Thousands of new homes being added to Brentwood, Lougheed, Oakridge, Richmond Centre and others
A new report from Avison Young highlights the redevelopment of traditional shopping centres across the Lower Mainland into mixed-use communities with thousands of new residents, office space and retail.
The report “Future Forward: The Rise of Urban Enclaves in Metro Vancouver” shows that as land prices have skyrocketed across Metro Vancouver, investor interest has grown in the redevelopment of shopping centres along rapid transit and their surrounding surface parking lots, often under-utilized and several acres in size.
Municipalities have long encouraged high-density development along rapid transit lines, but the economics of such redevelopments have become better understood post-2010.
Projects highlighted in the report include Shape Properties redevelopment of Brentwood Town Centre into The Amazing Brentwood — an 11 tower, 6,000 unit residential development with up to one million square feet of office space and 1.1 million square feet of retail.
The massive redevelopment has spurred activity on nearby sites such as Concord Brentwood, where 11 towers will also be built, as well as a 13-acre urban park.
In Vancouver, the redevelopment of Oakridge Centre by QuadReal and Westbank Corp. will add 2,600 homes in 10 towers, as well as four midrise buildings.
It will also include one million square feet of retail, 430,000 sq ft. of office space, and a 70,000 sq. ft. civic centre.
“These urban enclaves represent the beacons of density called for by city planners, progressive politicians and transit advocates alike,” says Andrew Petrozzi, principal and practice leader, research (BC) at Avison Young’s Vancouver office.
“These future communities serve as examples of a regional approach to planning that, for decades, was absent from the public discourse and now provides the blueprint for a future that can accommodate not only population growth, but economic and cultural development as well.”
Other significant shopping centre redevelopments are in the planning stages or already underway in Richmond (Richmond Centre), Coquitlam (Coquitlam Centre) and Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby.
To read the full report from Avison Young, click here.
