Developer advances major Burnaby housing project after exiting creditor protection | Daily Hive

Concept of Blake Village at the former Saputo site at 6800 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby. (Boniface Oleksiuk Politano Architects/Peterson Group)

Peterson, a Vancouver-based real estate developer, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Sperling Limited Partnership (LP) has successfully exited creditor protection and secured new financing to move forward with its neighbourhood-sized Burnaby Lake Village redevelopment — also known as “Blake Village.”

Sperling LP is behind the major high-density, mixed-use residential redevelopment of the former Saputo milk plant property at 6800 Lougheed Highway in North Burnaby — a strategic site next to SkyTrain’s Sperling–Burnaby Lake Station on the Millennium Line.

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The company has been able to retain the same group of lenders that supported the project prior to entering Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceedings. This also follows Peterson’s acquisition of the ownership stake previously held by its project partner, Create Properties, another Vancouver-based developer.

With a renewed financing commitment and full ownership of Sperling LP secured earlier this year, Peterson says it is moving forward with the project “with renewed strength and the unencumbered ability to deliver on its vision,” reads a news release on Monday.

Concept of Blake Village at the former Saputo site at 6800 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby. (Boniface Oleksiuk Politano Architects/Peterson Group)

The first phase of the redevelopment is now in the final stages of site-specific zoning approvals and includes over 1,300 homes currently in planning.

Overall, Blake Village is set to deliver nearly 6,000 homes across five phases, providing a mix of for-sale condominiums, market and affordable rental housing. Plans also include four acres of community space and significant commercial and employment-generating uses to support local families and businesses. Buildings would reach up to about 25 storeys in height, with the tallest buildings situated closest to the SkyTrain station. The project’s design firm is Boniface Oleksiuk Politano Architects.

Located between Lougheed Highway to the north and Burnaby Lake to the west, the site’s proximity to the SkyTrain station is expected to play a key role in shaping a dense, transit-oriented community.

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Site of the future Blake Village (former Saputo dairy plant) at 6800 Lougheed Highway. (City of Burnaby)

Building uses at Blake Village (former Saputo dairy plant) at 6800 Lougheed Highway. (Peterson Group)

Peterson has not yet announced a timeline for construction or sales launch, but the successful exit from creditor protection marks a major milestone in advancing one of Burnaby’s largest future residential projects.

While Create Properties no longer has a stake in the Blake Village project site on the 19-acre former Saputo site, it still owns the adjacent Burnaby Lake Heights project site on the 14-acre former Telus site at 7000 Lougheed Highway.

Roughly 3,000 homes within comparatively lower density forms are planned for the forer Telus site still owned by Create Properties. This project is separately designed by DYS Architecture and Hariri Pontarini Architects.

Together, both properties form much of the highest density uses within the City of Burnaby’s recently approved Bainsbridge Urban Village Area Plan, which is a transit-oriented development strategy anchored by Sperling–Burnaby Lake Station. The former Saputo site is immediately south of the station, while the former Telus site is immediately to the east of the former milk plant property.

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Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of Burnaby Lake Heights (former Telus site) at 7000 Lougheed Highway. (DYS Architecture/Hariri Pontarini Architects/Create Properties)

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Site of the future Burnaby Lake Heights (former Telus site) at 7000 Lougheed Highway. (City of Burnaby)

Building uses at Burnaby Lake Heights (former Telus site) at 7000 Lougheed Highway. (City of Burnaby)

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New sub-areas with unique different forms within Bainsbridge Urban Village. (City of Burnaby)

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