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{{About|the town centre in Burnaby, British Columbia|the shopping mall|Metropolis at Metrotown|the SkyTrain station|Metrotown Station|the highrise development in Hong Kong|Metro Town}}
{{About|the town centre in Burnaby, British Columbia|the shopping mall|Metropolis at Metrotown|the SkyTrain station|Metrotown Station|the highrise development in Hong Kong|Metro Town}}


⚫
[[File:Metropolis at Metrotown.jpg|thumb|Metropolis at Metrotown and Metrotowers]]
[[File:Cates Tug and Metrotown Skyline.jpg|thumb|Metrotown skyline as seen from [[Vancouver Harbour]]]]
[[File:Cates Tug and Metrotown Skyline.jpg|thumb|Metrotown skyline as seen from [[Vancouver Harbour]]]]
<!--[[File:Metrotown Central Park.JPG|thumb|Metrotown skyline and [[Central Park (Burnaby)|Central Park]] as seen from the [[North Shore (Greater Vancouver)|North Shore]], with [[Port of Vancouver]] in the foreground]]-->
<!--[[File:Metrotown Central Park.JPG|thumb|Metrotown skyline and [[Central Park (Burnaby)|Central Park]] as seen from the [[North Shore (Greater Vancouver)|North Shore]], with [[Port of Vancouver]] in the foreground]]-->
'''Metrotown''' is a [[town centre]] serving the southwest quadrant of [[Burnaby]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]. It is one of the city's four officially designated town centres,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Doing-Business/Places-To-Do-Business/Town-Centres.html?PageMode=Print |title=Town Centres |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> as well as one of [[Metro Vancouver]]'s regional town centres.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/urbancentres/Pages/MetrotownCentre.aspx |title=Metrotown City Centre |publisher=Metro Vancouver |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref>
'''Metrotown''' is a [[town centre]] serving the southwest quadrant of [[Burnaby]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]. It is one of the city's four officially designated town centres,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Doing-Business/Places-To-Do-Business/Town-Centres.html?PageMode=Print |title=Town Centres |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> as well as one of [[Metro Vancouver]]'s regional town centres.<ref name="MV">{{cite web |url=http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/urbancentres/Pages/MetrotownCentre.aspx |title=Metrotown City Centre |publisher=Metro Vancouver |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref>


As officially defined by the City of Burnaby, the town centre is bounded on the west by [[Boundary Road (Vancouver/Burnaby)|Boundary Road]] (taking in [[Central Park (Burnaby)|Central Park]]), on the south by Imperial Street, on the east by Royal Oak Avenue, and on the north by a series of local streets, giving an area of {{convert|2.97|km2|acre|abbr=on}}.<ref>Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.14</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/city+services/policies+projects+and+initiatives/community+development/LUM+-+Metrotown.pdf |title=Metrotown General Land Use Map |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> [[Kingsway (Vancouver)|Kingsway]] forms the central commercial spine for the neighbourhood, and is paralleled to the south by the [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] tracks running alongside Central Boulevard. The area is served by the SkyTrain's [[Patterson Station|Patterson]] and [[Metrotown Station|Metrotown]] stations, while [[Royal Oak Station (TransLink)|Royal Oak Station]] sits just beyond the southeastern limits of the district.
As officially defined by the City of Burnaby, the town centre is bounded on the west by [[Boundary Road (Vancouver/Burnaby)|Boundary Road]] (taking in [[Central Park (Burnaby)|Central Park]]), on the south by Imperial Street, on the east by Royal Oak Avenue, and on the north by a series of local streets (Thurston, Bond, Grange and Dover streets),<ref>Perkins (1992), p.159</ref> giving an area of {{convert|2.97|km2|acre|abbr=on}}.<ref>Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.14</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/city+services/policies+projects+and+initiatives/community+development/LUM+-+Metrotown.pdf |title=Metrotown General Land Use Map |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> [[Kingsway (Vancouver)|Kingsway]] forms the central commercial spine for the neighbourhood, and is paralleled to the south by the [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] tracks running alongside Central Boulevard. The area is served by the SkyTrain's [[Patterson Station|Patterson]] and [[Metrotown Station|Metrotown]] stations, while [[Royal Oak Station (TransLink)|Royal Oak Station]] sits just beyond the southeastern limits of the district.


