Opening in late 2021, the Burke Mountain Discovery Centre will be both a neighbourhood gathering place and a source of information about future development on Burke Mountain, a master-planned community that will eventually be home to more than 50,000 people.
Designed with wood, glass and metal elements in the West Coast Modern style, the single-storey structure will offer expansive views of the Fraser Valley and Pitt River and be a short stroll from the future 16-hectare (39-acre) Burke Mountain Village, with its 2,000 units, 11,200 square metres (120,000 square feet) of commercial space, future community centre and other amenities. The building will include:
With its prominent and central location near parks and other amenities, the centre is expected to be a hotspot for the area’s current 15,000 residents and those moving into the 700-plus townhomes under active development nearby.
The future Burke Mountain Village, formerly called the Partington Creek Neighbourhood Centre (PCNC), will be the commercial and social hub of Burke Mountain in Northeast Coquitlam. This 15.8-hectare (39-acre) site is located east of Burke Mountain Creek and south of David Avenue.
The City of Coquitlam is the primary landowner of the Village lands, which is expected to house over 2,000 residential units (apartments and townhomes) and include 120,000 square feet of retail. The Village will also include a state-of-the-art community centre, large public plaza, and neighbourhood park.
The current vision for Burke Mountain Village reflects decades of planning, dating back to the 1991 Northeast Coquitlam Area Plan that identified the need for a pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood centre for Northeast Coquitlam.
More recently, this concept was reinforced by the Partington Creek Neighbourhood Plan (PCNP) adopted by City Council in 2013. This preliminary, high-level planning exercise identified a mixed-use village, allowing future flexibility to further refinement through more detailed analysis.
In spring 2014, more focused planning on Burke Mountain Village began with the development of the PCNP (PDF). The City formed a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in architecture, landscaping, engineering, and land economics to better shape the neighbourhood centre development. Their work considered the steep topography of the site, the needs of the community, and future population growth with the objective of determining the most appropriate location for a walkable, well-connected neighbourhood centre to serve the Burke Mountain community.
In September 2015, the City hosted its first public consultation session to obtain community input and comments on the proposed Partington Creek Neighbourhood Centre concept plan. Feedback received from approximately 150 participants generally focused on three areas:
In July 2017, the development took its first significant step forward with changes to the Citywide Official Community Plan (CWOCP) and approvals of policies and guidelines for the development of the site.
Since 2017, the City has been actively planning for the development of the Village, including road construction and servicing and planning for the new community centre.
Good planning takes time, and the City will now take the steps necessary to implement the PCNC Master Plan including:
Those interested in neighbourhood updates and the ongoing development of northeast Coquitlam are invited to sign up for Burke Mountain email updates or follow the City’s social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter for news and information.