New Westminster's Columbia SkyTrain station will become the first of many rapid-transit stops to contain new retail development, says SkyTrain CEO Doug Kelsey.

The physical revamp of the SkyTrain station at 8th and Columbia streets in downtown New Westminster will be part of a proposed $250-million residential and retail project known as Azure at Plaza 88. The project is slated to include four condo towers, which range from 35 to 37 storeys and contain 800 units on a 5.3-acre site.

"The less taxpayer (involvement in SkyTrain operations), the better," Kelsey told reporters following a recent news conference during which plans for the development were unveiled.

"I mean, I'm a taxpayer, too. I expect public operations like (a SkyTrain station) to be leveraging with anything in it. So that's why I'm pursuing retail - so we can get breaks out of it."

Several SkyTrain stations are already located near retail facilities. But the New Westminster station will be the first to actually contain shops and other retail venues. Kelsey said 22 stations across the Lower Mainland are under consideration for future retail development.

At Columbia, a major grocer and liquor store will be the anchor tenants in 170,000 sq. ft. of retail space to be located on both sides of the ticket and platform levels. A conference or community centre will occupy an adjacent 35,000 sq. ft. of space.

Azure's developers - marketer Charter Pacific Developments and builder Degelder Group - will reap the retail benefits this time, said Kelsey. But in future cases where SkyTrain controls the property, the transit organization will be able to generate revenue from retail outlets, helping to reduce operations costs and pay for better cleanup of station areas, more lighting and more transit police officers.

He said he is looking at developing retail components at the Lougheed Mall and Edmonds stations, plus many others where SkyTrain controls the property over the next few years. Citing competitive reasons, he declined to reveal more locations.

The additions, he said, will help SkyTrain (actually BC Rapid Transit Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of TransLink, the Greater Vancouver Regional District's transportation authority), make money, provide commuters with the services that they need and make them feel more safe and secure.

Kelsey said he wanted to pursue retail development at the Columbia station because "clearly, it's an area of town that needs rejuvenation."

The increased business activity, traffic and lighting will help to reduce crime in the area.

"Anybody who drove by it knows that it needs some help," said Kelsey. "The station itself is an excellent location. There's a lot of ridership that comes out of here, but we also need to make people feel safe and secure. And it fits with the Greater Vancouver Regional District's regional growth strategy, the Livable Region Plan. Any time you can densify a high-capacity system like this, that only makes sense."

Multi-tower condo projects such as Central City in Surrey near the King George station and Park 360 by the Edmonds station in Burnaby, which have experienced strong sales, show that "the market is sending signals," said Kelsey.

In other words, people want to live, work and play in inner city neighbourhoods rather than commute to and from the suburbs.

"People spend a lot of time in cars and it's a lifestyle buster," said Kelsey. "So these types of venues have appeal."

SkyTrain is negotiating potential retail developments on a station-by-station basis after issuing a request for proposals announced last year. Depending on the location, future retail components will range from kiosks to full-size retail stores.

The transit organization will commence its "retail rollout" in 2006 when it announces potential locations and the status of negotiations. Other plans will be unveiled over an 18- to 24-month period.

"The challenge is SkyTrain has already been built for 20 years," said Kelsey. "So you can't blow it up. You've got to run a train system on there. So how do you take advantage of what you've already got?

"The private sector has to be viable, too. If it's ABC Foodstore Company or XYZ Coffee Company, they have to be comfortable that they're going to be viable, which they know - not us."

Michael Degelder, president of the Degelder Group, said the Columbia station's retail component will be spread above 12 levels. He said the other types of retail have yet to be determined, but a hotel could also be feasible.

"If it is a little hotel, that would tie in because the (City of New Westminster) would like to see a little convention centre at the train-platform level, which they would pay for," said Degelder.

He said the city has approved the first two residential towers while detailed drawings on the final two towers were submitted to city hall about a month ago. SkyTrain and the city must still approve the transit line redevelopment.

The first two residential towers are more than 80 per cent sold. Degelder was originally planning to convert the property at 8th and Columbia into a new casino operated by Gateway Casinos Inc. as part of the relocation of the Riverboat and Royal Towers gambling halls.

But the casino plan was slow to gain government approval and Gateway elected instead to relocate to build a casino and shopping complex, including a Wal-Mart store, in the Queenborough district of New West, which is now under construction. The Royal Towers Hotel, previously owned by the Lisogar family, has been sold to a developer who plans to convert it to a college student residence.

Richard Bernstein, the project's architect, said the revamped station and residential complex will combine the historical brick facades present along Columbia Street with the modern glass-faced features prevalent around Greater Vancouver, while offering mountain, Fraser River and city views from higher levels.

"It's an innovative design in that it really envelops the whole SkyTrain line at New Westminster station," said Bernstein. "It's rather a refreshing project from that perspective."

One side of the development will face Carnarvon Street, offering a quiet residential street effect with a downtown street effect along Columbia.

"It's classically, vertically integrated mixed-use development," said Bernstein. "It's the kind of thing planning departments across the Lower Mainland are looking for these days to get that mix of uses so (an area's) 24-hour population outside on the street is safe and secure."

Degelder and New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright said the revamped station will help the Royal City return to its heydays as a thriving business district. New Westminster served as the first capital of B.C., between 1859 and 1866, and many areas of the city, such as Sapperton, are being redeveloped.

"In the times past (the 1920s and 1930s), New Westminster was the largest shopping area in the Lower Mainland and it had the Golden Mile, which is our downtown (Columbia) Street," said Wright. "What we're trying to do with this particular project, this proposal, is to connect them up again, so that the people who come here will have two choices - this modern facility and then walk down our main street to partake in some of the new businesses that will be formed in there."

Advancements in the automobile led to the community's decline, said Wright, as shoppers drove to other parts of the Lower Mainland.

"Now, we're back to feet - we're back to foot traffic, we're back to uniqueness and boutique-type businesses in buildings which we have, which are quite unique, downtown," said Wright.

Next, said the mayor, the city plans to redevelop its waterfront.

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)