Western Canada's tallest tower set for Lougheed SkyTrain in Burnaby

2022 concept artistic rendering of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9850 Austin Road and 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby, with the first phase highlighted. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

The proposed four-tower, mixed-use Pinnacle Lougheed redevelopment immediately next to SkyTrain’s Lougheed Town Centre Station is packed with superlatives.

Newly released revised details and artistic renderings ahead of the rezoning application’s public hearing on May 31 with Burnaby City Council show the immense scale and heights that confirms not only Metro Vancouver’s new tallest buildings, but also the tallest tower in Canada west of Toronto.

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The tallest tower will be 850 ft (259 metres) with 80 storeys, making it 191 ft (58 metres) taller than the 2008-built Living Shangri-La in downtown Vancouver. It would also be taller than Metro Vancouver’s all other future tallest towers proposed, planned, or already under construction.

In fact, this tower would be even taller than the 823-ft (251-metre) Stantec Tower in Edmonton, built in 2019, and the 810-ft (247-metre) Brookfield Place East in Calgary, built in 2017. It would also be equivalent to being the sixth-tallest building in Toronto today.

9850 Austin Road 9858-9898 Gatineau Place Burnaby Pinnacle Lougheed 2022

And this project does not end with a single significant tall tower, as two other towers in the complex would rank as the new second- and third-tallest buildings in Metro Vancouver today and likely well into the future.

This tallest tower is within the first phase on the northeast parcel of Pinnacle Lougheed, which includes a secondary tower reaching 782 ft (239 metres) with 73 storeys — Metro Vancouver’s third-tallest building. Both first-phase towers are physically attached to each other, with dozens of condominium floors sitting above a shared 13-storey office and retail podium.

As part of the first phase, the tallest tower would contain 788 condominium units, while the attached third tallest tower would see 678 condominium units. There would be 591,000 sq ft of office and retail space within the podium below the residential floors.

2022 concept uses of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9850 Austin Road and 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby, with the first phase highlighted. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

As for Metro Vancouver’s new second tallest building, it will be built on the west parcel as the second phase, with the tower reaching 794 ft (242 metres) with 76 storeys. There will be 878 condominium units perched on top of a 10-storey podium with a 180-room hotel and ground-level retail.

A fourth tower at the southeast parcel of the development site would reach 522 ft (159 metres) with 50 storeys, with 130 condominium units in the upper levels and 348 market rental units in the lower levels.

Ample shared amenities are planned for residents, including an outdoor swimming pool with cabanas for each of the three phases.

Altogether, Pinnacle International Development is calling for a total of 2,822 homes within this four-tower complex at 9850 Austin Road and 9858-9898 Gatineau Place. The design firm is JYOM Architecture.

“The site’s prominent location on the border between Coquitlam and Burnaby acts as a gateway to both Burnaby and Lougheed Town Centre,” reads the architect’s design rationale.

A new arrivals public plaza will mark the entrance into the town centre, complete with signage, a memorable water feature, stepped seating, and lush landscaping. The various public spaces will be activated by the retail and restaurant spaces on the ground levels of the towers, as well as a two-storey restaurant pavilion building adjacent to the bus exchange.

An expansive public realm is envisioned to be fully integrated with the bus exchange, with lily-inspired forms acting as an extension of the building design, and acting as overhead structures and glass canopies to provide weather protection for the bus bays and pedestrian pathways within the site. There would also be a covered pedestrian bridge through the second phase tower, with the link spanning over Austin Avenue to provide a foot connection to the separate City of Lougheed mall redevelopment to the north.

“The sweeping lines of the design will draw people into a pedestrian mews to the west and to the Grand Promenade and transit plaza to the east. The goal for the transit plaza is to turn an otherwise harsh and utilitarian environment into a vibrant hub that is intuitively navigated and activated by cafes and restaurant patios,” continues the design rationale.

There would be a total floor area of 3.33 million sq ft for a floor area ratio (FAR) density of a floor area that is 17.1 times larger than the size of a 6.2-acre lot. This includes 2.3 million sq ft of residential uses, 345,000 sq ft of on-site market rental housing, 515,000 sq ft of office space, 55,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space, and 119,000 sq ft of hotel space.

The first phase alone, which includes the tallest tower, will have a total floor area of 1.9 million sq ft for a FAR density of 22.26 on the northeast parcel.

Although it is located next to the major SkyTrain and bus exchange hub, the project is calling for 4,341 vehicle parking stalls, with 2,721 stalls for condominiums, 383 stalls for market rental housing, 1,040 stalls for office uses, 111 stalls for retail and restaurant uses, and 86 stalls for the hotel. As for cycling, the project will provide 5,988 secured bike parking spaces.

The vehicle parking stalls and secured bike parking spaces would be located within 14 underground levels, which likely provides this project with the superlative of Metro Vancouver’s deepest building excavation.

9850 Austin Road 9858-9898 Gatineau Place Burnaby SkyTrain Lougheed Town Centre

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

The development site and three phases of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9850 Austin Road and 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

9850 Austin Road 9858-9898 Gatineau Place Burnaby Pinnacle Lougheed 2022 13

2022 concept layout of Pinnacle Lougheed at 9850 Austin Road and 9858-9898 Gatineau Place, Burnaby, with the first phase highlighted. (JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International Development)

This project will replace surface parking lots and the former Sears Outlet Store building. SHAPE Properties, the owner and developer of the adjacent City of Lougheed mall, sold the property to Pinnacle International about four years ago.

Currently, City Council is only considering the rezoning application for the first phase. Future additional reviews will be made for the separate rezoning applications for the second and third phases after they are submitted.

The Pinnacle Lougheed project at Gatineau Place is also directly connected to another rezoning application by the developer on a separate secondary site located near the SkyTrain hub at 3846 Carrigan Court.

Under the municipal government’s inclusionary rental housing policy, Pinnacle Lougheed’s residential uses trigger the requirement of adding a rental housing component equivalent to 20% of the market condominium units proposed. In the case of Pinnacle Lougheed’s three phases combined, this is equivalent to allocating 405 inclusionary rental units.

To fulfill the inclusionary rental housing requirement, the developer is proposing to build Pinnacle Lougheed’s 405 inclusionary rental units off-site at 3846 Carrigan Court.

The secondary 3.4-acre site at 3846 Carrigan Court would contain 900 homes, including 405 inclusionary rental units at below-market rents, 141 below-market rental units to replace the existing 1970-built apartments, and 354 condominium units. There would be three towers reaching 33 storeys, 25 storeys, and 23 storeys.

City staff state the municipal government and proponent were informed by the provincial government’s BC Transportation Financing Authority (BCTFA) that bus access impacts on provincial-owned land adjacent to SkyTrain to accommodate the Pinnacle Lougheed’s full density would not be allowed.

As well, it was determined by city staff that the Pinnacle Lougheed site “could not feasibly accommodate the additional density associated with the site’s inclusionary non-market rental requirement within an appropriate massing and form.” As a result, the inclusionary rental housing density has been transferred over to 3846 Carrigan Court. City council is considering the rezoning application for 3846 Carrigan Court simultaneously.

Both the main development site at Pinnacle Lougheed at Gatineau Place and the secondary development site at Carrigan Court would generate over 3,700 homes next to SkyTrain Lougheed Town Centre Station, adding about 10,000 residents to the area.

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