Big changes coming to Metrotown mall

A vast development to expand Metropolis is part of a development to expand Metrotown into a downtown core in Burnaby.

CHERYL CHAN Updated: October 29, 2019

B.C.’s largest mall is set for a major transformation after Burnaby council approved a plan Monday that would transform Metropolis at Metrotown to a vibrant, mixed-use city centre as part of a larger effort to turn the Metrotown area into the city’s official downtown.

The nearly 18-hectare site — which includes the shopping mall, three office towers, 8,000 parking spaces, and a portion of the former Sears site — makes up the largest consolidated site in Metrotown and has defined the neighbourhood for the last few decades.

“It’s the heart of the town centre,” said Ed Kozak, Burnaby’s director of planning. “It’s important not only because of its size, but also of the transformation that would occur on the site. It would set the stage for the (Metrotown) downtown neighbourhood in the master plan.”

Instead of just being a massive indoor mall, the site, which is located next to busy Metrotown SkyTrain station, will be more open to the community, with indoor and outdoor retail spaces, new parks and plazas and streets that are pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly, thousands of new residential units, and possibly a performance and events space.

“It’s an effort, essentially, to turn the mall inside out,” Kozak said of the long-term vision.

Monday’s council vote will allow city staff to work with property owner Ivanhoe Cambridge to create a Metropolis master plan, which would align with the area’s broader Metrotown master plan, which was adopted by council in 2017.

Residential units make up a major component of the site, fulfilling the city’s goal in expanding overall housing and rental housing stock in Metrotown.

Following a new zoning bylaw, 20 per cent of all units built on the site will be designated as rentals, said Kozak, adding most of them will be affordable, at rates about 20 per cent below the CMHC average, or about 40 to 50 per cent below market average.

“Our mayor and council are extremely concerned as the area redevelops that the people who live there won’t be given an opportunity to continue to live there,” he said. “By allowing these types of housing, it increases that opportunity and meets the goal of the Metrotown downtown plan.”

Graeme Silvera, vice-president of retail development at Ivanhoe Cambridge, said preliminary plans call for about 15,600 residential units to be built at the site. In comparison, the former Expo lands on the north shore of False Creek created about 7,800 units. “This shows you the scale of what we are looking at.”

The city is also working with the developer to meet sustainability requirements, including rain gardens and a 40 per cent tree canopy to break up the pavement-dominated landscape.

For shopping aficionados worried about the future of the mall itself, Silvera says the mall is here to stay. 

“The heart of the plan will have an enclosed retail mall within it,” similar to how Pacific Centre mall forms an integral part of downtown Vancouver, he said.

But over time, the goal is to transform what is primarily an indoor shopping centre to a 50/50 mix of interior and outdoor retail. Parking will also eventually be reduced.

The first phase of the plan is a partnership with Concord Pacific, which owns the former Sears site, to develop the Kingsway frontage of the mall, adding a new street and two-level retail podium that’ll connect two parts of the mall from Old Navy and Chapters to the food court, as well as new office spaces and two new residential towers.

Construction isn’t expected until late 2021 or early 2022. No changes are expected to the south side of the mall until at least past 2030.

chchan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/cherylchan

Linda Hepner delivers final State of the City address as Surrey mayor

Hepner announced that the city plans to hire a director of housing to come up with and execute a "made-in-Surrey" housing strategy.

JENNIFER SALTMAN Updated: September 19, 2018

The City of Surrey plans to hire a director of housing to develop and execute a housing strategy for the growing municipality.

“I think a housing director, at this point in Surrey’s history, is going to be critical,” Mayor Linda Hepner said on Wednesday, following her fourth and final State of the City address.

Hepner said a lack of affordable housing was not only a Vancouver problem — it’s a problem for the entire region. Surrey needed to have a strategy that looks at what kinds of projects were needed, she said, and it had to be tailored to the city.

“I think that what we’ve always been is a place where people can see themselves and their families growing, so I think as we’ve grown that now is the right time for a housing director,” Hepner said, pointing out that most big cities had such a position.

She couldn’t say whether the position would be filled before the municipal election takes place on Oct. 20, but she expected the process would be underway by then.

Housing was one topic Hepner touched on during her wide-ranging speech, which for the most part read like a love letter to the city she has served — first as city staff, then councillor and finally as mayor — for more than 30 years.

After one term as mayor, Hepner is not running for re-election.

She reflected on the changes that had taken place over the past three decades, including skyrocketing population and more festivals and park space, as well as the development of post-secondary institutions.

Hepner touched on achievements during her tenure. At the top of the list was the removal of a tent city on 135A Street and the rehousing of its residents, the recent release of a report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Gang Violence Prevention, and the addition of 134 RCMP officers along with the hiring of a public safety director.

On policing, Hepner said it’s time to have a broader discussion about policing in the city, and what kind of police force Surrey should have.

“When you have episodes of tragedy in your community, there’s a lot of emotion and during an election period it escalates into fear mongering. I would just hope that everybody is prepared to look at it with a full-on study with facts and analysis, and let’s make the best decision for a growing community,” she said after her address.

Another hot election issue was the debate over whether Surrey should ditch its plan to build at-grade light rail in favour of SkyTrain, even though LRT was fully funded and procurement had started. She called it a done deal and said she found the debate incredibly frustrating.

“I think elections are always driven by different points of view — and that’s healthy — but I think that sometimes we get lost in the minutia of language and we don’t settle into what is the reality of fact,” she said.

Hepner said in her speech that she hoped the next mayor and council would work together and lead the city into its “next great chapter.”

If Hepner were to leave a note for the next mayor, it would be “short and sweet and in big, bold letters,” she said, becoming tearful.

“Be good to this city, because it is headed for greatness.”

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/linda-hepner-delivers-final-state-of-the-city-address-as-surrey-mayor