The tallest tower east of Burrard Street had a groundbreaking ceremony with special guests this past weekend in Burnaby.
On June 15, Altus - the second phase of the future SOLO District development - broke ground with Burnaby-Douglas MP Kennedy Stewart, Burnaby North MLA Richard Lee and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan in attendance.
The Appia Developments project will see the Altus tower stand at 550 feet. It is only a few floors short of being as tall as Vancouver's luxurious Shangri-La tower. It will also include the city's first Whole Foods grocery store.
"We're very proud to be building the tallest tower in Burnaby," said Jim Bosa, Appia Developments president, in a media release. "The development of Altus is proof that Burnaby is growing into a livable urban community that is not only a great place to live, but an excellent place to do business, as well."
Construction already began on Stratus, which is phase one of the project, on the corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway in North Burnaby.
As part of Burnaby's density program, the city will receive $32 million in community amenities - including a 4,000-squarefoot community space - and $30 million in cash for off-site amenities.
"These lessons of sustainable community development will serve as a blueprint to fundamentally recreate Brentwood Town Centre into a model green community that will be another legacy for future generations," Corrigan said in the release.
SOLO District will bring 1,400 residential units and about 3,000 people to the Brentwood area.
"Aside from the height of the building, we're very excited about the roof-top entertainment space that will be offered to residents of Altus," said George Wong, Magnum Projects Ltd. principal, in a media release. "The top floor will be home to Club 55, a luxurious indoor-outdoor clubhouse offering residents more than 5,000 square feet of recreational space. Simply put, Altus will have the best views in the Lower Mainland."
The project is also incorporating a green feel with geothermal heat exchange systems, individual gas meters in each condo, a car sharing agreement, electric car charging stations and transit passes for some residents.
Altus sales begin on June 22. For more information, visit www.solo district.com.
Appia has also launched a social media contest, with four $100 gift cards to Brown's Social House and Joey Restaurants as prizes. To enter, visit the sales centre at 2131 Willingdon Ave. and snap a photo of the Google map pin, which is hidden in the sales centre.
Then tweet the photo or post it on Instagram with the hashtag #SOLOPin.
The contest closes on July 31.
Social media conference
A group of Simon Fraser University students are teaching local businesses how to interact via social media.
Co-founders Lesley Yuen and Saline Siu are looking to empower local businesses with the launch of the OMG Social Media Conference on Aug. 15.
"There's a gap and small businesses are suffering," Yuen said in a media release. "They want to sell to millenials, but they don't know how to reach them. For a crowd struggling to get any online engagements, walking them through the process of creating a social media marketing strategy is more useful."
HootSuite, SFU Beedie School of Business and Telus are sponsoring the event, which will feature three speaker sessions, three keynote presentations and 10 social media experts.
"As the online media generation, we are extremely familiar with social media - a luxury that we often take for granted," Siu said. "But it is crucial in the success of small business owners and we want to help bridge the gap between these generations."
The conference is Thursday, Aug. 15 from 8: 30 a.m. to 6: 30 p.m. at SFU Segal, 500 Granville St. in Vancouver. For more information, visit www.omgsocialmedia. org.
Plans for Brentwood mall
What will the future of Brentwood Town Centre look like? A Shape Properties public info session at the mall aims to answer that.
On June 26, Shape will host a public information meeting to showcase what the first phase of the redevelopment encompasses.
Shape acquired Brentwood mall in 2010, and has been working on redevelopment and rezoning plans ever since.
"The first phase of development envisions the creation of a new dynamic outdoor commercial centre, public plaza, and residential development, integrated with the Brentwood SkyTrain Station and adjacent bus service," a Brentwood Town Centre online post states. "All parking is proposed to be underground within the first phase, with above ground public spaces being pedestrian oriented and fully accessible."
Shape is asking the public to provide comment on the proposed redevelopment at the open house in the food court at Brentwood mall from 4 to 7 p.m.
For more information or to send comments, email [email protected].
No more Safeway
Burnaby's four Safeways will be no more. The company was bought out by Sobeys and will join Thrifty Foods and IGA under the same owner.
Safeway was acquired for about $5.8 million last week, including all the grocery stores under the Safeway banner in Western Canada, 10 liquor stores and 12 manufacturing facilities, among others.
"This is a significant and historic event for Sobeys, which has been proudly serving Canadian food shoppers for 106 years," said Paul Sobey, president and CEO of Empire Company Ltd., in a media release.
The Safeway locations will now be under the Sobeys name. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire.
