A new long-term guiding document, the draft Major Facility Roadmap, has been introduced to inform the development and renewal of civic, recreation and cultural facilities over the next 30 years.
COQUITLAM, B.C., February 25, 2025 – A new long-term guiding document, Coquitlam’s draft Major Facility Roadmap, has been introduced to inform the timelines for development and renewal of civic, recreation and cultural facilities over the next 30 years.
A Key Tool for Facility Planning
This draft document will inform the replacement and development of major facilities over the next three decades, following four planning principles to support decision making and ensure adequate investment in major facilities for current and future residents of Coquitlam:
• Maintain Existing Aging Facilities – Coquitlam's older facilities will need significant investment in future years to meet the needs of our residents. Careful planning will be required to decide whether to upgrade or replace them in order to serve the community best in the long term.
• Enhance and Expand Existing Facilities – Some older buildings will be updated to meet modern standards and expand capacity to accommodate Coquitlam's growing population.
• Build New Facilities to Meet Growth Needs – New facilities are essential to meet the demands of our growing community.
• Facility Aspirations and New Opportunities – The draft Roadmap also identifies the potential for partnerships and aspirational projects that may develop over the 30-year timeframe.
Flexible Financial Planning to Balance Needs and Opportunities
The draft Major Facilities Roadmap provides a flexible approach to planning for civic buildings, ensuring that Coquitlam can respond to both current needs and future opportunities.
Divided into 10-year increments, the guiding draft document is not meant to be a definitive plan of how facilities will be renewed. Rather, it maps out a potential timeline for when sport and community recreation facilities, arts and culture buildings, as well as civic buildings to support fire and police services, will be addressed. This includes:
• Upgrades or replacements to existing facilities such as Blue Mountain Park and the Austin Heights Fire Hall.
• New facilities already in progress such as the Northeast Community Centre.
• Aspirational or potential future projects such as a new City Centre Cultural Centre and a new Coquitlam Public Library branch in the Burquitlam neighbourhood.
Long-term financial planning and phased capital investments are vital to managing the significant costs associated with upgrading, and building new facilities.
While the City was previously able to predictably rely on development revenues, recent provincial housing legislation has required the City to reimagine the funding structure for future projects. As a result, the draft Major Facilities Roadmap includes a flexible financial approach while meeting community priorities, as it will be regularly reviewed and updated through the annual budget process.
Next Steps
In the coming weeks, staff will share the draft Roadmap with the City’s advisory committees as well as operating partners. The document will then be finalized and presented to Council for adoption later this year.
Read about upcoming planned facility updates in the draft Major Facilities Roadmap at coquitlam.ca/FacilitiesRoadmap.
As each individual project outlined in the draft Major Facilities Roadmap moves through planning, design and construction phases, project teams will consider ways to share information and seek neighbourhood, community or user group input to help inform the specific details of each project.
Media contact:
Lanny Englund
General Manager Parks, Recreation, Culture and Facilities
604-927-3538
PRCS_feedback@coquitlam.ca
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (HUN-kuh-MEE-num) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (kwee-KWET-lum) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The City is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional and ancestral lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓əy̓ (kat-zee), and other Coast Salish Peoples.