BC Business
The Columbia Square site, right next to a transit station, may see a major change
Like many parts of the Lower Mainland, New Westminster’s Columbia Square may be undergoing some significant change in the coming years.
Right now, the plaza, which is bordered by 10th Street, Royal Avenue and Columbia Street, is home to over 35 businesses and rests right next to the New Westminster SkyTrain Station.
A plan that is (slowly) making its way through New Westminster City Council would revamp the site, adding some 3,800 residential housing units, a greenway network and new commercial spaces. Recently, the project, which is being helmed by Vancouver-based Edgar Development, made it through a pivotal step in the rezoning process with a councillor vote of 5-2.
The project, which has taken three years to get to this point, will still have to go through some additional steps to get boots on the ground. “With large rezonings, they’re challenging,” says Edgar president Matt McClenaghan. “Each councillor has different priorities and really it’s up to us to work within that process, so that our goals and priorities align with the community’s goals and priorities. There’s definitely an art to that.”
As is the case in many cities around the province, some residents aren’t happy with the proposal and the massive increase in density that it would invite. And while McClenaghan calls some of those concerns, especially the ones around construction and traffic “understandable,” he argues that the community was generally supportive and positive about the project.
“This is a unique property,” he says, noting that Edgar has worked with community stakeholders including the local BIA and chamber of commerce, as well as Douglas College, to move the project forward. “It’s seven acres of underutilized shopping centre sitting next to a transit station. It’s the perfect place for density. It’s what the municipality and province want. It just makes sense. There aren’t any residential tenants, so there’s no displacement on the property. There’s an opportunity to have that transit-oriented gateway site to New West that is going to transform that downtown community.”