The Future of Burquitlam Plaza

PLANNING FOR THE Burquitlam Plaza

Morguard, owner of Burquitlam Plaza, is undertaking the planning and zoning process to redevelop the Plaza into a mixed-use, residential community featuring convenience retail, offices and commercial space, restaurants, cafes, public amenity space and services. This redevelopment will be the connection for the surrounding area to transit and to the new YMCA through a proposed road network that allows for safe, multi-modal transportation. A Master Plan and Rezoning application have been prepared by Morguard’s Development Team to provide a framework for the Burquitlam Plaza redevelopment.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Morguard respectfully acknowledges that the Burquitlam Plaza is located on the unceded, traditional territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, namely the Sto:lo: the kʷikʷəƛ̓ əm (Kwikwetlem) First Nation and sq̓ əc̓ iy̓ aɁɬtəməxʷ (Katzie) First Nation; as well as the unceded, traditional territories of the qiqéyt (Qayqayt) First Nation, xʷməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam) Nation, Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) First Nation, and the Səl̓ ílwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh) First Nation. Morguard expresses its gratitude to these Nations for their stewardship of these lands since time immemorial.

HISTORY AT A GLANCE

Ancestors of the Kwikwetlem First Nation inhabited the Lower Coquitlam River watershed and areas for a millennium, prior to the arrival of the first European explorers.

Kwikwetlem First Nation are a Sto:lo people of the Lower Fraser Salish. “Sto:lo” is the Halqemeylem word for “river”, and “Kwikwetlem” refers to “red fish up the river.”

The Burquitlam name was first established in 1906 when a post office was built in the area to serve the cities of Burnaby and Coquitlam.

Burquitlam Plaza was built in 1960 and renovated in 1980.

The Skytrain Evergreen extension (Evergreen Line) and the $128 million Burquitlam Station at Burquitlam Plaza opened on December 2, 2016.

The Uptown high-density mixed-use development, located directly north of Burquitlam Plaza, was completed in 2017, and a future landmark civic and recreational development with a YMCA is currently under construction.

THE Hobbis Family History

The location of the future home of the new Burquitlam Plaza shares a rich history and connection to the cycling community that dates back almost 90 years. The corner of Clarke Road and Como Lake Avenue was once the location of the Hobbis family farm. In 1932, Gerald “Cap” Hobbis of the well-known Cap’s Bicycle Shop, started repairing and reselling bicycles out of the family garage. Cap figured children would always want bicycles and they were a popular form of transportation, but they were very expensive to purchase at the time. Working at the mill during the day and working on bicycles at night, Cap would overhaul, paint, grease and sell bikes for $5. For eight years, Cap worked hard to grow his bicycle business at this very location until he opened his first shop in New Westminster in 1940. The store motto for the Cap’s “The Original” bike shop and bike museum is “Get Back Into Cycling” – very fitting for this future mobility hub located on the proposed Citywide Greenway.

A Conceptual Master Plan and Rezoning Application will enable the redevelopment of Burquitlam Plaza into a master-planned and transit-oriented mixed-use centre for the Burquitlam neighbourhood, inspired by the need for: