A Burnaby highrise project in the fast-densifying Brentwood neighbourhood is home to the largest electric-vehicle parking facility in the world, says developer Concord Pacific.
While condo projects usually tout features like sweeping views, luxury amenities, or transit-friendly locations, Concord Pacific’s Concord Brentwood project has a unique — and record-setting — feature: Every single one of its 1,974 parking stalls is equipped with an EV quick-charge station.
“We know by far what we have here is not only the biggest EV parking facility, but the most robust,” said Peter Webb, Concord’s senior VP of development. “It’s not a shared-load situation.”
The parkade is shared by four towers in the project’s Hillside phase. Its electrical infrastructure system has the capacity to supply power to all the level 2 chargers at the same time, should that ever occur.
About 20 per cent of B.C. municipalities have EV parking bylaws for new multi-unit developments. Generally, they only require parking spaces for new residential projects to be wired for later charger installation.
It’s still uncommon for new condo projects to provide charging stations or to have a station per stall, said Grace Quan, strata president of Hillside East.
“It’s a very unique building,” said Quan, who drives a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle but would get an electrical vehicle if her family needs a second vehicle down the road.
Many condos have EV-dedicated parking stalls with charging stations shared by residents, she said. You’d have to move your car after you finish charging or, if the spots are taken, “you’re out of luck and out of energy.”
Quan, who works in the green energy field, estimates that with each of the nearly 2,000 stations capable of charging at five kilowatts, the parkade can use 10 megawatts of power, which is enough to power a small town.
The parkade is designed around two elevator cores including 1,039 stalls under the west towers and 935 stalls under the east tower. It spans nine storeys (four above ground and five underground) with four vehicle entrances.
As of a month ago, about 280 charging stations, or 15 per cent of all stations, were in regular use although Concord expects that number to have topped 300 and increase further as more people move in.
Residents are charged for the power they use rather than a flat fee.
This isn’t Concord Pacific’s first project with EV-charging devices at every parking stall. The ARC condo building in downtown Vancouver has about 500 spots with charging stations, while Avenue One in Vancouver’s Olympic Village has 249 such stalls.
Concord Brentwood, however, is the largest. The company also said it is committed to installing EVs in every parking spot for future developments.
While the decision was part of Concord’s commitment to create more sustainable communities, it was also to ensure that properties hold their value and remain competitive in the long-term, said Webb. “As we build our projects, we want to do everything we can to protect their investment”
“Having EV-ready stalls as part of the project means in the future in 10 to 20 years as the attrition to an EV lifestyle increases, the value of the property holds,” especially since converting standard parkades to EV-ready facilities is costly and difficult, he added.
From talking with other residents, Quan said the charging stations are a selling point. “People love it. You can pull into your station and just plug it in. It’s like everyone having their own elevator. It’s unparalleled luxury.”
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