Next phase of Burnaby's Southgate City includes 37-storey non-market rental tower

Artistic rendering of Southgate City in Burnaby. (Ledingham McAllister)

A rezoning application has been submitted by Ledingham McAllister for the western gateway phase of their massive Southgate City redevelopment in Burnaby.

This is for a 2.7-acre site of the overall 60-acre redevelopment, which was formerly Safeway’s distribution centre and a dairy plant.

See also:

The development site for this particular phase at 7679-7701 18th Street is located on the western edge of the new neighbourhood, just north of Byrne Creek Community School and about a 10-minute walk to SkyTrain’s Edmonds Station.

There are two parcels for this site, both owned by the City of Burnaby, with the Lot A west parcel proposed to become a 41-storey condominium tower over a six-storey podium, and the Lot B east parcel as a 37-storey non-market rental housing tower over a six-storey podium.

Master plan of Southgate City in Burnaby. (Ledingham McAllister)

Lots A and B of the Western Gateway of Southgate City in Burnaby. (IBI Group/Ledingham McAllister)

The municipal government will transfer ownership of Lot A to the developer in exchange for a similarly-sized parcel swap located at the northeast corner of Southgate City. For Lot B, the city will lease the land to BC Housing’s non-market rentals operated by New Vista Healthcare and Housing Society.

There will be a total of 926 homes, including 421 condominiums and 505 non-market rental homes.

The condominium mix is 37 studios, 160 one-bedroom units, 197 two-bedroom units, and 27 three-bedroom units. The non-market rental mix is 94 studios, 205 one-bedroom units, 164 two-bedroom units, and 42 three-bedroom units.

Strata and non-market rental residents will have access to 9,000 sq. ft. and 7,500 sq. ft. of respective, separate indoor amenity space.

Artistic rendering of lots A and B of the Western Gateway of Southgate City in Burnaby. (IBI Group/Ledingham McAllister)

This phase, along with the construction of the new South Gate Boulevard to connect with Griffiths Drive, forms the western gateway into Southgate City.

“With regard to the subject development site, it is located at the corner of Griffiths Drive and the new east-west public road (Southgate Boulevard), and is identified as the principal ‘gateway’ site into the new Southgate neighbourhood,” reads the design rationale by IBI Group.

Lots A and B of the Western Gateway of Southgate City in Burnaby. (IBI Group/Ledingham McAllister)

Artistic rendering of lots A and B of the Western Gateway of Southgate City in Burnaby. (IBI Group/Ledingham McAllister)

Other public realm component that are part of this phase include an improved alignment of the South Spur urban trail, enhancement of the connections to the existing Griffiths Drive pedestrian and cyclist overpass, a new public dog park at 18th Street, and a public pedestrian corridor along the north property line. This is achieved by the city retaining ownership of a third lot west of Lot A that fronts Griffiths Drive.

Rental homes have been added to the project to fulfill the overall redevelopment’s obligations to meet the municipal government’s inclusionary affordable rental housing policy.

It fulfills the 20% inclusionary requirement (85 non-market rental homes) for the Lot A condominium tower, and a large portion of the future 20% inclusionary obligation from the remaining Southgate City redevelopment (420 non-market rental homes) for a total of 505 non-market rental homes provided at 20% below the market median rates of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

This western gateway phase contains a total floor area of 712,000 sq. ft. for a floor space ratio density of 4.4 times the size of the lot. Four underground levels will contain 755 vehicle parking stalls and over 1,800 bike parking spaces.

Artistic rendering of lots A and B of the Western Gateway of Southgate City in Burnaby. (IBI Group/Ledingham McAllister)

When the multi-phase redevelopment reaches completion, Southgate City will consist of nearly a dozen towers with almost six million sq. ft. of residential floor area across five distinct areas.

This totals over 12,000 homes with more than 31,000 residents. There will also be 400,000 sq. ft. of office, retail, and restaurant space.

The entire redevelopment, which had its master plan approved by Burnaby City Council in 2015, is oriented around a five-acre central public park.

Immediately west of Southgate City, just south of Lot A and Lot B, is the municipal government’s South Burnaby Arena, which is currently under construction at a cost of $50 million. It will have two NHL-sized ice rinks upon opening in 2022.

Artistic rendering of Southgate City in Burnaby. (Ledingham McAllister)

See also: