OpenForm Revises 40-Storey Tower Proposal For Burnaby Honda Dealership

As the need for more housing density continues to grow, car dealerships are one of several types of properties that are increasingly being reconsidered for housing development, as a result of surface parking space increasingly being viewed as an inefficient use of land.

In Burnaby, huge swaths of land between the Royal Oak and Edmonds neighbourhoods consist of car dealerships or auto-repair shops and much of it sits close to Kingsway, one of Burnaby's main arterial roads, making them ripe for redevelopment.

One such dealership is the OpenRoad Honda at the intersection of Kingsway and Greenford Avenue in Edmonds, which consists of five legal parcels: 6958 Kingsway, 6984 Kingsway, 7243 Greenford Avenue, 6957 Beresford Street, and 6961 Beresford Street, which BC Assessment values at $4,978,700, $10,536,000, $9,827,400, $8,497,400, and $4,301,500, for a total value of $38,141,000.

The registered owner of the five parcels is Greenford Investments (B) Ltd. and the properties are beneficially owned by OpenRoad Auto Group, one of British Columbia's largest automotive retail groups, who is undertaking the redevelopment through their residential real estate division, OpenForm Properties, which was introduced in 2021. Both companies are led by Christian Chia.

The OpenRoad Honda site along Kingsway in Burnaby.(Arcadis IBI Group, OpenForm Properties)

OpenForm Properties first introduced their rezoning proposal to the City of Burnaby in early-2021, when it proposed a 40-storey tower with 346 strata units on the southern end of the site, a six-storey building with 69 rental units and 25% of the units provided as below-market rates on the northern end of the site along Kingsway, and 11 townhouses.

After going through a public hearing in March 2021, Burnaby City Council granted the proposal a third reading in March 2024, but that third reading was rescinded last week on August 26 while a revised application took its place and was subsequently granted a third reading — conditional approval.

Under the revised proposal, the heights of the two buildings have not been changed and the unit count has only been slightly modified to include two additional townhouses and a revised suite mix. The 359 strata units (condos and townhouses) will consist of 75 studio units, 39 one-bedroom units, 204 two-bedroom units, and 41 three-bedroom units, while the 69 rental units will consist of 15 studio units, 12 one-bedroom units, 30 two-bedroom units, and 12 three-bedroom units. Of the 69 rental units, 17 will be still be provided at non-market rates — 20% below CMHC median rates.

Street elevations of the two buildings as viewed from Kingsway (top) and Greenford Avenue (bottom).(Arcadis IBI Group, OpenForm Properties)

View of the two buildings from the east and key elements.(Arcadis IBI Group, OpenForm Properties)

Where the proposal has been changed more substantially is as it relates to the parking, in response to various changes to parking requirements that were introduced by provincial legislation and City bylaw changes. In their 2021 application, a total of 462 vehicle parking spaces were proposed and that number has now been cut to 363.

"The proposed amendments to on-site parking are compliant with the zoning requirements for the site and will enable the applicant to remove one and a half levels of underground parking," said City staff in a recent council report. "The majority of the parking reduction is to vehicle parking rates for strata units with small reductions to rental parking and commercial parking."

As part of the amended development plan, OpenForm Properties will also be providing transportation demand measures. According to the City, based on the current proposed amount of parking, the developer will need to provide a subsidy equivalent to 50% of the cost of a two-zone adult transit pass per unit (strata and rental) per month, $1,500 in car share credits per unit, three parking spaces for car share vehicles, and guidance for building occupants on how to take advantage of those provisions.

It will also be providing a total of 975 bicycle parking spaces, along with end-of-trip facilities and repair rooms for both buildings.

Elsewhere in Burnaby, OpenForm Properties is also undertaking a project on Silver Avenue in the Metrotown neighbourhood that will consist of a 33-storey strata tower and six-storey rental building. Outside of Burnaby, OpenForm is also redeveloping a BMW dealership it owns at 1755 W 5th Avenue in Vancouver.