36,000 sq. ft. Thrifty Foods to open in new complex next to Brentwood SkyTrain | Daily Hive

36,000 sq. ft. Thrifty Foods to open in new development next to Brentwood SkyTrain station

Concept of Brentwood Block. (Perkins&Will/Grosvenor)

Burnaby’s Brentwood district will gain another major grocery store from the opening of Thrifty Foods before the end of this decade.

This will be a 36,000 sq. ft. store location for the Sobeys-owned brand, located within the first phase of the Brentwood Block complex, which is currently under construction.

Brentwood Block is a substantial high-density, mixed-use residential and commercial development on Lougheed Highway, located immediately southeast of SkyTrain’s Brentwood Town Centre Station.

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According to Grosvenor, the developer behind Brentwood Block, this new grocery store is part of the vision of turning the project into a “connected and ultra-convenient transit-oriented hub.”

Thrifty Foods will provide Brentwood Block with a major anchor retailer, with the first phase alone entailing 160,000 sq. ft. of commercial office and retail/restaurant space. The significant active retail/restaurant uses on the lower level of the buildings will activate the eight-acre project’s expansive car-free, pedestrian-oriented public spaces.

Site plan of the first phase (left) and second phase (right) of Brentwood Block. (Grosvenor)

Concept of Brentwood Block. (Perkins&Will/Grosvenor)

“Welcoming Thrifty Foods to Brentwood Block is another important step in realizing our vision for a complete, walkable community that serves our residents and neighbours,” said Marc Josephson, senior vice president of development at Grosvenor, in a statement.

“Grocery stores are foundational to thriving and vibrant neighbourhoods, and Thrifty Foods will anchor the community, enhance livability and activate the site from day one.”

Thrifty Foods is slated to open in 2029. It will specifically front a large urban plaza on Alpha Avenue on the westernmost side of the property, closest to the SkyTrain station.

Thrifty Foods will be the Brentwood district’s fourth grocery store — complementing the nearby Whole Foods Market and Save-On-Foods, as well as the future 55,000 sq. ft. T&T Supermarket opening within Gilmore Place. T&T Supermarket was supposed to open in 2025, but it has been delayed.

Currently, within Metro Vancouver, there are Thrifty Foods locations in North Vancouver, Port Moody, Tsawwassen, White Rock, and South Surrey.

Concept of Brentwood Block. (Perkins&Will/Grosvenor)

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Concept of Brentwood Block. (Perkins&Will/Grosvenor)

The first phase of Brentwood Block entails a 41-storey strata market ownership condominium tower and two secured purpose-built rental housing towers. Altogether, these initial three towers will generate 1,731 homes, including 1,280 rental homes and 451 condominium homes.

In fact, the tallest tower in this initial phase is one of the rental housing towers — a 630-ft-tall, 60-storey tower at the southeast corner of the intersection of Lougheed Highway and Alpha Avenue. If this rental housing tower existed today, it would be one of Metro Vancouver’s third-tallest buildings, just behind the nearby newly built Two Gilmore Place and Downtown Vancouver’s Park Hyatt Vancouver (former Living Shangri-La). It will also be Western Canada’s future tallest rental housing tower.

Brentwood Block’s rental housing uses are supported by a $763-million, low-cost construction financing loan from the federal government through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The developer also previously partly attributed strong presales for the project’s first condominiums to the decision to initiate construction on the first phase.

Although there is currently weaker demand for new housing, Grosvenor previously told Daily Hive Urbanized that they are targeting to meet future demand years from now, when economic conditions improve, and there is a resulting need for new housing supply. They are also confident in the long-term future of the Brentwood district.

The first phase is expected to reach full completion in 2030.

Concept of Brentwood Block. (Perkins&Will/Grosvenor)

Brentwood Community Centre; concept of Brentwood Block. (Perkins&Will/Grosvenor)

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Brentwood Community Centre; concept of Brentwood Block. (Perkins&Will/Grosvenor)

Upon the full completion of Brentwood Block, including the second phase on the eastern half of the site, there will be six towers containing approximately 3,500 homes — including 2,450 rental homes — for 6,000 residents and over 250,000 sq. ft. of commercial office and retail/restaurant space, along with 50,000 sq. ft. of public plazas, pathways, open spaces, and landscaped areas. The project’s total building floor area will span about two million sq. ft.

At the southern end of the property, Grosvenor is also building Brentwood Community Centre — a $146-million, multi-level stacked community centre building of 106,000 sq. ft., featuring a fitness gym, gymnasium, running track, multi-purpose rooms, and indoor play areas. Upon completion in 2029, the facility will be owned and operated by the City of Burnaby, serving the needs of the immense residential density of the broader Brentwood district.

Spring 2026 construction progress on the first phase of Brentwood Block. (Goranson Construction)

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