==Name origin==
==Name origin==
Urban researcher and economist R. W. Archer credited the Baltimore Regional Planning Council (BRPC) for coining the term "metrotown" in 1962.<ref name="Pereira15">Pereira (2011), p.15</ref> The BRPC envisioned metrotowns as "cohesive urban developments... deployed radially and in a series of rings around the City of Baltimore", each accommodating 100,000 to 200,000 people and at greater densities than what was then common in suburban areas.<ref>{{Cite report |author=Baltimore Regional Planning Council |coauthors=Maryland State Planning Department |date=1962 |title=Metrotowns for the Baltimore Region: A pattern emerges |page=2-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=O'Bryan |first=Deric |last2=McAvoy |first=Russell L. |title=Gunpowder Falls Maryland: Uses of a water resource today and tomorrow |year=1966 |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |location= |isbn= |page=64}}</ref>
Urban researcher and economist R. W. Archer credited the Baltimore Regional Planning Council (BRPC) for coining the term "metrotown" in 1962.<ref name="Pereira15">Pereira (2011), p.15</ref> The BRPC envisioned metrotowns as "cohesive urban developments... deployed radially and in a series of rings around the City of Baltimore", each accommodating 100,000 to 200,000 people and at greater densities than what was then common in suburban areas.<ref>{{Cite report |author=Baltimore Regional Planning Council |coauthors=Maryland State Planning Department |date=1962 |title=Metrotowns for the Baltimore Region: A pattern emerges |page=2-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Bryan |first1=Deric |last2=McAvoy |first2=Russell L. |title=Gunpowder Falls Maryland: Uses of a water resource today and tomorrow |year=1966 |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |location= |isbn= |page=64}}</ref>


Archer adapted the term in his two-part article ''From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities'', which appeared in the July 1969 issue of ''[[The American Journal of Economics and Sociology]]'',<ref name="Pereira14">Pereira (2011), p.14</ref> to refer to "a unit for planned metropolitan development" consisting of a wide variety of land uses and offering "a large measure of local employment and city-type services", but still "significantly interdependent with the rest of the metropolis".<ref>{{cite journal |author=R. W. Archer |year=1969 |title=From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities, I |journal=[[The American Journal of Economics and Sociology]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=257-269 }}</ref> He further suggested that building a connected series of metrotowns was the most cost-effective manner for establishing new urban settlements,<ref name="Pereira14"/> and saw developments around [[Stockholm]] like [[Vällingby]] and [[Högdalen]] as examples of this type of built form.<ref>{{cite journal |author=R. W. Archer |year=1969 |title=From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities, II |journal=[[The American Journal of Economics and Sociology]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=385-398 }}</ref>
Archer adapted the term in his two-part article ''From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities'', which appeared in the July 1969 issue of ''[[The American Journal of Economics and Sociology]]'',<ref name="Pereira14">Pereira (2011), p.14</ref> to refer to "a unit for planned metropolitan development" consisting of a wide variety of land uses and offering "a large measure of local employment and city-type services", but still "significantly interdependent with the rest of the metropolis".<ref>{{cite journal |author=R. W. Archer |year=1969 |title=From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities, I |journal=[[The American Journal of Economics and Sociology]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=257–269 |doi=10.1111/j.1536-7150.1969.tb03223.x }}</ref> He further suggested that building a connected series of metrotowns was the most cost-effective manner for establishing new urban settlements,<ref name="Pereira14"/> and saw developments around [[Stockholm]] like [[Vällingby]] and [[Högdalen]] as examples of this type of built form.<ref>{{cite journal |author=R. W. Archer |year=1969 |title=From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities, II |journal=[[The American Journal of Economics and Sociology]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=385–398 |doi=10.1111/j.1536-7150.1969.tb03104.x }}</ref>


The term was subsequently adopted by the municipality of Burnaby in the 1970s, initially as a common noun to refer to a type of urban development; it eventually became a [[proper noun]] referring exclusively to the area around the intersection of Kingsway and Sussex Avenue. (See [[#Planning for a "metro town"|below]].)
The term was subsequently adopted by the municipality of Burnaby in the 1970s, initially as a common noun to refer to a type of urban development; it eventually became a [[proper noun]] referring exclusively to the area around the intersection of Kingsway and Sussex Avenue. (See [[#Planning for a "metro town"|below]].)


