Construction on T&T Supermarket at Brentwood finally underway after 'permit hell' | Daily Hive

Construction on T&T Supermarket at Brentwood in Burnaby is finally underway after 'permit hell'

Concept of T&T Supermarket at Gilmore Place in Burnaby's Brentwood district. (T&T Supermarket)

T&T Supermarket’s long-delayed location at the newly built first phase of the Gilmore Place complex in the Brentwood district of Burnaby is finally moving forward after spending more than two years mired in what the company’s head described as “permit hell.”

In a candid update shared on social media on Monday, T&T Supermarket CEO Tina Lee revealed that construction is now well underway on the highly anticipated grocery store, which will occupy a 55,000 sq. ft. retail unit within Onni Group’s Gilmore Place — a major complex bisected by SkyTrain’s Gilmore Station

The update comes nearly a year after the Loblaws-owned Asian supermarket chain was originally expected to open the location in Summer 2025.

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“Coming soon. Took so freaking long to get the permit but we’re underway now,” said Lee, while touring the early stages of construction activity in the concrete shell space.

“We still got a long way to go. Absolutely [the] longest permit approval I’ve ever experienced at T&T.”

The Gilmore Place store location was first announced in Spring 2024 and quickly generated excitement among prospective residents and shoppers in the rapidly growing Brentwood neighbourhood. Over the coming decades, as more construction occurs, the supermarket is intended to serve tens of thousands of residents living in the high-density, transit-oriented residential developments not only within Gilmore Place, but in the surrounding Brentwood area.

The first phase of Gilmore Place reached completion in late 2023. It contains about 180,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space within the first three levels, with a growing number of restaurants, shops, and services opening at the complex. A 36,000 sq. ft. Fitness World fitness gym occupying space originally slated for office uses is expected to open later in 2026.

gilmore place retail leasing january 2026

Gilmore Place retail/restaurant leasing update, January 2026. (Onni Group)

However, according to Lee, her grocery store project on the first level’s retail concourse encountered major permitting delays before construction could begin.

She said the store had been “in permit hell for over two years” before finally receiving the approvals needed from the City of Burnaby to proceed.

“I probably announced it too soon,” she said. “But it was like I couldn’t even keep the cat in the hat. Everyone buying condos in that area [was] so excited about it and the real estate agents were all going off about it already, so I had to announce it earlier than expected, which means it’s been a long time waiting.”

Beyond the lengthy permitting process, Lee suggested the physical complexity of the development has also posed significant construction challenges.

Unlike a conventional standalone supermarket, the Gilmore Place store is being built within a dense mixed-use development, requiring extensive coordination with the building’s infrastructure and systems. The complex’s first phase saw the completion of three mixed-use residential towers with a combined total of about 1,500 homes, including the 708 ft. Two Gilmore Place tower, which became Metro Vancouver’s tallest building — exceeding the height of the tallest buildings in Downtown Vancouver.

“This is a complicated mixed-use building, so you can imagine how difficult it is to bring all of our supermarket equipment and our refrigeration down into a mixed-use with so many columns,” said Lee. “It’s complicated.”

Artistic rendering of T&T Supermarket at Gilmore Place in Brentwood Town Centre, Burnaby. (T&T Supermarket)

gilmore place brentwood burnaby july 2025

Gilmore Place, July 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

As she walked through the space, Lee pointed to the extensive building infrastructure already installed throughout the future supermarket. She said that the store project faces unusual construction constraints, including irregular ceiling heights and building utilities and services running through both floors and ceilings.

Video footage from the site shows unfinished interiors with ceilings crowded with mechanical systems, pipes, and structural elements.

“Let’s look at all these pipes. It’s like pipes, pipes, pipes everywhere,” she said.

“As you can see in all these pictures and videos, it’s a very difficult site to build — weird ceiling heights, lots of services going through both the floor and the ceiling.”

Lee also suggested that such challenges are becoming increasingly common as large-format retailers in Metro Vancouver seek space in urban environments dominated by mixed-use developments.

“Honestly, Vancouver is a very difficult place to build in,” she said. “Basically all that’s left for a big box retail is these mixed-use developments.”

Despite the setbacks, Lee said construction teams are now working to complete the project as quickly as possible.

“The team is doing their best to keep it on schedule and on budget,” she said, before thanking customers and local residents for their patience.

No revised opening date was provided in Lee’s update. Daily Hive Urbanized has reached out to T&T Supermarket for more information.

gilmore place brentwood burnaby construction may 29 2024

Construction progress of Gilmore Place’s first phase, as of May 30, 2024. (Kenneth Chan)

Gilmore Place, July 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

gilmore place brentwood burnaby july 2025 skytrain gilmore station

Gilmore Place, July 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

When complete, T&T Supermarket’s Gilmore Place location will add to the chain’s highly transit-accessible locations in Metro Vancouver, next to SkyTrain — joining the store locations at Marine Gateway (next to Marine Drive Station), Chinatown (next to Stadium-Chinatown Station), Lansdowne Centre mall (next to Lansdowne Station), Coquitlam Centre mall (next to Lincoln Station), Metropolis at Metrotown mall (next to Metrotown Station), and Central City mall (next to Surrey Central Station/King George Station). In late 2025, after 11 years of business, the chain closed its location next to the Richmond Olympic Oval.

In May 2026, it was also announced that the Brentwood district would gain another new grocery store over the coming years — a 36,000 sq. ft. location of Sobeys-owned Thrifty Foods, within the first phase of Grosvenor’s Brentwood Block mixed-use residential complex. Construction at the site immediately southeast of SkyTrain’s Brentwood Town Centre Station is well underway for a completion and opening in 2029. By the end of the decade, the Brentwood area will have four major grocery stores, with T&T Supermarket and Thrifty Foods joining existing retailers Save-On-Foods and Whole Foods Market.

Onni Group also has major high-density, mixed-use residential plans for the remaining future phases of Gilmore Place to the east of the SkyTrain station. So far, the first phase only achieves the completion of the site’s western parcel to the west of the public transit hub, and a small portion just to the east, where T&T Supermarket will be located.

Gilmore Place is also notable for its public spaces, specifically the linear plaza that cuts diagonally through the city block, following the path of SkyTrain’s elevated guideway, providing pedestrians with a new accessible, convenient, and shorter route to walk between SkyTrain Gilmore Station and Lougheed Highway.

This plaza will be activated by restaurants, cafes, and other food/beverage establishments and other types of tenants that will bring more people into the area.

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A post shared by Tina Lee (@tinalee_tnt)

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