Taller towers, more rental homes proposed for Point Grey Safeway site

2023 preliminary revised concept for the redevelopment of the former Safeway site at 4545 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver’s West Point Grey Village. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/BentallGreenOak)

More than a year after BentallGreenOak first unveiled their proposed concept for the mixed-use redevelopment of the former Safeway grocery store site in West Point Grey Village, they have outlined a revised design that increases building heights, density, and the number of homes.

This project for 4545 West 10th Avenue has yet to reach the City of Vancouver’s formal rezoning application stage, which is now expected for Fall 2023 when a submission will be made to the municipal government.

The three-acre development site occupies most of a city block in the vicinity of the intersection of West 10th Avenue and Sasamat Street.

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In the second pre-application public consultation, held this month, they are calling for two towers of 19 storeys and 17 storeys on the south side along the retail strip of West 10th Avenue and two six-storey buildings on the north side along West 9th Avenue. The West 10th Avenue towers represent the main building, as they include a shared six-storey base podium with commercial uses.

In contrast, the original May 2022 concept entailed a main building with 14-storey terraced towers fronting West 10th Avenue and five- and six-storey buildings on West 9th Avenue. The newly revised concept removes the previous terracing for more traditional tower designs.

Original 2022 concept:

4545 West 10th Avenue Vancouver West Point Grey Village BentallGreenOak

2022 preliminary concept for the redevelopment of the former Safeway site at 4545 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver’s West Point Grey Village. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/BentallGreenOak)

Revised 2023 concept:

4545 West 10th Avenue Vancouver Point Grey Safeway Redevelopment 2023 7

After taking in public input from last year’s public consultation, the revised design by local architectural firm Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership has taller, slimmer towers to reduce the massing appearance of the buildings — opening more views and allowing for greater daylight exposure.

An additional stepped back sixth floor has been added to provide an adjacent property with improved privacy and daylight.

Shifting some of the floor area onto the West 10th Avenue frontage reduces the shadowing on West 9th Avenue.

Original 2022 concept:

2022 preliminary concept for the redevelopment of the former Safeway site at 4545 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver’s West Point Grey Village. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/BentallGreenOak)

Revised 2023 concept:

4545 West 10th Avenue Vancouver Point Grey Safeway Redevelopment 2023

The public areas have also been improved and expanded, such as a larger West 10th Avenue plaza that is now activated by an additional small retail unit and a relocated cafe unit, and upgrades to the mid-block, north pedestrian footpath between West 9th and West 10th avenues.

The types of uses in the complex remain the same, but the overall density is now increased to a floor area ratio (FAR) density of a floor area that is 3.84 times larger than the size of the lot — up from the original concept of 3.63 FAR.

The building’s residential uses will still be 100% secured purpose-built rental housing, now with a total of 566 units, including 453 market rental units and 113 moderate income rental units. This is up from the original concept’s 530 rental homes, with 424 market rental units and 106 moderate income rental units.

Original 2022 concept on West 9th Avenue:

Preliminary concept for the redevelopment of the former Safeway site at 4545 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver’s West Point Grey Village. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/BentallGreenOak)

Revised 2023 concept on West 9th Avenue:

The new full-size major grocery store replacing the former longtime Safeway remains roughly the same size as the original proposal at over 37,000 sq ft. It should be noted that this is larger than the original Safeway. This new grocery store will effectively return West Point Grey Village’s anchor business; the closure of the Safeway in 2018 and the site’s prolonged vacancy has greatly contributed to the closure of small businesses in the area and the overall decline of the retail strip. The property is owned by Sun Life Financial.

It is estimated the rental housing component will add over 1,000 residents to the area, with an annual estimated household spending on dining in the retail strip of over $3.2 million. The potential number of new on-site residents is equivalent to about 10% of the entire population of the Point Grey neighbourhood.

Along the West 10th Avenue frontage, in addition to the new grocery store, the main building will provide a total of three smaller commercial units for retail/restaurant uses.

Original 2022 concept:

2022 preliminary concept for the redevelopment of the former Safeway site at 4545 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver’s West Point Grey Village. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/BentallGreenOak)

Revised 2023 concept:

Two underground levels will provide 358 vehicle parking stalls for residents, 142 vehicle parking stalls for commercial uses, and 1,066 bike parking spaces. A LEED Gold green building certification is targeted.

West Point Grey Village is currently served by frequent buses, especially the 99 B-Line and No. 14 trolley bus. It is also within walking distance to the various other bus routes on Blanca Street and West 4th Avenue.

Early this summer, the proponents of the nearby Jericho Lands master-planned redevelopment unveiled a significantly larger revised proposed concept. The Jericho Lands project’s density will be supported by an on-site subway station of the future UBC SkyTrain, instead of a station on Sasamat Street at West 10th Avenue to directly support West Point Grey Village. However, the Jericho Lands Station would still be in close proximity to the retail strip.

Original 2022 concept:

2022 preliminary concept for the redevelopment of the former Safeway site at 4545 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver’s West Point Grey Village. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/BentallGreenOak)

Revised 2023 concept:

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