==History==
==History==
[[File:Kingsway.JPG|thumb|[[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] tracks crossing over [[Kingsway (Vancouver)|Kingsway]] in the western part of Metrotown, following the former interurban's right of way]]
[[File:Kingsway.JPG|thumb|[[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] tracks crossing over [[Kingsway (Vancouver)|Kingsway]] in the western part of Metrotown, following the former Central Park Interurban's right of way]]


===Settlement and industry===
===Settlement and industry===
On the recommendation of Colonel [[Richard Moody]], the [[Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment|Royal Engineers]] constructed a trail linking [[Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)|colonial]] capital [[New Westminster]] and [[False Creek]] to facilitate troops movement between the two points.<ref name="Beasley106">Beasley (1976), pp.106-107</ref><ref name="Glavin06">{{cite web |url=http://www.vancouverreview.com/past_articles/lostcities.htm |title=Lost Cities |first=Terry |last=Glavin |authorlink=Terry Glavin |date=2006 |publisher=Vancouver Review |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> The trail (which later became Kingsway) opened in 1860, and cut diagonally across [[Burrard Peninsula]];<ref name="Beasley106"/> land was set aside as a military reserve at a plateau along the road in the area of modern-day Metrotown.<ref name="Beasley106"/><ref name="Glavin06"/> The road was improved following Burnaby's municipal incorporation in 1892, and a parallel [[interurban]] line connecting [[Vancouver]] and New Westminster opened the previous year, making the area increasingly favourable for settlement.<ref name="Beasley106"/> Consequently, the provincial government established a series of holding lots out of the military reserve in the 1890s to accommodate working class residents.<ref name="Beasley106"/><ref name="Glavin06"/> The lots were drawn at right angles to the interurban line, which ran from the northwest to the southeast, accounting for Metrotown's street orientation.<ref name="Glavin06"/>
On the recommendation of Colonel [[Richard Moody]], the [[Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment|Royal Engineers]] constructed a trail linking [[Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)|colonial]] capital [[New Westminster]] and [[False Creek]] to facilitate troops movement between the two points.<ref name="Beasley106">Beasley (1976), pp.106-107</ref><ref name="Glavin06">{{cite web |url=http://www.vancouverreview.com/past_articles/lostcities.htm |title=Lost Cities |first=Terry |last=Glavin |authorlink=Terry Glavin |date=2006 |publisher=Vancouver Review |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> The trail (which later became Kingsway) opened in 1860, and cut diagonally across [[Burrard Peninsula]];<ref name="Beasley106"/> land was set aside as a military reserve at a plateau along the road in the area of modern-day Metrotown.<ref name="Beasley106"/><ref name="Glavin06"/> The road was improved following Burnaby's municipal incorporation in 1892, and the parallel [[Central Park (Burnaby)|Central Park]] [[interurban]] line connecting [[Vancouver]] and New Westminster opened the previous year, making the area increasingly favourable for settlement.<ref name="Beasley106"/> Consequently, the provincial government established a series of holding lots out of the military reserve in the 1890s to accommodate working class residents.<ref name="Beasley106"/><ref name="Glavin06"/> The lots were drawn at right angles to the interurban line, which ran from the northwest to the southeast, accounting for Metrotown's street orientation.<ref name="Glavin06"/>


During the [[Great Depression in Canada|Great Depression]], Burnaby reeve William Pritchard instituted a series of make-work programs to put the unemployed to work, using municipal funds and loans.<ref name="Glavin06"/> This put a strain on Burnaby's finances, and in 1932 the province stepped in by suspending the functions of Burnaby's government and appointing a commissioner to run municipal affairs.<ref name="Glavin06"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/multiple+locations/Documentary+Heritage+-+Young+Burnaby.pdf |title=Young Burnaby: 1911-1943 |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> Under the province's control, Burnaby was able to strike a deal with the [[Ford Motor Company]] to build an assembly plant in the municipality.<ref name="HB">{{cite web |url=http://heritageburnaby.ca/chartingchange/1955/ |title=Burna-Boom 1925 - 1954 |publisher=Heritage Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> The plant, located near Kingsway and McKay Avenue, opened in 1938, and was used to produce military vehicles during [[World War II]];<ref name="HB"/> it became an Electrolier facility at some point after the war.<ref>Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.18</ref> Wholesale grocer Kelly-Douglas Company built a manufacturing plant and warehouse to the east of the Ford/Electrolier plant in 1946, and [[Simpsons-Sears]] opened a catalogue sales and distribution facility to the east of the Kelly-Douglas plant in 1954.<ref name="HB"/>
During the [[Great Depression in Canada|Great Depression]], Burnaby reeve William Pritchard instituted a series of make-work programs to put the unemployed to work, using municipal funds and loans.<ref name="Glavin06"/> This put a strain on Burnaby's finances, and in 1932 the province stepped in by suspending the functions of Burnaby's government and appointing a commissioner to run municipal affairs.<ref name="Glavin06"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/multiple+locations/Documentary+Heritage+-+Young+Burnaby.pdf |title=Young Burnaby: 1911-1943 |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> Under the province's control, Burnaby struck a deal with the [[Ford Motor Company]] to build an assembly plant near Kingsway and McKay Avenue.<ref name="HB">{{cite web |url=http://heritageburnaby.ca/chartingchange/1955/ |title=Burna-Boom 1925 - 1954 |publisher=Heritage Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-21}}</ref> The plant opened in 1938, and was used to produce military vehicles during [[World War II]];<ref name="HB"/> it became an Electrolier facility at some point after the war.<ref>Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.18</ref> Wholesale grocer Kelly-Douglas Company built a manufacturing plant and warehouse to the east of the Ford/Electrolier plant in 1946, and [[Simpsons-Sears]] opened a catalogue sales and distribution facility to the east of the Kelly-Douglas plant in 1954.<ref name="HB"/>

