Every day, tens of thousands of people on the Millennium Young Rail pass by Gilmore Station, but they may not know that at present, the train is actually passing through the canyon.
The construction of the first phase of Onni Group's Gilmore Place mixed-use complex required one of the largest and deepest building excavations in Metro Vancouver's history-the excavation of a 3.5-acre pit approximately 100 feet deep. The resulting basement will be used for the seven-story parking lot.
To achieve this goal, extraordinary engineering considerations must be made to structurally ensure that the light rail elevated rails and the deep foundation of Gilmore Station cut diagonally across the site.
The construction progress of Gilmore Plaza as of October 26, 2021. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The construction progress of Gilmore Plaza as of October 26, 2021. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The construction progress of Gilmore Plaza as of October 26, 2021. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Undoubtedly, the developers and their contractors work closely with Yunlian to actively excavate while protecting the structural integrity of the light rail infrastructure.
“The method was developed in consultation with our geotechnical engineers, structural engineers, and engineers from our subcontractors,” Onni Group Chief of Staff Duncan Wlodarczak told Daily Hive Urbanized.
The engineering team includes GeoPacific Consultants, Kor Structural and Klohn Crippen Berger.
“The top of the wharf was supported on a large anchor, and then the secant line was installed on the bedrock around the existing caisson. A temporary support wall was installed, and while the excavation continued, the secant line was supported back,” he said.
The construction progress of Gilmore Plaza as of October 26, 2021. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The construction progress of Gilmore Plaza as of October 26, 2021. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The construction progress of Gilmore Plaza as of October 26, 2021. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
TransLink spokesperson Tina Lovegreen said that the project is being reviewed and monitored by the Public Transport Administration’s Adjacent and Integrated Development (AID) plan, which is a private building development adjacent to public transport infrastructure Established a framework.
In addition, because the construction required the installation of Gilmore Station's emergency stairs at the northern end of the platform, the developer also used a scaffolding system to construct temporary replacement emergency stairs.
“Given the proximity and scale of the Onni master plan, the review process has always been complicated, but it follows the same framework as other similar projects,” Lovegreen told Daily Hive Urbanized.
"As part of the AID program, TransLink and its consultants reviewed the design and construction methods to ensure risk reduction. Since each development project is unique, the review process is focused on existing infrastructure and proposed projects."
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
Developers and Yunlian are also negotiating on the post-construction status of the light rail infrastructure. After completion, the area around the station and under the rails will become a public space facing pedestrians. The precise design is being finalized.
The ground floor of the new building will have a large number of retail and restaurant uses to further activate the spine of this public realm.
As one of the developer’s public welfare contributions, Gilmore Station will also have a direct improvement. Onni Group will build a new permanent awning for the platform level of the station, replacing the temporary wooden awning that was first installed when the station was built 20 years ago. The 8,200 square foot roof that exists today was built in just four days.
The simple design of Gilmore Station, compared to all other original Millennium Line station designs, intentionally allows adjacent developments to provide a certain degree of flexibility for the integration of transit-oriented developments.
Artistic rendering of the combination of Gilmore Plaza and SkyTrain Gilmore Station. (One Group)
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
From the current major excavation work for Gilmore Place, three towers will rise from the ground.
Tower 1 and Tower 2 have recently risen from the floors and foundations of the underground parking lot, and the first few floors are now exposed to the ground. The two towers will be mainly residential buildings, with retail, restaurants and amenities located on the lower floors.
Of particular interest is the Tower Two at the northwest corner of the site-facing the intersection of Lougheed Expressway and Gilmore Avenue-is expected to reach a height of 708 feet with 64 floors, making it the new Metro Vancouver area. The tallest building. It represents the first in a new wave of suburban towers outside Vancouver, and its height exceeds the height of the 659-foot Living Shangri-La Tower in downtown Vancouver. The construction of the second tower includes about 640 residential buildings above the commercial space, and it is expected to be completed by 2025.
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
Artistic rendering of Gilmore Plaza Phase I. (One Group)
The original master plan of Gilmore Place. This concept is outdated and is expected to be updated in 2022. (Onni Group)
The previously approved four-phase redevelopment plan spanning 12 acres requires the construction of 10 towers with thousands of residences, approximately 450,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, and approximately 1 million square feet of office space. This includes approximately 700,000 square feet of office and retail space located on the east side of the light rail rails as part of the second phase of 37 storeys at the core of the site. IBI Group is the architectural design company for this project.
Wlodarczak noted that Onni Group is working with the City of Burnaby to update the site's master plan. It is expected that the updated master plan will be announced in early 2022 for review and public consultation.
The Surrey City Council approved a major redevelopment project near the light rail gateway station in July 2021, which may be constructed in a similar manner. Thind Properties' urban block-sized site at 13437 105 Avenue is divided into two by SkyTrain rails running diagonally. Lovegreen said the Thin Towers review process may be comparable, considering the characteristics of the site are similar to Gilmore Plaza. The developer hopes to build three residential buildings above five underground parking spaces.
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