If this project is approved and goes ahead, it would be the single-largest mixed-use tower development in the history of the city of Port Coquitlam.
Local developer Wesbild has submitted a rezoning application to redevelop Poco Place shopping centre, which is located at 2755 Lougheed Highway — the northeast corner of the intersection of Westwood Street and Lougheed Highway.
This 8.4-acre site is located on the westernmost edge of Port Coquitlam, with Westwood Street being the municipal border between Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam.
The Poco Place property is a transit-oriented development site directly served by the Westwood Street bus stops for the R3 Lougheed Highway RapidBus. It is also a 15-minute walk from SkyTrain’s Lincoln Station or a 20-minute walk from SkyTrain’s Coquitlam Centre Station.
According to the developer, this would be Port Coquitlam’s first-ever “transit-oriented, high-rise development.” The property is on the geographic fringes of Port Coquitlam but is immediately adjacent to the core of Coquitlam’s designated city centre area — within the realm of influence of the adjacent municipality’s emerging downtown and next to their future high-density redevelopments.
Currently, Poco Place is home to businesses such as H-Mart, IHOP, Pomme Natural Market, and Michael’s craft store, with the combined retail/restaurant floor space totalling over 90,000 sq ft.
An existing seven-storey office building with 72,000 sq ft of office space accounts for a major portion of the property’s total 164,000 sq ft of leasable commercial floor space. But as a strip mall, much of the property’s footprint is used for surface vehicle parking.
Site of Poco Place strip mall at 2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam. (Google Maps)
Existing condition:
Site of Poco Place strip mall at 2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam. (Google Maps)
Future condition:
Concept for the redevelopment of Poco Place at 2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam. (GBL Architects/Wesbild)
Concept for the redevelopment of Poco Place at 2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam. (GBL Architects/Wesbild)
Replacing the 1981-built strip mall, Wesbild is looking to build a mixed-use commercial and residential development with six towers reaching up to 45 storeys.
It would contain nearly 2,000 homes, including a mix of strata market condominium ownership housing and secured purpose-built rental housing, with both market and below-market rental units.
Beneath these residential towers will be commercial base podiums, which will effectively provide new replacement retail/restaurant spaces. These active commercial uses will be configured as an outdoor retail village. Altogether, there will be 80,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant spaces.
Moreover, this retail village will have a pedestrian-oriented public realm, including pedestrian-only streets lined with retail/restaurant units.
The tallest tower reaching 45 storeys is situated near the intersection corner, fronting Lougheed Highway, containing market rental housing, non-market rental housing, an 8,000 sq ft childcare facility, and retail/restaurant uses. This tallest tower represents the second phase of the project.
The first phase entails a 37-storey rental housing tower and a 35-storey condominium tower, with a commercial base podium of a grocery store as an anchor retail business.
The third phase will generate a 33-storey rental housing tower and a 31-storey condominium tower, with additional commercial space in the base podium, while the fourth phase will be a 31-storey condominium tower with townhouse units within the base podium.
Concept for the redevelopment of Poco Place at 2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam. (GBL Architects/Wesbild)
Concept for the redevelopment of Poco Place at 2755 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam. (GBL Architects/Wesbild)
Residents of the project will have access to 3.3 acres of shared outdoor amenity spaces, with much of these amenities situated on the base podium rooftops, including a 400-metre “wellness” walking loop.
Westbild has partnered with GBL Architects for the project’s design needs. It is noted that Poco Place’s existing seven-storey office building — which includes existing retail/restaurant uses on the ground level — will be retained as a part of the redevelopment.
“This will significantly revitalize the property with new pedestrian activity, retail and housing in an area that is currently a suburban strip mall,” said Lilian Arishenkoff, senior vice president of Wesbild, in a statement today.
“Wesbild has been developing land and homes in the Tri-Cities for over 40 years, and this will be an exciting addition to our commercial and residential portfolio. We look forward to working to create a unique retail experience and build a complete community with much-needed housing supply in close proximity to transit options.”
If approved, construction on the first phase could begin in 2027.
Within the Tri-Cities, Wesbild is particularly known for the vast residential developments of Westwood Plateau and Burke Mountain on the mountain slopes of Coquitlam.