The stretch of the Central Park interurban line through Burnaby and New Westminster ceased operations on October 23, 1953, before the rest of the line's abandonment the next year.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Ewert |first1=Henry |year=2010 |month=January/February |title=British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited |journal=Canadian Rail |volume= |issue=534 |pages=9 |url=http://www.exporail.org/can_rail/Canadian%20Rail_no534_2010.pdf |accessdate=2013-01-01}}</ref>


===Planning for a "metro town"===
===Planning for a "metro town"===
<!--The Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board (LMRPB), forerunner to the [[Greater Vancouver Regional District]], published a document titled ''Towards an Apartment Location Policy'' in 1964. In the document, the Board presented a three-tiered system for co-locating commercial activity and other amenities: the neighbourhood level for meeting residents' daily needs; the community level for meeting residents' weekly needs; and the city level for providing "the full range of civic, recreational, cultural, and office facilities normally associated with such population of the 100,000 – 200,000 order".<ref name="Pereira34">Pereira (2011), p.34</ref><ref>{{Cite report |author=Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board |date=1964 |title=Towards an Apartment Location Policy for Burnaby |page=7 }}</ref>-->
<!--The Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board (LMRPB), forerunner to the [[Greater Vancouver Regional District]], published a document titled ''Towards an Apartment Location Policy'' in 1964. In the document, the Board presented a three-tiered system for co-locating commercial activity and other amenities: the neighbourhood level for meeting residents' daily needs; the community level for meeting residents' weekly needs; and the city level for providing "the full range of civic, recreational, cultural, and office facilities normally associated with such population of the 100,000 – 200,000 order".<ref name="Pereira34">Pereira (2011), p.34</ref><ref>{{Cite report |author=Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board |date=1964 |title=Towards an Apartment Location Policy for Burnaby |page=7 }}</ref>-->


Building upon a 1964 report by the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board (forerunner to the [[Greater Vancouver Regional District]]), Burnaby's planning department prepared a report titled ''Apartment Study'', which was approved by the municipal council in 1966.<ref name="Pereira34">Pereira (2011), p.34</ref> In this document, Burnaby's planners proposed a hierarchical structure for co-locating housing, commercial activity and other amenities, with a "town centre" level as the highest tier.<ref name="Pereira35">Pereira (2011), p.35</ref> The town centres were to serve as "a major focus of population and community activity", include "a complete cross section of commercial facilities" and "a full range of cultural and recreational activity", and provide residential accommodation "with easy access to well developed industrial areas and places of employment".<ref name="Pereira35"/><ref>{{Cite report |author=Parr, A.L. |coauthors=Burnaby Planning Department |date=1966 |title=Apartment Study |page=2-3 }}</ref> The planners further identified three sites around the municipality as candidates to be developed into town centres: [[Brentwood Town Centre|Brentwood]], [[Lougheed Town Centre|Lougheed]] and the area around the Simpsons-Sears facility at Kingsway and Sussex Avenue.<ref name="Pereira35"/>
Building upon a 1964 report by the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board (forerunner to the [[Greater Vancouver Regional District]], GVRD), Burnaby's planning department prepared a report titled ''Apartment Study'', which was approved by the municipal council in 1966.<ref name="Pereira34">Pereira (2011), p.34</ref> In this document, Burnaby's planners proposed a hierarchical structure for co-locating housing, commercial activity and other amenities, with a "town centre" level as the highest tier.<ref name="Pereira35">Pereira (2011), p.35</ref> The town centres were to serve as "a major focus of population and community activity", include "a complete cross section of commercial facilities" and "a full range of cultural and recreational activity", and provide residential accommodation "with easy access to well developed industrial areas and places of employment".<ref name="Pereira35"/><ref>{{Cite report |author=Parr, A.L. |coauthors=Burnaby Planning Department |date=1966 |title=Apartment Study |page=2-3 }}</ref> The planners further identified three sites around the municipality as candidates to be developed into town centres: [[Brentwood Town Centre|Brentwood]], [[Lougheed Town Centre|Lougheed]] and the area around the Simpsons-Sears facility at Kingsway and Sussex Avenue.<ref name="Pereira35"/>


