Planning and design have started for a retail, office and residential redevelopment of the 11.5-hectare (28.5-acre) Oakridge Centre site on West 41st Avenue in Vancouver.
QuadReal, a Vancouver-based real estate investment and management company, purchased Oakridge Centre earlier this year and assumed management of the Centre on June 1, 2017. QuadReal has selected Westbank, a Vancouver-based developer, to partner on the Oakridge redevelopment.
QuadReal and Westbank will move forward on a project that aligns with the rezoning approved in principle by the City of Vancouver in 2014, and delivers to the community all benefits secured as a condition of the rezoning. Benefits include a 3.64-hectare (nine-acre) public park, a 6,503-square-metre (70,000-square-foot) civic centre with a new library, daycare, seniors centre and community centre and 290 affordable homes to be built and transferred to the city.
In addition to the above public benefits, the proposed development includes towers and mid-rise buildings, containing market and social housing, along with expanded office and retail space. The development also contemplates a public high street and enhanced pedestrian access to the Canada Line Station.
“We are in the process of designing an inspiring residential, shopping and business community that abides by the rezoning already approved by the City of Vancouver and enhances the area’s multicultural character and the shopping centre’s flagship status,” said Remco Daal, president of QuadReal’s Canadian real estate division.
Westbank has developed many of Vancouver’s best-known and most transformative projects, including Woodward’s, Fairmont Pacific Rim, TELUS Garden and Vancouver House.
“We are re-thinking every aspect of our daily lives through Oakridge and how this project should both respond and lead for present and future generations,” said Ian Gillespie, founder, Westbank. “Our goals are deservedly very large. We are exploring everything from the future of retail to housing, the work environment, mobility, parks, entertainment, public spaces, energy production and culture in a holistic, mixed-use development. We see this as a defining opportunity to set a new standard for urban living, locally and globally.”
The partnership will work closely with the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Park Board staff during the planning and design process. Plans will be shared with the community and available for public review in fall 2017. In the meantime, updates are available through www.oakridgevancouver.ca.
