Some of Richmond’s biggest infrastructure projects have made significant progress over the last year with some nearing completion and others laying the groundwork for the future.
1. Atmosphere project
The yet-to-be-built Atmosphere project along No. 3 Road was originally planned to house 824 residential units.
Delays severely weakened the project, and funding was suspended early in the pandemic, according to owner Alderbridge Way LP.
Expiry of the project's building permit followed.
This led Alderbridge Way LP to seek creditor protection in early 2022, allowing them to restructure their business instead of declaring bankruptcy.
Fast forward to Nov. 1, 2023 a new building permit application was submitted to the city, with a trial date to discuss the permit set for March of the following year.
Nine months later, the Atmosphere project site is for sale, according to real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL).
In the meantime, the lot is an excavated hole surrounded by wooden fencing just across the street from the Lansdowne Shopping Centre.
The Richmond News reached out to the company via email, but received no response.
2. Richmond Hospital expansion
The redevelopment of the Richmond Hospital consists of the addition of a new nine-floor acute care tower, the Yurkovich Family Pavilion, which will add more than 100 beds to the hospital and increase the total number to around 359. It also includes the expansion of other areas of the hospital.
In June, it was announced the project’s budget had surged to $1.96 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion since the project’s business plan was developed in 2020-21. According to Vancouver Coastal Health, this is due to escalating construction costs across all sectors.
Redevelopment phases are split in four, with a projected completion for phase one sometime between February and March of next year, said Richmond Acute Services vice-president Gail Malenstyn.
Milestones included most of the Park Centre’s demolition, the demolition of the rotunda in September, the relocation of the UBC Education Centre in May and the cancer care clinic in November 2023.
What’s left of phase one is finishing the psychiatric emergency unit (PEU) and tearing down the old building – the two other modules that hosted the UBC Education Centre and cancer care clinic will also have to come down, said Malenstyn.
Phase two of the project will consist of the construction of the nine-storey acute care tower and it's expected to start in early 2026 and to be completed in late 2029. Vancouver Coastal Health noted patients should be using it soon thereafter.
Phase three and four will follow, and according to the province's fall fiscal update, the complete construction of the project is delayed by two years to 2033.
3. Richmond Centre building 2,200 homes
New residential and retail buildings at Richmond Centre are currently under construction and well underway.
The 27-acre redevelopment project began construction in 2020. When completed, it will have 2,200 residential units across 12 towers.
According to Cadillac-Fairview spokesperson Anna Ng, three towers will be completed and will begin the process of welcoming their first residents by the end of the year.
Four towers are also currently under construction and are expected to be completed through 2025 and into early 2026, Ng told the Richmond News.
4. YVR north runway and parkade
On Oct. 25, a $133 million refurbishment to YVR’s north runway was announced, scheduled to begin in spring of 2025 and projected to be completed in fall.
Work will take place during the runway’s nightly closure between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. and will not affect flight schedules or passengers, YVR communications specialist Chloe Reynaud told the News.
Upgrades include fresh asphalt on the runway and connecting taxiways, drainage improvements, electric upgrades and new LED lighting along its edges, added Reynaud.
Early work to upgrade the edge lighting system will begin in the winter months.
Another YVR project that raised some questions is the airport’s new parkade, which is yet to be finished.
In September 2020, a number of capital construction projects, including the new parkade, were paused due to the pandemic, said Reynaud, adding “we continue to evaluate the project, and will provide further updates when available.”
Lingyen Mountain Temple expands
The expansion of the Lingyen Mountain Temple in Richmond made considerable advances heading into the new year.
Development permit applications were submitted in 2002 and the expansion along No. 5 road broke ground in July 2022.
The 94,000 square foot third phase of expansion consists of four buildings and will include a 90 foot-high Main Buddha Hall, living quarters for nuns and monks, a Buddhist education centre and a parking lot with 385 stalls – bringing the total square footage of the project to 150,000 square feet.
Temple representative Kevin Liu told the News the steel roof structure of buildings in this phase was completed in December. The roof itself will still require work in the coming months, with the installation of decorative pieces and waterproofing.
This third phase is scheduled to be completed in May 2026 – depending on interior design and completion, said Liu.
Master ShiuFong explained the upgrade was needed to expand the temple’s capacity.
- with files from Maria Rantanen and Vikki Hui
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