Burnaby's planning department further conducted a survey of the local land-use structure, and published a hardcover book titled ''Urban Structure'' in 1971. Echoing Archer's metrotown concept, the book recommended establishing an "intermittent grid of metro towns" as the best alternative out of the various urban built forms.<ref name="Pereira45">Pereira (2011), p.45</ref><ref name="Beasley35">Beasley (1976), pp.35-37</ref> However, by 1974, the planners decided instead to create only one metro town, for fear that having multiple such developments (as recommended by ''Urban Structure'') would divide the municipality's focus and drain its resources<ref name="PereiraTC3">{{cite web |url=http://davidpereira.ca/?page_id=657 |title=The Town Centre Model: Part 3 |last=Pereira |first=David |accessdate=2012-12-25}}</ref>. Brentwood, Lougheed and the Simpsons-Sears site were evaluated as candidates for the site of the sole metro town; with the former two locations already gravitating towards a car-centric pattern of development, the planners decided that the Simpsons-Sears site had the most potential to match their original vision for a metro town.<ref name="PereiraTC3"/> The report thus recommended that "the Kingsway/Sussex town centre be designated as a Metrotown development area"; the recommendation was approved by the municipal council in July 1974.<ref name="Plan7">Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.7</ref> The planning department followed up in 1977 with the release of Metrotown's development plan, further articulating the development concept and strategy for the area.<ref name="Plan7"/><ref name="PereiraMet">{{cite web |url=http://davidpereira.ca/?page_id=58 |title=Metrotown |last=Pereira |first=David |accessdate=2012-12-25}}</ref>
Burnaby's planning department further conducted a survey of the local land-use structure, and published a hardcover book titled ''Urban Structure'' in 1971. Echoing Archer's metrotown concept, the book recommended establishing an "intermittent grid of metro towns" as the best alternative out of the various urban built forms.<ref name="Pereira45">Pereira (2011), p.45</ref><ref name="Beasley35">Beasley (1976), pp.35-37</ref> However, by 1974, the planners decided instead to create only one metro town, for fear that having multiple such developments (as recommended by ''Urban Structure'') would divide the municipality's focus and drain its resources.<ref name="PereiraTC3">{{cite web |url=http://davidpereira.ca/?page_id=657 |title=The Town Centre Model: Part 3 |last=Pereira |first=David |accessdate=2012-12-25}}</ref> Brentwood, Lougheed and the Simpsons-Sears site were evaluated as candidates for the site of the sole metro town; with the former two locations already gravitating towards a car-centric pattern of development, the planners decided that the Simpsons-Sears site had the most potential to match their original vision for a metro town.<ref name="PereiraTC3"/> The report thus recommended that "the Kingsway/Sussex town centre be designated as a Metrotown development area"; the recommendation was approved by the municipal council in July 1974.<ref name="Plan7">Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.7</ref>


Concurrent with planning at the municipal level, the GVRD also worked on addressing growth patterns at the regional level, and in 1975 released ''The Livable Region 1976/1986'', which proposed establishing "regional town centres" (RTCs) in several locations around Greater Vancouver. Such centres were envisioned as nodes of employment, entertainment and cultural amenities serving the local population, in order to reduce travel into the city of Vancouver.<ref>GVRD (1975), p.18</ref> Burnaby's central location within the metropolitan area was seen as an advantage to siting an RTC in the municipality,<ref name="GVRD75p32">GVRD (1975), p.32</ref> and with the planning process for the Metrotown development at Kingsway/Sussex already under way, the GVRD expected that designating Metrotown as an RTC would provide for the easiest implementation of the concept and set an example for future RTCs to be established in [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]] and [[Coquitlam]].<ref>Perkins (1992), p.48</ref><ref name="GVRD75p20">GVRD (1975), p.20</ref> The site's location along the disused Central Park interurban was also considered favourable, as the GVRD was proposing to build a [[light rail transit]] system (which eventually became the [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]]) along that right of way.<ref>GVRD (1975), pp.20, 21, 24</ref> The proposal thus recommended for an RTC to be "started immediately in the Central Park area of Burnaby" (as well as in downtown New Westminster).<ref name="GVRD75p20"/>
===Stalled development===

