The St Louis Contrarian

Welcome to Southgate City the largest new master planned community you’ve probably never heard of, I know I hadn’t until adverts started popping up in the Vancouver Sun.  Developed by Ledingham McAllister on the site of the former Safeway distribution facility in South Burnaby, the 60 acre site features a whopping 19 residential towers above podiums.  Site amenities including 5 acres of park space, a gourmet grocer, restaurants, cafés, and a community centre all located internally within the development.

Southgate City’s utopian-like glass towers are anchored in floating green space and numerous water fountains with a resounding lack of colour or use of materials.  The architectural renderings show building forms that appear difficult to engage with on a human scale once you get pass the street level podium.

It will be interesting to see how it feels when finally constructed but the master plan appears starkly opposite to recent developments…