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lready an award-winner for its irst two phases of MacPherson Walk in Burnaby, Hungerford Group is now completing phase three: MacPherson Walk North. "We are proud of this project," says Michael Hungerford, principal of the Vancouver-based real estate development company. "MacPherson Walk won the 2010 Georgie Award for the best low-rise development in B.C., as well as multiple nominations for other awards. "We de initely went through a dif icult economic period while we built the irst two phases, from 2006 to 2010," says Hungerford. "But economic uncertainty makes life interesting. What we did was focus on creating good value for the owner-occupier market, not simply for real-estate investors." The choice of Burnaby was an easy one, says Hungerford. "Burnaby is central to Metro Vancouver. There's a great school nearby, the Metrotown shopping centre is close and the Royal Oak SkyTrain station is within walking distance," he says. "Burnaby offers a lower cost of living than downtown as well." Rob Ciccozzi, principal with Robert Ciccozzi Architecture Inc. of Vancouver, drew up the plans for all three phases of this project. "For MacPherson Walk North, we followed on what we had already done, but with improvements based on what buyers wanted," says Ciccozzi. "We re ined the units and offered different options." Among those differences was the number of one-bedroom units in phase three. "MacPherson Walk North is 70 per cent one-bedrooms," says Ciccozzi. "Typically, that would be 15 to 20 per cent one-bedroom units, but this was what people asked for. The market is not as strong today as it has been, but with the customized suites the project sold well. It has been sold out before we were close to completion." Ciccozzi credits the Hungerford team for the ease with which all three phases have come together. "The Hungerford team really knows their stuff," he says. "The economics of development, putting money right where it's needed, creating the best product for the buyers – giving them the biggest bang for their buck. Hungerford knows how to maintain the momentum of a project, which is so important. Decisions were made in a timely manner through all parts of the project." Describing MacPherson Walk North, Ciccozzi says it is a four-storey woodframe construction, with 120 units made up of one- and two-bedroom suites, some with studies. There are also a few bachelor suites. "Because we're so close to a SkyTrain station and with the introduction of co-op cars, we were able to get some parking relaxations, which is not always easy in Burnaby," says Ciccozzi. There are 150 resident parking stalls, 30 visitor stalls and two handicapped spaces. There are also 120 bicycle storage lockers for residents' use and 12 for visitors. "The character of the project is West Coast contemporary," says Ciccozzi. "The emphasis is on the entrance, which effectively splits the one long building into two parts. This strong transparent entry directly connects the building to the greenway in the back of the property. There is a nice build-up of materials, from brick at the ground loor to siding and heavy timber elements to accent the balconies. These touches engage the pedestrian as they approach." Landscape expert Daryl Tyacke, partner with Vancouver-based eckford tyacke + associates Landscape Architecture, says his part in the project was to create "a cohesive look to this phase – a continuity with the rest of the property. We used the same vocabulary as before." That vocabulary included yew hedging, shrubs and trees, all native or native-adapted and, Tyacke points out, all drought-resistant. "The unique part of the project is a large open area on the north side, an open amenity space," he says. "It's unusual to have such a large lawn area, including a children's play area and covered picnic facilities." Project manager Mark Fraser of Vancouver's Marcon Construction Ltd. A MacPherson Walk North p.84-85 Weston_MacPherson.indd 85 says his company took on the third phase, after another irm – Timberline Construction – had worked on the irst two phases. "Construction went very smoothly during phase three," says Fraser. "I give credit to Doug Sissons, who came over to our company from Timberline. He was superintendent for all three phases." "This is a bread-and-butter project for us: a four-storey, wood-frame walkup," says Fraser. "We work on similar projects quite often, though MacPherson Walk was a bigger project than usual." Senior engineer with Thomas Leung Structural Engineering Inc. of Vancouver, Simon Lim is another veteran of this multiphase project, having been working with the Hungerford Group since the start of MacPherson Walk. "As structural engineer, I had to maintain consistency between all the buildings," says Lim. "Our company deals with projects like this all the time: low-rise, wood-frame construction. It's one of the things we do. But Hungerford is a great company to work with; they really stress the importance of quality. I even thought about buying a unit myself!" Project manager Ramon Alinas of Nemetz (S/A) & Associates Ltd. says this inal phase of the project offered an opportunity to ind cost-effective solutions for the electrical and related systems. "Normally, there would be a unit substation in the basement," says Alinas. "We installed two pad-mounted transformers, which made the project more price-effective. There is a irewallseparation from the roof to the parkade that sort of constituted two buildings in one. The west side of phase three can be occupied as work continues on the rest of the building." "We focus on quality," says Michael Hungerford. "When a homeowner gets the keys to a home, it should be lawless. Would you accept a new car that had a dent or a scratch? Absolutely not. We have a deep respect for our homebuyers and hold true to the expectations we set during pre-sales. As a result, 30 per cent of those buyers were recommended to us by other owners – which is almost unheard of in this industry." ■ LOCATION 5788 Sidley Street Burnaby, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER Hungerford Group ARCHITECT Robert Ciccozzi Architecture Inc. CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Marcon Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Thomas Leung Structural Engineering Inc. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Sterling Cooper & Associates ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Nemetz (S/A) & Associates Ltd. INTERIOR DESIGN i3 Design Group MacPherson Walk North ETA Landscape Architecture Inc. TOTAL AREA 90,000 square feet TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COST $16 million ED WHITE PHOTOGRAPHICS/COURTESY HUNGERFORD GROUP by Jerry Eberts LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT JUNE 2012 /85 5/25/12 1:07:37 PM

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