⚫
Recessions in the [[1973–75 recession|1970s]] and [[Early 1980s recession|early 1980s]], along with an altered political landscape following the 1979 municipal election, cast uncertainties onto the Metrotown development,<ref name="PereiraMet"/> with mayor Dave Mercier suggesting in 1981 that the Metrotown plans be revisited.<ref>{{cite news |title=Burnaview |first=Lloyd |last=Mackey |newspaper=''Burnaby Today'' |date=1981-09-16 }}</ref> Meanwhile, with "Metrotown" being perceived by local residents as a "sterile name" unindicative of its environs, a naming contest was held in 1982 to rename the Kingsway/Sussex area.<ref name="BT821020">{{cite news |title=Metrotown name stays |newspaper=''Burnaby Today'' |date=1982-10-20 }}</ref> "Orchard Park" was the leading candidate until the contest was called off by mayor Bill Lewarne, citing the expense associated with updating the literature already printed which promoted the area as Metrotown.<ref name="BT821020"/>
Burnaby and the GVRD subsequently launched a joint study of the Metrotown RTC,<ref name="GVRD75p32"/> and the municipality's planning department followed up in 1977 with the release of Metrotown's development plan, which further articulated the development concept and strategy for the area.<ref name="Plan7"/><ref name="PereiraMet">{{cite web |url=http://davidpereira.ca/?page_id=58 |title=Metrotown |last=Pereira |first=David |accessdate=2012-12-25}}</ref>

===Uncertainty emerges===
⚫
[[File:Metropolis at Metrotown.jpg|thumb|Metropolis at Metrotown and Metrotowers, developed at the site of the former Kelly-Douglas facility]]
⚫
Recessions in the [[1973–75 recession|1970s]] and [[Early 1980s recession|early 1980s]], along with an altered political landscape following the 1979 municipal election, cast uncertainties onto the Metrotown development,<ref>Pereira (2011), pp.88-91.</ref><ref name="PereiraMet"/> with mayor Dave Mercier suggesting in 1981 that the Metrotown plans be revisited.<ref>{{cite news |title=Burnaview |first=Lloyd |last=Mackey |newspaper=Burnaby Today |date=1981-09-16 }}</ref> Meanwhile, with "Metrotown" being perceived by local residents as a "sterile name" unindicative of its environs, a naming contest was held in 1982 to rename the Kingsway/Sussex area.<ref name="BT821020">{{cite news |title=Metrotown name stays |newspaper=Burnaby Today |date=1982-10-20 }}</ref> "Orchard Park" was the leading candidate until the contest was called off by mayor Bill Lewarne, citing the expense associated with updating the literature already printed which promoted the area as Metrotown.<ref name="BT821020"/>

By that point, Daon Development Corporation had emerged as the main developer for the Kelly-Douglas site at Metrotown, with proposals to build a department store complex, offices and residential towers.<ref name="BT820908">{{cite news |title=No early awakening for Metrotown |newspaper=Burnaby Today |date=1982-09-08 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Daon plans huge project |newspaper=Burnaby Now |date=1983-12-12 }}</ref> However, the recessionary environment and the company's financial woes continued to stall development.<ref name="BT820908"/> Further complicating matters was a proposal by [[Triple Five Group]] (developers of [[West Edmonton Mall]] and [[Mall of America]]) to build a large mall and amusement centre at the corner of [[Lougheed Highway]] and Boundary Road.<ref name="BN850204">{{cite news |title=Backroom deal favors mall; Political involvement slammed |newspaper=Burnaby Now |date=1985-02-04 }}</ref> Fearing this proposal would deflect activity away from Metrotown, municipal council reaffirmed in 1984 that Metrotown would remain as Burnaby's commercial core,<ref name="BN850204"/> and mayor Lewarne stated that council would not rezone the Lougheed/Boundary site for the Triple Five proposal.<ref name="BN850225">{{cite news |title=Kiss Metrotown Goodbye? |newspaper=Burnaby Now |date=1985-02-25 }}</ref> With the provincial government refusing to intervene,<ref name="BN850211">{{cite news |title=Victoria 'out' of mall brawl |newspaper=Burnaby Now |date=1985-02-11 }}</ref> the Triple Five proposal was abandoned. Nonetheless, while that proposal was in play, the Metrotown development experienced delays in locating anchor tenants, further worsening Daon's finances.<ref name="BN850225"/> Daon pulled out of the development in 1985 before ceasing operations the next year; the Kelly-Douglas site was subsequently acquired by Cambridge Shopping Centres (now [[Ivanhoe Cambridge]]).<ref name="BN851016">{{cite news |title=Daon out of Metrotown |newspaper=Burnaby Now |date=1985-10-16 }}</ref>

