First Look: Mixed Use Buildings for Murrayville's 5 Corners

I admit I was a bit surprised on September 10 when I saw a completely overhauled proposal for the new "Gray Rose" or "Grayrose" development at Murrayville's historic 5 corners. Back in April 2019, I had attended the first devleoper open house which featured a much larger and arguably more iconic idea for the bare lot across from Porter's Bistro. However, with pushback on the scale by immediate neighbours, the developer went back to the drawing board and downsized the project. The application goes to Township of Langley council on Monday, October 5, 2020 for First and Second Reading.

Location

Murrayville's 5 Corners has a rich history, with the neighoburhood even being named after pioneer Alexander Murray (Murrayville was actually known as "Murray's Corner" before the 1925 opening of the local post office. The developer actually provided an interesting presentation with a history of development in Murrayville dating back to 1906.

The actual site sits on the corner of 48th Avenue and 216th Street with a roundabout that intersects the two arterial roads with an additional branch from a segment of the historic Old Yale Road. The buildings on each of the corners are generally commercial or institutional in nature, with a mixture of other commercial and residential immediately nearby.

Builder

GrayRose (Murrayville) Developments works out of South Surrey office and offers a domain at grayrose.ca that is currently under construction at this time. It's corresponding FaceBook page was created in March 2015, with advertisements from a 2016 development called "Cambridge Walk". The builder appears to be following through on it's mission to be a boutique real estate development company.

The Project

This development proposes two "limited" mixed use buildings comprising of two stories with commercial retail on the bottom and residential on the 2nd floor - which appears to be long term rental units (but don't quote me on this). Building "A" has 1,757 sq.ft. of commercial space with one residential unit on top, whereas Building "B" has 805 sq.ft. of commercial space with one live/work space on top.

The north side of the site features a courtyard, emphasizing smart design principles, with surface parking being placed on the south side.

Perspective from 48th Avenue Sidewalk with Princess and the Pea B&B in foreground

Status

The application will be before council for First and Second Reading on October 5, 2020 and will move towards Public Hearing should it be approved. If you are interested in the status of this development, or any others, please let me know.

Disclosure: Brad Richert Personal Real Estate Corporation and Sotheby's International Realty Canada is not a representative of the developer. All information contained within should be considered accurate, but is not guaranteed. This article is to be used for informational purposes alone and should not be considered an offer for purchase or sale.