Five towers with 1,000+ homes proposed for Safeway site on Kingsway in Vancouver

A major high-density, mixed-use redevelopment could replace the old suburban-style Safeway grocery store and its sprawling surface vehicle parking lot in East Vancouver’s Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood, with five residential towers, over a thousand secured purpose-built rental homes, a childcare facility, and retail/restaurant space that includes a new replacement major grocery store.

Crombie REIT and Wesgroup are behind the rezoning application for 3410-3436 Kingsway, with local architectural firm Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership behind the design.

The approximately 3.6-acre property occupies an entire city block bounded by Kingsway to the north, Tyne Street to the east, School Avenue to the south, and Senlac Street to the west. Currently home to Safeway and a BC Liquor Store, the site is about a 10-minute walk from SkyTrain’s Joyce-Collingwood Station.

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Five towers of 19 storeys, 21 storeys, 24 storeys, 26 storeys, and 29 storeys would incorporate mixed-use base podiums, with the tallest tower reaching a height of up to 329 ft. (100.5 metres). The tallest tower would be located at the northwest corner of the site, situated next to the intersection of Kingsway and Senlac Street.

As the site is a few blocks west of Boundary Road, which is Vancouver’s eastern border with Burnaby, the proponents say the scope, heights, and active commercial uses of the project serve to “establish a more meaningful eastern gateway” along the Kingsway corridor.

Existing condition:

Future condition:

There would be 1,082 units of secured purpose-built rental housing, with an unspecified mix of market rental units and below-market rental units. About 37 per cent of the units would be sized for families, defined as units with two bedrooms or more; the unit size mix is 301 studio units, 381 one-bedroom units, 290 two-bedroom units, and 110 three-bedroom units. Residents would have access to over 26,000 sq. ft. of shared indoor amenity space, plus 53,000 sq. ft. of outdoor amenity areas on the various rooftops.

Compared to the existing 51,000 sq. ft. of commercial space for the Safeway and BC Liquor store, the project would provide an overall net gain in commercial space, with about 80,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space spread across the complex of buildings. This includes the new 47,000 sq. ft. grocery store within the base podium of the tallest tower at the northwest corner of the site, about 25,000 sq. ft. of smaller retail/restaurant units spread across all four phases of the project, and a 7,000 sq. ft. private childcare facility.

The intention is to keep the existing Safeway operating for as long as possible, although shoppers would still face a prolonged, years-long closure when the third phase of the tallest tower is ready to proceed.

This project also involves building a new grid of pedestrian-friendly internal streets on the site, with retail/restaurant uses activating the street frontages of Kingsway, Tyne Street, and portions of the internal streets. The main entrance into the new grocery store would be located next to a plaza within the centre of the redevelopment, where a new intersection is created from the internal streets meeting. Other public spaces include a central gathering area, a pocket park, and a community garden.

Existing condition:

Future condition:

Underground parking up to six levels deep would contain 1,079 vehicle parking stalls, including 758 stalls for residents, 108 stalls for residential visitors, and 213 stalls for commercial uses. Additionally, the project would provide about 2,050 secured bike parking spaces.

The application notes that the site has some geotechnical challenges for excavation and underground construction due to the area’s glacial history and groundwater conditions.

“Site investigations anticipate fill and post-glacial soils over dense glacial till, with bedrock below the excavation. Perched groundwater may occur in sandy lenses about 5 m below grade, but significant inflows or specialized controls are not anticipated. The development will avoid discharging groundwater from at or below the yearly high water table to City sewers,” reads the application.

“During construction, groundwater and precipitation will be collected, treated, and discharged per City requirements. Perimeter drainage will manage limited seepage, with a low risk of groundwater impacts identified.”

The detailed parking schedule identifies 1,079 vehicle parking spaces, including 758 residential spaces, 213 retail spaces, and 108 visitor spaces. There would also be about 2,050 secured bike parking spaces.

The proposed floor area would total approximately 915,000 sq. ft., providing it with a floor area ratio density of 5.8 — a floor area that is nearly six times larger than the site’s land area.

Existing condition:

Future condition:

This project is being considered under the City’s Transit-Oriented Areas (TOA) Rezoning Policy, based on the provincial government’s legislated TOA for SkyTrain’s Joyce-Collingwood Station. The site is on the outer edge of the TOA radius.

“In recent years, the surrounding neighbourhood has seen a surge in high- and mid-rise developments, mixed-use projects, and public infrastructure investments. This redevelopment reflects strong housing demand, supported by evolving planning policies that encourage vertical development and more efficient land use, particularly near major transit nodes,” reads the application.

“The changing built form is reshaping the character of the area, creating a more urban, connected, and densely developed cityscape. This emerging density is most evident in new construction closest to the station. Within this context, the site is well positioned to align with and contribute to this pattern of intensification. The increasing prevalence of taller and denser developments nearby establishes a clear precedent in terms of both scale and design, supporting the opportunity for the site to be developed in a way that integrates with and complements the surrounding density. As the neighbourhood continues to grow upward and inward, the site can play a meaningful role in reinforcing a cohesive urban fabric while maximizing its own development potential as a distinct yet integrated district.”

In addition to the Collingwood Safeway redevelopment, there are two other notable high-density, mixed-use projects just a few blocks to the east, right on the Vancouver-Burnaby border at the intersection of Boundary Road and Kingsway.

Telus is planning to redevelop its telecommunications utility exchange building at the southwest corner at 3696 Kingsway in Vancouver into a 25-storey, mixed-use rental housing tower, while local developer Anthem Properties and H&R REIT are providing a major infill addition to the Telus Boot office complex site at 3777-3791 Kingsway in Burnaby — a mixed-use residential and commercial development with five towers between 31 storeys and 64 storeys, containing over 2,500 homes, with a mix of secured purpose-built rental housing and strata market ownership condominium housing. To accommodate the “Central Park Commons” redevelopment, a base podium portion of the existing office tower has already been demolished, with the office tower itself left intact for the project.

The Collingwood Safeway property is one of four Metro Vancouver sites that Crombie and Wesgroup announced last year they would jointly redevelop. The partnership also includes the Lynn Valley Centre Safeway project at 1170 East 27th St. in the District of North Vancouver, where Crombie had previously been working with Empire Company Limited.

Another site is the West Broadway Safeway at 2733 West Broadway (at Macdonald Street) in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood. This area is also slated to be served by the future Macdonald Street Station on the planned UBC SkyTrain extension.

The fourth property is the Burnaby Heights Safeway at 4440 Hastings St. (at Willingdon Avenue), where the partners are also pursuing redevelopment.

In a different partnership with local developer Westbank, Crombie is also pursuing the very prominent redevelopment of the Safeway next to SkyTrain’s Commercial-Broadway Station in Vancouver’s Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood.

You might also like:
• Safeway redevelopment at SkyTrain's Commercial-Broadway Station approved by Vancouver City Council
• Construction underway on mixed-use redevelopment of West 4th Avenue Safeway in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood
• Telus Boot site in Burnaby approved for five new towers with over 2,500 homes
• Telus proposes 25-storey rental housing tower on Vancouver-Burnaby border, right next to Swangard Stadium