===Development resumes===
[[File:The Crystal.JPG|thumb|The Crystal Mall complex, opening between 1999 and 2000]]
Development in Metrotown began to pick up in the mid-1980s, in tandem with the launch in late 1985 of the [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] system (including [[Metrotown Station]]), which follows the alignment of the former interurban through the area. The form of development, however, came to be dominated by retail complexes, differing markedly from the original vision for Metrotown as a pedestrian-oriented mixed-use node.<ref>Pereira (2011), p.91</ref>

Cal Investments received financial backing from [[Manulife Financial]] to develop the Simpsons-Sears site,<ref name="BN850401">{{cite news |title=Metrotown makes it big |newspaper=Burnaby Now |date=1985-04-01 }}</ref> with ground breaking in August 1985 and completion targeted for fall 1986;<ref name="BN850902">{{cite news |title=Bulldozers mark Metrotown's start |newspaper=Burnaby Now |date=1985-09-02 }}</ref> [[Sears Canada|Sears]] was to remain as an anchor tenant at the new Metrotown Centre, to be joined in that role by [[Woodward's]].<ref name="BN850902"/> The Electrolier site became Station Square, opened in 1988 by Wesbild Enterprises; part of anchor tenant [[Save-on-Foods]]' rooftop parking deck collapsed on opening day, injuring 21 people but causing no deaths.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feld |first1=Jacob |last2=Carper |first2=Kenneth L. |title=Construction Failure |year=1996 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9780471574774 |pages=193–194}}</ref> Cambridge developed the Kelly-Douglas site into [[Eaton Centre]] (named after its [[Eaton's|anchor]]), which opened in 1989;<ref>{{cite news |title=Developers take Burnaby to court |last=Constantineau |first=Bruce |newspaper=[[The Vancouver Sun]] |date=1987-02-25 }}</ref> the mall was renamed Metropolis following the demise of the Eaton's chain in 1999.

The [[Crystal Mall (British Columbia)|Crystal Mall]] complex opened at Kingsway and Willingdon Avenue between 1999 and 2000,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecrystalmall.ca/en/aboutus.htm |title=About Us |publisher=The Crystal Mall |accessdate=2012-12-29}}</ref> incorporating an Asian-themed shopping centre, residential and commercial highrises, and a [[Hilton Hotels & Resorts|Hilton]] hotel. Ivanhoe Cambridge purchased Metrotown Centre in 2002,<ref name="Glavin06"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lexpert.ca/Magazine/deal.aspx?id=543 |title=Ivanhoe Canmbridge Purchases Metrotown Centre |work=Lexpert Magazine |accessdate=2012-12-29}}</ref> which was merged with Metropolis into a single mall (Metropolis at Metrotown) in 2005,<ref>{{Cite report |date=2005 |title=2005 Report on Activities |url=http://www.ivanhoecambridge.com/CMS/Media/243_20_en-Ca_0_report_on_activities_2005.pdf |publisher=Ivanhoe Cambridge |pages=13 |accessdate=2012-12-29 }}</ref> creating the [[List of largest enclosed shopping malls in Canada|second largest enclosed shopping mall in Canada]] by total retail floor space.<ref name="MV"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/things+to+do/visitor+resources/visitors+guide/Burnaby+Visitors+Guide.pdf |title=Burnaby Visitor's Guide |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-29}}</ref>

==Features and amenities==
[[File:BByLibrary.JPG|thumb|[[Burnaby Public Library]]'s Bob Prittie Metrotown branch]]

[[Central Park (Burnaby)|Central Park]] sits at the western edge of Metrotown, and includes amenities such as tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool, a pitch-and-putt golf course, and [[Swangard Stadium]] at its northwestern corner.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Things-To-Do/Explore-Outdoors/Parks/Central-Park.html |title=Central Park |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-27}}</ref> Smaller parks in the area include Kinnee Park, Maywood Park and Old Orchard Park. The area is also served by the Bonsor Recreation Complex<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/things-to-do/community-centres/bonsor-recreation-complex.html |title=Bonsor Recreation Complex |publisher=City of Burnaby |accessdate=2012-12-27}}</ref> and the [[Burnaby Public Library]]'s Bob Prittie Metrotown branch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bpl.bc.ca/locations-hours/bob-prittie-metrotown |title=Bob Prittie Metrotown: Burnaby Public Library |publisher=Burnaby Public Library |accessdate=2012-12-27}}</ref>

Marlborough Elementary School and Maywood Community School (K-7) both fall within Metrotown's borders, while Chaffey-Burke Elementary sits just to the north. The closest secondary schools serving Metrotown are [[Moscrop Secondary School]] at Willingdon Avenue and Moscrop Street, and [[Burnaby South Secondary School]] near Royal Oak Avenue and Rumble Street. All aforementioned schools are operated by the [[School District 41 Burnaby|Burnaby School District]].

