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Burnaby’s BC Tel Boot construction is likely to undergo a major redevelopment with more than 2,500 new homes.
The allocation is expected to include about 40 percent of rental units.
Promoter H
The Council unanimously gave its initial approval at a meeting on Monday, December 11.
The Central Park Commons master plan would be built in two phases, according to a department report.
The first phase, Kingsway South, would be two highrise towers fronting Kingsway at 31 and 38 storeys with around 724 market rental homes.
The two towers would span Vanness Avenue and sit atop an advertising podium.
Phase 2 of the development, Boundary North, would consist of 3 high-rise towers atop a four-story podium and amenities.
The Phase 2 towers, between 52 and stories tall, would consist of 1,559 sets of market strata and 252 sets of off-market rental sets (required through the Burnathrough policy).
The staff report noted the timing of Phase 2 is “unknown and may be impacted by market conditions,” and called the phase “more conceptual in nature.”
“Given the number of years during which the first phase of progression is expected to be completed, the applicant could conceivably refine the composition and number of assemblies or develop the workplace and retail component to better reflect market conditions,” the report says.
The report states that the proposed level allows the 724 rentals available on the market to be built from scratch “while preserving a degree of flexibility for the long-term phase”.
Phase 1a of the redevelopment involves the demolition of the northern portion of the existing building.
This will be followed by renovating the building’s façade and updating it to align with building code and protection standards, according to the report.
The Boot was built in the 1970s as a 21-story L-shaped workplace construction with two terraced modernist constructions, according to the report.
It historically housed BC Tel (now Telus) headquarters and has been used for general commercial office space.
More than 40 years ago, Burnaby tentatively planned a SkyTrain station at the BC Tel site, called Smith Avenue Station, as an “alternative” station to the one built in Patterson, according to a 1980 report by a city student on immediate smooth transit routes in Burnaby. Formation
The report said: “If there is not to be a station at Smith Avenue, at this time, the design of the LRT and the future development of this area should not prejudice the addition of a station at this location at some future date.”
The report indicated that Patterson was the preferred option, a previous progression plan recommended to both.
43 years later, the developer and the city “have expressed mutual interest in exploring the possibility of building a new SkyTrain station in the future. “
Staff are in discussions with TransLink about the option of a long-term station there and will report back to the council with updates.
Coun. Pietro Calendino said he understood the city was “trying to extract some cost for a SkyTrain station at that location.”
“I think we’re doing everything we can to have a SkyTrain station there,” he said.
Due to the developer’s “willingness and commitment to retain the iconic ‘Boot’ building,” staff requested that the developer be allowed to pay density premiums at a later stage.
Council discussed the Central Park Commons Master Plan without delay following another council for public hearings for predominantly residential rezoning requests.
Mayor Mike Hurley has continually voiced his opposition to canceling public hearings, but he said so because of the province’s new housing legislation.
“I would like to inform the public that due to adjustments in the law, governments are prohibited from holding public hearings for predominantly residential rezoning applications. “
“The public is prohibited for this request,” the mayor clarified.
The task needs four more primary approvals before it is finally approved.
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