The Granville & 70th project consists of several phases and four major buildings of various heights and storeys, with the fourth building anchored by a Safeway grocery store. Glotman•Simpson was the principal structural engineer for this mixed-use project and performed design and construction reviews for the new multi-tower development.
An at-grade parking lot and Safeway store occupied the site at Granville & 70th Avenue for several decades prior to the site re-development. Safeway remains as an anchor tenant of the new development, now consisting of the new and revitalized store, a below grade parking structure below the store, and three new residential buildings of 8, 15 and 20 levels.
The store design was challenged by an overlap and transfer of one of the residential towers above, heavy landscape loading and full height trees planted over the roof of the store. The site frontage is marked by a pair of long-spanning arched glue-laminated timber canopies soaring in excess of 40’ above grade and sweeping over 75’ long. The arched canopy’s terminate in a continuous undulating steel plate façade with decorative fins supporting continuous glazing.
The roof over the Safeway building is an expansive vegetated green roof with the amenity space of the adjacent south tower spilling out to partially encompass the roof of the grocery store.
Images: © Bob Matheson