BCBusiness

C I T Y O F B U R N A B Y S p e c i a l F e a t u r e FAST FACTS • Burnaby's building permit values reached their highest value ever— $879 million—at the end of 2015. The previous highest annual value was $792 million in 2008, prior to the global recession. • In 2015, Burnaby's investment portfolio returned an annual yield of 3.91 per cent and investment income of $41.5 million; for 2016, the city is projecting investment income of $40 million and an annualized return of 3.35 per cent. • Burnaby has 28 recreation and leisure centres and many swimming pools, ice rinks and playing fields (including several artificial turf fields) that offer a wide range of programs. Edmonds Community Centre, completed in June 2013, is the newest addition with two pools, two full–sized gyms and complete fitness facilities featuring a 7,000-square-foot weight room. It is a world-class facility that was recently recognized provincially by the B.C. Recreation and Parks Association with a Facility Excellence Award, and internationally by the International Paralympic Committee/ International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities with a Distinction Award for accessibility. Fraser River and to the north by the long arm of the Burrard Inlet (with the North Shore mountains providing a spectacular backdrop). The skyline of Vancouver lies west, and the house-dotted hills of Coquitlam lie east. Literally, Burnaby is in the centre of all the action. Burnaby's four town centres— Metrotown, Lougheed, Brentwood and Edmonds—are visually distinct, each providing a special ambiance and bustling in the best sense of the word. The products from companies in these centres are enjoyed around the world, from the games produced by Electronic Arts to the television and movies made in Bridge Studios and other motion picture/ post-production studios. Outside the entertainment realm, companies such as Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers are equally important in their own right, the heavy equipment auctioneer having evolved to employ 1,500 people internationally. Ballard Power Systems and Glentel are just two more of the many Burnaby- located ‚rms that are recognizable to the average Canadian. Small business thrives thanks to helpful civic policies established by the City and entities such as the Burnaby Board of Trade ( BBOT), the city's innovative, triple-bottom- line business association that enables business, non-pro‚ts and academia to congregate to learn, network and engage on the issues facing the community and opportunities for growth. As any number of breweries, consultancies, retail stores, restaurants and other enterprises can attest, there is no end of innovative companies that provide unique services, a case in point being PLC Electronic Solutions, a robotics systems manufacturer that is heavily involved in the aerospace industry. If all this sounds to an outsider like Burnaby is driven merely by the desire to grow its entrepreneurial base, then consider the enormous body of creative talent that has been nurtured within its geographical boundaries. The list includes players it has sent to the NHL (like Cli• Ronning, Karl Alzner and "Burnaby Joe" Sakic), Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair and also luminaries to the Hollywood scene (Michael J. Fox and Carrie-Anne Moss) and music (Michael Bublé, currently the world's most popular jazz crooner). But all of this activity and achievement wouldn't have happened if, at the end of the day, Burnaby wasn't also a great place in which to hang out, have fun and recharge one's batteries. Over the years it has carefully evolved so that wherever people wander, they're never far from green space: 25 per cent of its total land mass is preserved as parkland, and a system of biking/walking trails weaves through its 98.6 square kilometres. In fact, so skillfully have city council and sta• balanced development with lifestyle considerations (which is undoubtedly the single biggest challenge facing any region in the 21st century) that Maclean's magazine recognized Burnaby as Canada's Best-Run City. You don't have to go far to ‚nd someone willing to wax enthusiastic about Burnaby, but Mayor Corrigan summarizes his city the best by stating, "I'm con‚dent that our many successes in Burnaby and the ongoing exceptional contributions of our citizens, business leaders and non- pro‚ts—all supported by our dedicated city sta•—will ensure that our future is even more promising than its proud and remarkable past." W The Burnaby Board of Trade is the one organization whose primary focus it is to make sure that businesses in Burnaby have a healthy ecosystem in which to operate. W At incorporation in 1891, the municipality's residents unanimously chose to name it after the legislator, Freemason and explorer Robert Burnaby, who in 1859 had surveyed the freshwater lake that is now Burnaby Lake and near the city's geographical centre. W Burnaby's ratio of parkland to residents is one of the highest in North America, and it maintains agricultural land, particularly along the Fraser foreshore flats in the Big Bend neighbourhood. WBurnaby first served as a rural agricultural area supplying nearby markets. Later, it was an important transportation corridor between Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the interior of the province. As Vancouver became a metropolis, Burnaby became one of its first-tier bedroom community suburbs. DID YOU KNOW?

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