Massive redevelopment proposed for the core of Brentwood Town Centre

Brentwood West master plan, March 2022. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Bosa Development)

One of Metro Vancouver’s future tallest towers could be built at the northwest corner of the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Willingdon Avenue in the core of Burnaby’s Brentwood Town Centre district.

Property owner Bosa Development and the City of Burnaby are currently conducting public consultation on the site master plan for Brentwood West, which is proposed as a four-tower, mixed-use redevelopment.

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There would be a total of 1,427 homes, including 935 condominium units and 492 rental units, with 156 units of inclusionary affordable rental units, 285 market rental units, and 51 CMHC market median rental units.

Nearly 650,000 sq ft of commercial space — mainly office space, plus retail and restaurant space — would be largely located within the lower floors of the three towers on the eastern edge of the site, fronting Willingdon Avenue.

The gross floor area of the entire transit-oriented development is about two million sq ft, with a maximum floor area ratio density of 14.3 times larger than the lot size. The site is just west of SkyTrain Brentwood Town Centre Station.

Brentwood West master plan, March 2022. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Bosa Development)

Each tower would be built in one of the four separate phases, with the tallest tower set to be completed as the third phase.

Situated at the site’s corner with the prominent intersection, replacing the existing Petro Canada gas station, the tallest tower would have 64 storeys, with the ground level used as retail, the first 16 floors above ground as office space, and the remaining upper floors as a mix of 340 condominium homes and 120 affordable rental and market rental homes. The retail and office component combined span 272,000 sq ft of the tower’s total floor area of 649,000 sq ft.

This phase three tower exceeds the height of the recently completed adjacent twin towers — Brentwood One and Brentwood Two of The Amazing Brentwood mall — which are 611 ft tall, located immediately to the east. The precise tower height has not been determined at this early stage of planning, but diagrams suggest the height to be just under 700 ft, likely comparable to the region’s existing tallest building of 646 ft, Living Shangri-La in downtown Vancouver.

Brentwood West master plan, March 2022. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Bosa Development)

The next tallest building is a 54-storey tower at the northwest corner of the site. This would be built as the project’s first phase, with 100% of its floor area used as residential space, including 405 condominium homes and 68 inclusionary affordable rental homes.

The second phase tower is attached to a six-storey affordable rental housing podium, which connects to the second phase tower to the east of 42 storeys, with 211,000 sq ft of retail and office space within the first 14 floors, and 234 market rental homes for the upper levels.

The fourth phase tower is 39 storeys, containing 159,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space within the bottom 12 floors, and 190 condominium homes and 70 affordable rental and market rental homes within the upper levels.

Brentwood West master plan, March 2022. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Bosa Development)

Besides the gas station, the existing uses on other parcels of the development site entail a vacant property and three low-storey commercial buildings. The 3.3-acre site spans the addresses of 4430-4488 Halifax Street and 4461 Lougheed Highway. Bosa Development owns the northernmost parcels of Brentwood West, while the other parcels are under different ownerships.

The master plan concept was created by Chris Dikeakos Architects.

The rental housing component of the redevelopment follows the municipal government’s policies on inclusionary rental housing, along with an affordable rental housing component.

The master plan also envisions a vibrant public realm activated by the significant ground-level retail space component, as well as new plaza areas on private property and the closure of a segment of Buchanan Street to create a new major public plaza called Buchanan Square.

“The vision behind the Master Plan is to create an integrated and vibrant mixed-use community in the core area of the Brentwood Town Centre. It is also intended to compliment the overall goal of the Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan of creating a complete and highly walkable and accessible community,” reads the proposal.

City council is expected to review and deliberate the Brentwood West master plan in Spring 2022. If approved, the master plan will guide future rezoning and development applications.

Brentwood West master plan, March 2022. (Chris Dikeakos Architects/Bosa Development)

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