrete truck movements during construction), and 67,655 cubic metres of soil not excavated (5,700 fewer dump truck loads during construction).

This translates into reducing embodied carbon materials by 2,700 to 5,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide for steel, and 19,200 to 24,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide for concrete.

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of 3965 North Road, Burnaby. (Canderel)

Construction costs for underground parking grow the deeper the excavation required, and it is estimated the reduction will shorten the construction timeline by one year.

Margetts says the construction cost savings will be passed on to homebuyers by reducing published condominium unit prices by $30,000 to $40,000 with no vehicle parking stall. Instead, the project will unbundle guaranteed vehicle parking stalls from home ownership.

“We see more affordable home ownership. Let the purchaser decide… the demand is elastic, it should be set by the purchasers,” he said.

Moreover, a shallower underground parkade will minimize potential damage to neighbouring sites and municipal infrastructure, which is currently an issue for the deep construction pit for the underground parkade of the Gilmore Place project. The water table beginning at around the seven or eighth underground level makes construction more challenging and expensive.

To mitigate the reduction in vehicle parking supply, there will be transit demand management measures, such as providing a two-zone monthly transit pass to 15% of the units for two years, setting aside eight stalls for car share vehicles and two stalls for rideshare vehicles, a car share subsidy equivalent to a two-year car share membership for each unit, 56 e-bike share bikes and lockers, and over 1,700 secured bike parking spaces (double lockers, with two spaces per unit).

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of 3965 North Road, Burnaby. (Canderel)

Earlier this summer, City Council rejected City staff’s interim transit-oriented development parking strategy of enacting a $40,000 fee per parking stall not constructed, based on building a supply that is below the City’s parking supply minimums. The revenue would go towards active transportation investments, but developers pushed back as such a significant cost would impact the financial viability of projects, with the higher costs ultimately passed on to homebuyers. Such a policy would apply to projects within an 800-metre radius of a SkyTrain station.

The interim policy was in reaction to the controversy over Pinnacle International Developments’ proposal to build 14 underground levels for the vehicle parking needed for its adjacent major multi-tower, mixed-use redevelopment proposal, including an 850-ft-tall, 80-storey tower that would be Western Canada’s new tallest building.

Later this fall, City staff are expected to return to City Council with a revised interim transit-oriented development parking strategy.

9850 Austin Road 9858-9898 Gatineau Place Burnaby Pinnacle Lougheed 2022

2022 concept artistic rendering of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9850 Austin Road and 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby, with the first phase highlighted. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

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