Burnaby Board of Trade Directory

By decentralizing Burnaby's "downtown," the City and local developers have been able to focus on building up density, providing an urban experience to a greater number of residents and businesses. Today, those four town centres – Metrotown, Lougheed, Edmonds and Brentwood – have emerged as unique, individual communities that draw their identity from the surrounding social and environmental amenities and the people who live there, explains Schumann. In addition to the overarching plan for the city as a region, each town centre has its own community plan that caters to its particular social, economic and environmental needs. Burnaby has already succeeded in realizing its vision of dense, mixed-use, rapid-transit-oriented, regional town centres, says Gordon Price, director of Simon Fraser University's City Program. Now, the city is reinforcing that fundamental vision and adding value to the communities through continual redevelopment – redevelopment that is carefully guided by the City's social, economic and environmental strategies for sustainable growth. "Our social sustainability strategy looks at how we can further the goals and social benefits of residents and employees in this city," explains Schumann, pointing to the efficacy of the City's density bonusing program, which allows developments higher levels of density in exchange for building amenities needed by the community. The city's economic strategy focuses on encouraging Metrotown T he largest and most well entrenched of Burnaby's four town centres is also its most urban. Thanks to a strong residential base dating back more than 50 years, Metrotown has develStation Square development oped the greatest number of amenities and transportation links – establishing it as a regional town centre for the entire city. Already home to three skyscraper office towers as well as anchoring businesses like Telus's corporate offices and Rogers Communications' call centre operations, Metrotown is now in the midst of massive development and redevelopment that will reshape the overall appearance of the district and bolster its standing as Burnaby's commercial epicentre. Station Square, a joint venture by Anthem Developments and Beedie Development Group, is one such project. Previously a shopping centre, it has been rezoned for an urban masterplanned development that includes 1.6 million square feet of residential, 300,000 square feet of retail and 150,000 square feet of office space. Nearby, the urban village of Royal Oak is growing at a fast pace with numerous townhouse and low‐rise mixed-use developments under construction. And Metrotower III beside the Metrotown SkyTrain station, scheduled for completion mid-2014, will be one of the first LEED Platinum economic investment in Burnaby by making the city an attractive and convenient location for new and current businesses. To that end, public transit is a powerful economic tool, says Price, who praises Burnaby for effectively negotiating SkyTrain development, building up density around each of the stations and creating a framework for businesses to fit into. Adds Price, "Burnaby really is the poster child for transit-oriented development because it's done so much of it." And of course, transit-oriented development is a key element of the City's environmental strategy, currently under development. More than just increasing park areas, the strategy is about building greener buildings and making it easier for people to adopt a greener lifestyle, such as recycling and commuting by bike or transit, says Schumann. Burnaby's unwavering focus on sustainability has paid off in spades. In 2013, the city retains its status as a home to knowledge-based companies (Electronic Arts is a longtime resident) and a major supporter of small business. In his annual state of the city address this past April, Mayor Derek Corrigan noted that building permits for 2013 had already exceeded $325 million, a significant increase over last year. Additionally, Burnaby's 2012 year-end financial statements report an increase in net financial assets of nearly $51 million.   With this wealth of resources, the city's quadrants are undergoing significant development and, in some cases, a restructuring that will accommodate more businesses and residents while improving livability. "AAA" class office buildings in Metro Vancouver. Equal attention is being paid to creating new standards of livability. Burnaby's first pedestrian "art walk" is taking shape along Beresford Street. As well, Central Park has undergone an extensive lighting upgrade, and the Terry Fox Trail of Hope is now open to walkers and joggers. Meanwhile, a new activity centre for 55-plus adults was made possible by Burnaby's density bonus policy; this much-needed facility is part of Polygon Home's Chancellor development. The 1891 construction of the Central Park tramline ran through what is today's Metrotown core and made the area a central focus for development – just as the Expo SkyTrain line facilitated modern Metrotown's sustained urban growth. Lougheed M any people associate Burnaby with Simon Fraser University, and this iconic seat of higher learning is located in the largest of the city's quadrants, Lougheed. Despite its size, Lougheed SFU's UniverCity Town Centre (which has traditionally fuelled a mall-based economy) has experienced limited growth in recent years, but activity in 2013 will soon tra ele di qu ca ity Ar 19 co 10 w co Edm E Bu its m fir To th of th gr th PHOTOS COURTESY (from LEFT to right) ANTHEM PROPERTIES, SFU COMMUNITY TRUST, CEI ARCHITECTURE AND APPIA DEVELOPMENTS Setting an example of sustainable growth 14 Burnaby Board of Trade 2013/2014  •  Membership & Resource Directory p12-15 MainFeat2013.indd 14 13-10-09 10:40 AM ov to fa to of D Th Ed a to co no Bi co is w re

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