4.7 million sq ft of housing, half rentals, to be added to The Amazing Brentwood

The Amazing Brentwood and SkyTrain Brentwood Town Centre Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

When Burnaby City Council first approved the master plan for the redevelopment of the old Brentwood Town Centre in 2013, it triggered one of the first major transit-oriented developments of Metro Vancouver’s traditional suburban malls.

The 2013 master plan approval granted Shape Properties the ability to pursue up to 7.96 million sq ft of total building area in their redevelopment, now known as The Amazing Brentwood. This included 3.87 million sq ft of commercial uses — retail, restaurants, and offices — and 4.09 million sq ft of residential uses, with the developer primarily planning to build condominiums.

But now, a decade later, the developer is looking to more than double the amount of strict residential uses found on the 28-acre development site next to SkyTrain Brentwood Town Centre Station and the core of the city’s Brentwood district.

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The municipal government is currently in the process of seeking Shape Properties’ revised master plan to add 4.67 million sq ft of strict residential uses, with at least 50% — or 2.36 million sq ft — required to be secured purpose-built rental housing.

The Amazing Brentwood mall and residential towers

The Amazing Brentwood’s 2021-completed first phase next to SkyTrain Brentwood Town Centre Station. (Shape Properties)

No changes or additions are proposed for commercial uses, although City policies enable 49% of the commercial density to be used for secured purpose-built market rental housing (“commercial residential rental”) if the remaining 51% of the commercial density is used for traditional commercial uses such as retail, restaurants, offices, and hotels. This potential means the additional overall residential uses could exceed 4.67 million sq ft.

With 4.67 million sq ft in additional strict residential uses, The Amazing Brentwood’s total building floor area would grow to a staggering 12.63 million sq ft.

An additional 4.67 million sq ft for The Amazing Brentwood is comparable to the entire 5.05 million sq ft mixed-use redevelopment of Oakridge Park (Oakridge Centre) mall or the 3.8 million sq ft of rental housing uses at Sen̓áḵw.

The substantial changes would grow The Amazing Brentwood’s floor area ratio (FAR) density to a floor area that is 10.53 times larger than the size of the mall lot — up from 6.6 FAR in the 2013 concept.

Previous 2013 approved master plan concept:

Previous 2013 approved master plan concept for The Amazing Brentwood. (Shape Properties)

Previous 2013 approved master plan concept for The Amazing Brentwood. (Shape Properties)

the amazing brentwood burnaby 2013 concept

Previous 2013 approved master plan concept for The Amazing Brentwood. (Shape Properties)

2024 proposed revised master plan concept:

the amazing brentwood master plan concept burnaby 2024 3

January 2024 revised preliminary master plan concept for The Amazing Brentwood. (Shape Properties)

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Revised The Amazing Brentwood mall redevelopment master plan. (Shape Properties)

To achieve this added residential density, expect much taller towers for the remaining parcels of the mall that have yet to be redeveloped.

When the first phase of the redevelopment reached completion and opened in 2021 at the southwest corner of the site, it entailed not only significant new retail spaces — anchored by Cineplex’s VIP Theatres and The Rec Room, and Sporting Life — but also three towers with primarily residential uses, including Brentwood One and Brentwood Two — both reaching 611 ft in height with 59 storeys. Under the 2013 concept, the two towers were set to be the tallest amongst the 11 new towers to rise from the old mall site.

The revised concept now up for consideration calls for building towers elsewhere on the site that are similar in height, or much taller, than the first two completed towers.

This includes building two towers reaching 55 storeys to 80 storeys at the core of the site — on the footprint of the existing old indoor mall structure, which would be entirely demolished for not only the two tall towers but also 12-storey base podium structures. In 2022, the developer floated the idea of replacing the old mall’s fabric tent roof with a new conventional roof, but that renovation concept now appears to be abandoned in favour of an entirely new-build concept on this parcel. There is also an additional third tower in this core parcel, reaching 50 storeys to 70 storeys.

Existing condition of the old indoor mall with its existing fabric roof:

the amazing brentwood indoor mall renovation

Existing condition of the old indoor mall at The Amazing Brentwood. (Google Earth)

Cancelled concept to retain and renovate the old indoor mall:

Artistic rendering of the new roof for the existing indoor mall at The Amazing Brentwood. (IBI Group/Shape Properties)

These towers, potentially reaching up to 80 storeys, would likely become some of Metro Vancouver’s tallest buildings.

As for the remaining parcels along the northeast of the site, which are currently occupied by surface vehicle parking lots and a London Drugs, there will be a significant height increase in these areas. The 2013 concept outlined low- and mid-rise buildings along the northeast edge, but the revised concept calls for four towers reaching 45 storeys to 60 storeys, each with an eight-storey base podium structure.

At the southeast corner of the mall, also currently used as surface vehicle parking, the revised plan calls for two towers between 35 storeys and 50 storeys.

January 2024 revised preliminary master plan concept for The Amazing Brentwood. (Shape Properties)

The revised concept’s additional residential uses follow the municipal government’s new Rental Use Zoning Policy for new and replacement rental units, which was a policy that came into effect in 2019 and is being applied to even redevelopment concepts that were previously approved by the City.

As well, it is stated by City of Burnaby staff that the much more ambitious concept for The Amazing Brentwood considers the provincial government’s new transit-oriented development legislation, including not requiring residential uses to meet minimum vehicle parking standards for sites within 800 metres of designated rapid transit hub.

Located immediately to the south, SkyTrain Brentwood Town Centre Station is currently undergoing a major $33 million upgrade to increase its ability to handle more passengers using the transit hub.

The SkyTrain renovation will directly serve both The Amazing Brentwood’s growth and the very significant high-density, mixed-use redevelopments planned to the south and west by Grosvenor, Bosa Development, and others.

Another major noted change to the revised concept is the establishment of a central park and green landscaped multi-modal pedestrian and cycling pathways.

Public consultation on the preliminary directions of the revised master plan concept is expected to begin in the middle of February.

Currently, construction is well underway on the next two residential towers at the northwest corner of the site, and the adjacent Tower 7 replacing the former Zellers building is envisioned to contain over 600 secured purpose-built rental homes.

the amazing brentwood tower 7 rental housing burnaby

Perspective looking south from Willingdon Avenue near Brentlawn Drive; Artistic rendering of Tower 6 (right) and Tower 7 (left) in full view at The Amazing Brentwood. (Arcadis Architects/Shape Properties)

the amazing brentwood tower 7 rental housing burnaby alternative office

Alternative concept: Artistic rendering of The Amazing Brentwood’s Tower 7 with office space. (Arcadis Architects/Shape Properties)

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