At some point in the future, students at the University of British Columbia (UBC) will enjoy the convenience of purchasing groceries mere steps away from accessing Metro Vancouver’s busiest bus route.
UBC plans to build a new six-storey mixed-use building immediately adjacent to the southeast corner of the UBC bus exchange, right next to the covered bus stop shelter for the busy 99 B-Line bus route.
Tentatively named “Gateway North,” this building will primarily house laboratory research, with levels three to six entirely dedicated to this academic use.
However, the entire second level will be dedicated to an 11,900 sq ft grocery store, which will be accessed by a ground-level entrance directly fronting the 99 B-Line bus stop. The potential grocery store brand is not mentioned.
Right next to the grocery store entrance will be two small retail/restaurant units with a combined total floor area of 2,900 sq ft, providing additional frontage that activates the sidewalks of the bus exchange.
Building uses for the new Gateway North building: grocery store (blue), small-scale retail/restaurant units (purple), and research laboratories (yellow). (Acton Ostry Architects/UBC)
Building uses for the new Gateway North building: grocery store (blue), small-scale retail/restaurant units (purple), and research laboratories (yellow). (Acton Ostry Architects/UBC)
Ground level; building uses for the new Gateway North building: grocery store (blue), small-scale retail/restaurant units (purple), and research laboratories (yellow), with the 99 B-Line bus stop of the UBC bus exchange also depicted. (Acton Ostry Architects/UBC)
Second level floor plan, showing the grocery store, of the new Gateway North building. (Acton Ostry Architects/UBC)
Existing grocery store locations nearby entail the very small options of SUM’s Grocery Checkout store inside the AMS Nest student union building, the non-profit discount Food Hub Market at the CIRS Building, and H-Mart at University Village, as well as the large-format options of the recently opened Urban Fare at Lelem Village and Save-On-Foods at Westbrook Village.
Including just one underground level for storage, utilities, and bike storage, the total building floor area for Gateway North will reach 83,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is three times larger than the size of the lot.
The building will have a land footprint of 27,300 sq ft, which is currently being used for the temporary construction staging and storage needs of the adjacent Gateway Health Building project — a new six-storey, 271,000 sq ft building that provides a new hub for the School of Nursing, School of Kinesiology, and Integrated Student Health Services.
With the Gateway Health Building nearing its 2025 completion, this site will soon be made available for its development into the Gateway North building. Westbrook Mall is situated immediately to the east of the site.
The design firm for Gateway North is Acton Ostry Architects, which has also designed other prominent nearby campus buildings, including the new UBC Aquatic Centre and UBC Brock Commons Tallwood House tower.
The south side of the UBC bus exchange, next to the site of the future Gateway North building, looking toward the 99 B-Line bus stop. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Site of the new Gateway North building with the grocery store next to the 99 B-Line bus stop of the UBC bus exchange. (Google Maps)
Site of the new Gateway North building with the grocery store next to the 99 B-Line bus stop of the UBC bus exchange. (Acton Ostry Architects/UBC)
Also approaching the targeted 2025 completion dates nearby are the new School of Biomedical Engineering Building, which will be a five-storey, 156,000 sq ft building just across from the War Memorial Gymnasium, and the new three-storey, 101,000 sq ft “New Recreation Centre,” which provides the campus community with new additional fitness gym and gymnasium facilities.
As well, as part of its “Game Plan” strategy of renewing on-campus sports competition and recreational facilities, over the longer term, the university has plans to redevelop War Memorial Gymnasium into a brand new basketball stadium or perform significant renovations to the aging facility.
Further to the south, near the southeast corner of the intersection of University Boulevard and Wesbrook Mall, replacing the surface vehicle parking lot of Regent College, local developer Polygon Homes has partnered with the college to build a new 18-storey tower with condominiums, student housing, and 10,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses. Construction is expected to begin in early 2025 for completion in 2027.