Driving along the Fraser River toward New Westminster, one can see massive concrete columns rising from the waters below.
A marvel of engineering, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s $1.38-billion Pattullo Bridge replacement project is underway and scheduled to open in 2025. The new four-lane, toll-free bridge will feature wider lanes separated by a centre median as well as dedicated walking and cycling paths protected from vehicle traffic.
Like its predecessor, the new bridge will connect Surrey Central and New Westminster, two major hubs in the Lower Mainland. “It will be an icon on our skyline,” said New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone.
The bridge replacement is emblematic of the considerable growth and significant redevelopment work occurring in New Westminster. Served by two SkyTrain stations, a downtown expansion is underway, and together with a major hospital redevelopment in progress, the historic city is looking ahead to a bright and bustling future.
New Westminster is already the second-densest city in Canada, according to 2021 census data, with 5,052 residents per square kilometre. And within the Lower Mainland, it’s expected to be the fastest-growing city in the decades ahead. Its population is projected to grow 29 per cent by 2030 and 72 per cent by 2050, edging out the Township of Langley.
“We’ve always taken seriously our role in meeting Metro Vancouver’s goal of building transit-oriented urban living around transit stations,” said Johnstone.
In 2023, the City of New Westminster issued building permits for 830 new residential units and completed development approvals for an additional 488 units. Halfway through 2024, the city issued building permits for 180 new residential units and completed development approvals for an additional 256, according to Johnstone.
Johnstone said there are about 95 active applications on the go right now, in various stages of approval through to construction. This includes 18 projects that feature large towers. They range from single-tower projects like 810 Agnes Street (under construction) to multi-tower projects such as Sapperton Green at Braid Station (about 16 towers, currently paused) and Columbia Square (eight towers, anticipated to seek rezoning approval in 2024).
“All told, those 18 projects total about 50 towers, though it is not certain all will be approved or built,” said the mayor. Whether they become reality will depend on market forces such as interest rates, the cost of construction and the availability of trades, all of which are outside a local government’s power, he said.
Currently, the biggest residential projects in New Westminster are 660 Quayside (about 600 units, $110 million, nearing completion), 808 Royal (244 units of student housing, $160 million, under construction) and 810 Agnes Street (350 market-rental units, $140 million, under construction).
Two major hospitals being redeveloped
In New Westminster, the Royal Columbian Hospital redevelopment is a $1.49-billion project within the Fraser Health Authority that will bring hundreds of new workers to the city upon its expected completion in 2026.
“Royal Columbian Hospital has been serving the community of New Westminster for more than 150 years and has evolved into a major regional referral centre that provides specialized services for people throughout the province,” said Sheila Finamore, the hospital’s executive director and executive clinical lead for the redevelopment project.
“We are building to modernize the hospital, increase our capacity and introduce new technologies so that we can improve timely access to quality patient-centred care for patients and their families for years to come.”
Not far away, Burnaby is also in the midst of a transformation. Burnaby Hospital is undergoing a $2.4-billion redevelopment that will see two new patient care towers, a new cancer centre and expansion and renovations to its existing campus expected by 2030.
Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said it’s exciting to witness the redevelopment of Burnaby Hospital. “As our city grows, it is essential to ensure our residents have access to state-of-the-art health-care facilities and services,” he said in a statement to BIV.
“Staff at the Burnaby Hospital have worked extremely hard to provide outstanding, life-saving care to our community, and this redeveloped facility will help ensure they are able to continue to serve those in need for generations to come.”
More Metrotown projects on the horizon
In Burnaby’s Metrotown, new towers are set to rise, adding to the urban cityscape in south Burnaby.
According to Burnaby’s most-recent building permit tabulation report (for May 2024), there have been 82 permits issued so far this year for new buildings, representing a total value of nearly $447 million. Of those projects, many are located in the Metrotown vicinity.
One example of a Metrotown project that has recently been issued an excavation permit is the 66-storey mixed-use tower on Kingsway, which includes a nine-storey commercial podium below a tower with 372 market strata units, 200 market rental units, and 73 inclusionary non-market rental units, according to the city.
The project, Citizen by Anthem Properties, is 77-per-cent pre-sold. To raise additional funds, the developer recently launched a real estate IPO for the project, believed to be the first such IPO in Canada for a primarily residential development.
“Policy changes, increased costs, shifting market cycles and more create an ongoing challenge for developers hunting for capital which requires innovative and creative thinking to get projects off the ground,” said Anthem CEO Eric Carlson in a recent news release.
Metrotown is designated as one of nine regional city centres under the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy, making it a hub for housing and job growth served by rapid transit and complemented by community services and amenities. There are more than 30 major development projects in the area at various stages of planning, according to the city.
Some of these major developments include a Wesgroup Properties project at 6280/6350 Willingdon Ave. featuring two high-rise apartment buildings with 617 strata and 116 rental units (final adoption Mar. 25, 2024) and a Concord Pacific project at 4750 Kingsway featuring five mixed-use high-rise buildings above low-rise residential and commercial podiums (final adoption Oct. 30, 2023).
With so much development activity underway, Burnaby is not just the geographic centre of the Metro Vancouver region, but also its beating heart.
“Burnaby,” Mayor Hurley said in his 2024 state-of-the-city address, “is a city that’s coming into its own.”
