City of Burnaby proposes $140 million community centre for Brentwood

Artistic rendering of the proposed community and recreation centre for Brentwood Town Centre at the proposed Grosvenor Brentwood redevelopment. (City of Burnaby)

A new public community and recreational centre could be integrated with a new mixed-use redevelopment near the very core of Brentwood Town Centre.

The City of Burnaby announced today it has reached an agreement with UK-based international developer Grosvenor Americas to include the facility within its eight-acre Grosvenor Brentwood project, located just southeast of SkyTrain Brentwood Town Centre Station.

The community centre’s footprint would be near the core of the site, facing the southern perimeter — facing Dawson Street.

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The multi-level facility will have a total floor area of about 100,000 sq ft, including a gymnasium, fitness gym, indoor running track, multi-purpose rooms, and creative spaces for arts, crafts, and music, as well as a childcare space, a rooftop play area, and a partially covered outdoor plaza space suitable for community gatherings and outdoor spaces.

The community centre’s estimated construction cost is $140 million, which would be entirely funded through revenues collected by the municipal government from developers, specifically the Community Benefit Bonus Policy.

If the community centre and Grosvenor Brentwood projects are approved, the developer will be responsible for managing construction. Upon completion, the facility will be owned and operated by the city.

In its five-year, 2022-2026 capital plan approved earlier this year, Burnaby City Council approved $87 million for the new “Willingdon-Brentwood Community Centre,” including $7 million in 2022 to initiate preliminary planning. The facility is needed to serve the immense new density of residents in the Brentwood area.

Grosvenor Brentwood NW Aerial View with Phase 1 Towers

Preliminary artistic rendering of the master plan for Grosvenor Brentwood. (Perkins & Will/Grosvenor Americas)

grosvenor americas brentwood burnaby master plan

Preliminary master plan concept of the public realm for Grosvenor Americas’ Brentwood redevelopment at at 4612 Lougheed Highway and 2040-2150 Alpha Avenue. The new community centre will be located within the “Civic Heart.” (Grosvenor Americas)

“This is an opportunity to deliver some significant benefits for Burnaby residents for decades to come by adding a new community centre in the heart of one of the fastest-growing neighbourhoods in the city,” said Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley in a statement.

“This project would also support other important City goals, including transforming Brentwood into a 15-minute neighbourhood, where virtually everything you need is within a short walk. It would also support the vision outlined in our housing strategy – to build inclusive, livable neighbourhoods by increasing housing choices and creating more housing in mixed-use, transit-friendly areas.”

Grosvenor is proposing to build six towers up to 65 storeys, containing about 3,500 homes including 2,000 market rental homes, 450 below-market rental homes, and 900 condominium homes, as well as 200,000 sq ft of office and retail space. The redevelopment’s public spaces will be entirely oriented for pedestrians, with plazas, courtyards, and open and green spaces spanning the spaces between the buildings. Vehicle access into underground parkades will be established from the site’s perimeter, without the construction of any new surface roads.

The City of Burnaby’s capital budget over the coming years provides over $500 million to support the construction of new community and recreational facilities across the city, such as new replacement facilities for Confederation Park, Cameron Recreation Centre and Library in Lougheed Town Centre, and CG Brown Pool and Burnaby Lake Arena at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex.

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