A closer look at Western Canada's future tallest tower at Lougheed Station (RENDERINGS)

Artistic rendering of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

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A number of future towers currently under construction, planned, or proposed in Metro Vancouver will be taller than the 659-ft-, 62-storey Living Shangri-La in downtown Vancouver. And all of these relatively “super talls” are located outside of Vancouver’s municipal borders.

The tallest of these future towers, possibly further down the development pipeline, is envisioned as part of a three-tower complex immediately next to SkyTrain’s Lougheed Town Centre Station.

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In October 2019, local developer Pinnacle International Development first made public their proposal for the 6.2-acre site at 9858-9898 Gatineau Place. At the time, they were in the early stages of the rezoning process with the City of Burnaby.

Site of 9850 Austin Road and 9858-9898 Gatineau Place next to SkyTrain’s Lougheed Town Centre Station in Burnaby. (Google Maps)

New details and artistic renderings of the landmark Pinnacle Lougheed proposal have since surfaced, with the design by JYOM Architecture said to be inspired by the shape of flower petals.

“The architecture language represents the livability initiative by presenting urban towers as an ensemble of nature, like Calla Lilies, that bloom with beauty and elegance. The blending of the three buildings becomes a stronger skyline as the composition of height and form compliment and frame one another,” reads the architect’s design rationale.

“The layering of solid and void and transparencies in between create the natural textures of nature. The base of the towers is cradled by an organic junction of levels inspired by layers of leaves. The intention of the curvature matches the vertical fluidity while still creating a solid base to ground the landmark.”

9858-9898 Gatineau Place Burnaby Pinnacle Lougheed

Artistic rendering of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

The East Tower, the tallest building in BC and west of Toronto, would have a height well in excess of 800 ft with 82 floors. It is expected to have a greater height than Western Canada’s current tallest building — the 823-ft-tall, 66-storey Stantec Tower in downtown Edmonton.

A 200-room hotel is planned for the lower section of the East Tower, including a restaurant, ballroom, meeting rooms, and other amenities.

The West Tower with 67 storeys would also be amongst the region’s tallest towers, exceeding Living Shangri-La as well. The first 10 floors of this tower would be used as office space, enough for 1,240 office workers. The shorter South Tower, but still relatively tall for this region’s standards, would contain retail uses at its base.

Artistic rendering of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

All three towers would have residential space within the upper levels, with the developer previously indicating 1.9 million sq ft of condominium space alone. Under the city’s inclusionary rental policy, at least 20% of the residential density must be dedicated for rental housing uses.

The combined residential uses of all three towers would create a floor area ratio (FAR) residential density of a floor area 13.25 times larger than the size of the lot, with 11.91 FAR coming from condominiums and 2.16 FAR from market rental and affordable rental homes. There would be enough homes for thousands of people.

The amenity spaces for residents, including a swimming pool, are mainly within the base of the East Tower.

Altogether, the redevelopment would have about three million sq ft of total floor area, including 430,000 sq ft of commercial uses. The office, hotel, and retail components of the project combined are expected to generate a total of 1,400 on-site jobs upon completion.

According to the architects, the towers are situated on the edge of each development parcel in order to maximize the amount of open public space facing the new transit plaza, which is accomplished by realigning the bus loop entry.

Artistic rendering of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

The municipal government’s Lougheed Core Area Master Plan envisions the drastic densification of a 72-acre immediately north of Lougheed Town Centre Station, including Shape Properties’ 37-acre “City of Lougheed” redevelopment of Lougheed Town Centre shopping mall. When the area is fully complete, there will be a transit-oriented development cluster of new retail, office, and residential space, plus new public spaces and amenities.

The region’s other “super talls” include three projects in Burnaby, namely the under-construction 708-ft-tall main tower of Gilmore Place next to SkyTrain’s Gilmore Station, a future 755-ft-tall tower at Concord Metrotown at the northeast corner of Metropolis at Metrotown mall, and the proposed 692-ft-tall Metro King tower just north of Metrotown mall. The City of Surrey has also proposed a 738-ft-tall office tower on land it owns next to SkyTrain’s Surrey Central Station.

Some of Pinnacle International Development’s other major developments in the region currently include a significant project site next to SkyTrain’s future Capstan Station in Richmond, and a 521-ft-tall, 53-storey landmark tower at the north end of the Granville Street Bridge (east of Vancouver House) in downtown Vancouver, which is also designed by JYOM Architecture.

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