On Monday, along with granting final approval to Phase One of Pinnacle Lougheed, Burnaby City Council also granted final approval to a nearby project by the same developer.
This project is set for 3846 Carrigan Court, a large 148,413 sq. ft parcel of land that's currently occupied by a 141-unit rental complex called the Carrigan Place Apartments that was constructed in 1970. The site is located just to the west of Lougheed Town Centre Station and fronts Lougheed Highway.
Like Pinnacle Lougheed, which is set for the large Austin-Gatineau site directly adjacent to the Lougheed Station, this project is being undertaken by Vancouver-based developer Pinnacle International, which was founded by Michael De Cotiis, whose brothers Inno and Amalio are the founders of two other developers, Onni Group and Amacon.
The 3846 Carrigan Court property is owned by Pinnacle International under Viam Holdings Ltd. and is valued at $51,678,000 by BC Assessment.
The 3846 Carrigan Court site in Burnaby. / Bingham + Hill Architects, Pinnacle International
For the site, Pinnacle International is planning three towers with a total of exactly 900 units, which would be constructed in two phases.
In the first phase, Tower 1A — located on the northwest corner of the site along Lougheed Highway — would rise 25 storeys and house 286 rental units, consisting of zero studio units, 165 one-bedroom units, 78 two-bedroom units, and 43 three-bedroom units. Tower 1B — located just east of Tower 1A and along Lougheed Highway — would then rise 23 storeys and provide 260 rental units, consisting of zero studio units, 140 one-bedroom units, 80 two-bedroom units, and 40 three-bedroom units.
Notably, the rental units in both Phase One towers will all be below-market rental units. Of the 546 rental units, 141 are being provided as replacement units for the existing 141 units, while the remaining 405 units are being provided as inclusionary rental units required under the City's Rental Use Zoning Policy for both the Carrigan Court project and the Pinnacle Lougheed project.
As a result of issues with accommodating density, Pinnacle International requested that the rental requirement for the Pinnacle Lougheed project be transferred to the Carrigan Court site and the two rezoning applications have been processed concurrently.
"The Carrigan Site will accommodate both the Inclusionary Rental requirement of the Austin-Gatineau Site and the Rental Replacement requirement of the Carrigan Site," said City staff in a 2022 council report. "It is required that the rental obligations derived both from the Austin-Gatineau Site and the Carrigan site achieve occupancy prior to or concurrent with any market strata developments on either site. Rental rates for returning tenants from the Carrigan site would reflect current rents (including RTA permitted annual increases) and for new tenants would be 20% below CMHC market median rates."
View of Tower 1A (right) and Tower 1B (left) from along Lougheed Highway. / Bingham + Hill Architects, Pinnacle International
View of Tower 1A (right) and Tower 1B (left) from along Lougheed Highway. / Bingham + Hill Architects, Pinnacle International
The second phase would then see the third and final tower constructed on the southwest corner of the site: a 33-storey tower that would house 354 strata units, consisting of zero studio units, 234 one-bedroom units, 119 two-bedroom units, and a single three-bedroom unit.
"The proposed high-density residential form is considered supportable, as the subject site is adjacent to properties to the east and north with existing, established high-density high-rise multiple-family developments," said staff, speaking about the project as a whole. "The development includes a diversity of housing sizes and tenures in order to accommodate a range of incomes and age cohorts, as well as a generous amenity package including a variety of meeting, lounge and recreation rooms, fitness/exercise centres, as well as a significant outdoor amenity."
Across the entire project, a total of 782 vehicle parking spaces and 1,800 bicycle parking spaces will be provided and the project has a total floor space ratio of 4.95 FSR.
Additionally, as part of the project, the existing Carrigan Court will also be extended to connect to Lougheed Highway, "in order to accommodate vehicular traffic associated with the overall increased density on the Carrigan Site, and to improve overall neighbourhood traffic circulation," said City staff.
On Monday, September 23, Burnaby City Council granted final approval to the Carrigan Court project without any discussion.
