The developer behind a massive redevelopment of the former Saputo dairy processing property in Burnaby is moving ahead with the first phase of the project after restructuring its ownership and financing.

Peterson Group says it is advancing its master-planned project at 6800 Lougheed Highway after parting ways with its development partner on the deal earlier this year and getting through a process that saw the property entangled with creditor protection proceedings. 

When and if fully built out, the development would span five phases and include nearly 6,000 homes and up to 14 million square feet of development. It is to include for-sale condominiums, market-rate rentals, affordable housing options and commercial/employment space. 

The project is now advancing toward the final stages of site-specific zoning for its first phase, which includes more than 1,300 homes. 

"In February, we basically bought out our partner," Barrett Sprowson, senior vice-president at Peterson, told RENX. The former partner was Create Properties. "However, in order to get there, we went through a process of basically going into credit protection through the CCAA process,” he said, referring to the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. 

Sprowson said Peterson exited that process recently and was able to maintain financing through the same group of lenders, outside of the court process. 

Peterson was founded in 1959 and owns an extensive portfolio of properties and developments across office, industrial, retail and multifamily sectors. Its commercial portfolio alone stands at over 70 buildings across North America.

Peterson anxious to move ahead at Lougheed

He said the new financing commitment, as well as acquiring full ownership and management of the project in February, enables Peterson to advance its plan with renewed strength to deliver what he describes as a “vibrant, transit-oriented community” in North Burnaby. 

The project, which isn't formally renamed yet, borders Lougheed Highway to the north and Burnaby Lake to the west and sits next to the Sperling–Burnaby Lake SkyTrain station.

The first phase will feature a mix of rentals, condos and commercial space. Sprowson said it will include six buildings with 729 market rental homes and roughly 600 condos.

He said the first phase will also include retail and commercial components, likely including a grocery store. "We're still working on what that mix will be, but . . . the target are things that will be really impactful for the community, right off the bat."

Buildings would reach up to about 25 storeys in height, with the tallest buildings situated closest to the SkyTrain station.

The firm is happy to be moving forward with the project.

"We're not entering or going into this with a sense of trepidation . . . we're excited about it," Sprowson said. 

With ownership and financing settled, Sprowson said Peterson is now going through a master-plan amendment to align the community with a revised height-based approach guided by new city and provincial density guidelines.

"And then at the same time, we're advancing the site-specific rezonings," he said. 

Peterson recently divested from Shangri-La tower 

Peterson also made headlines recently when it sold its share of the Shangri-La hotel and commercial space in downtown Vancouver to Brookfield Asset Management. The skyscraper is Vancouver’s tallest building at 62 storeys and 646 feet.

Sprowson said the downtown tower and the Saputo Lands project are on “separate business tracks” and the timing is just coincidental, when asked if the profits from Shangri-La were required to move forward with the Saputo Lands.

"It just seemed like the opportunistic thing to do, and that's (the) approach (we take) with our portfolio," Sprowson said. 

Elsewhere in Vancouver, Peterson continues work on the Frame condo building at Kingsway and Earles St., one of several projects that saw Peterson buy out its strained and insolvent development partner Cormandel Properties. In the case of Frame, which has a pair of 10-storey towers atop a connected retail podium, Peterson bought out the project as Coromandel reportedly struggled with insolvency throughout its portfolio.

Construction and sales continue on the homes and retail units at Frame, with the building expected to be complete in spring 2026.

Development conditions not in a ‘happy place’

Overall, the market is not a happy place for the development community right now, Sprowson said, but Peterson Group is looking well beyond the short term with its plans and projects.

"We don't believe that that's a long-term issue." 

He said the team makes decisions on large projects based on the expectations for the next 15-20 years, and not the next two years. 

"We take a very long view of the market and I believe in Vancouver and its fundamentals," he said. "(This) will remain a place that people want to live, work and play."