The town centre is also home to Old Orchard Shopping Centre, a strip mall at the intersection of Kingsway and Willingdon Avenue which pre-dates the malls along the south side of Kingsway built since the 1980s.

==Demographics==
As of 2006, Metrotown had a population of 25,540, increasing by 4% from 2001.<ref>{{Cite report |date=2007-03 |title=2006 Census Bulletin #1: Population and Dwelling Counts |url=http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/Census2006_PopandDwel_Bulletin_1.pdf |publisher=Greater Vancouver Regional District |pages=5 |accessdate=2012-12-29 }}</ref> Between 1991 and 2001, the town centre's population increased by 43.9%.<ref>{{Cite report |author=GVRD Policy and Planning Department |date=2002 |title=2002 Annual Report: Livable Region Strategic Plan |url=http://public.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/LRSP-2002Report.pdf |publisher=Greater Vancouver Regional District |pages=19 |accessdate=2012-12-29 }}</ref> Jobs in the town centre numbered around 22,900 in 2006, accounting for 20% of employment in Burnaby.<ref>Tate (2009), p.15</ref>

According to the 2006 census, 53% of the residents in the [[census tract]] immediately south of the Metrotown SkyTrain station commuted to work by public transit, the highest of any census tracts in [[Metro Vancouver]];<ref>{{cite news |title=Metrotown the most transit-friendly neighbourhood in the region |last=Skelton |first=Chad |url=http://www.vancouversun.com/Metrotown+most+transit+friendly+neighbourhood+region/6236509/story.html#ixzz2GSaG9yt4 |newspaper=The Vancouver Sun |date=2012-03-01 |accessdate=2012-12-29}}</ref> public transit mode share to work for the entire Metrotown area was around 42%.<ref>Pereira (2011), pp.75, 144</ref>


==References==
==References==
;Footnotes
;Footnotes
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|3}}


;Bibliography
;Bibliography
⚫
*{{Cite report |author=Burnaby Planning Department |coauthors=Norman Hotson Architects |date=1977-06 |title=Burnaby Metrotown: a development plan |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/city+services/policies+projects+and+initiatives/community+development/Metrotown+Plan+1977+Adopted+Original.pdf |publisher=City of Burnaby |pages=7, 14, 18 |docket= |accessdate=2012-12-21 |quote= }}
⚫
*{{Cite thesis |degree=M.Urb. |first=David |last=Pereira |title=The intersection of town centre planning and politics: Alternative development in an inner suburban municipality in the Metro Vancouver region |url=https://theses.lib.sfu.ca/thesis/etd6907 |publisher=[[Simon Fraser University]] |year=2011 |accessdate=2012-12-23 }}
*{{Cite thesis |degree=M.A. |chapter= |title=A design probe comparison of regional and municipal attitudes toward regional town centres: Case study in Burnaby, B.C. |url=https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/20147 |authorlink=Larry Beasley |last=Beasley |first=Larry |year=1976 |publisher=[[University of British Columbia]] |accessdate=2012-12-23 }}
*{{Cite thesis |degree=M.A. |chapter= |title=A design probe comparison of regional and municipal attitudes toward regional town centres: Case study in Burnaby, B.C. |url=https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/20147 |authorlink=Larry Beasley |last=Beasley |first=Larry |year=1976 |publisher=[[University of British Columbia]] |accessdate=2012-12-23 }}
⚫
*{{Cite report |author=Burnaby Planning Department |coauthors=Norman Hotson Architects |date=1977-06 |title=Burnaby Metrotown: a development plan |url=http://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/city+services/policies+projects+and+initiatives/community+development/Metrotown+Plan+1977+Adopted+Original.pdf |publisher=City of Burnaby |pages=7, 14, 18 |accessdate=2012-12-21 }}
*{{Cite report |author=Greater Vancouver Regional District |date=1975-03-26 |title=The Livable Region 1976/1986 |pages=18, 20, 21, 24, 32 }}
⚫
*{{Cite thesis |degree=M.Urb. |first=David |last=Pereira |title=The intersection of town centre planning and politics: Alternative development in an inner suburban municipality in the Metro Vancouver region |url=https://theses.lib.sfu.ca/thesis/etd6907 |publisher=[[Simon Fraser University]] |year=2011 |accessdate=2012-12-23 }}
*{{Cite thesis |degree=M.A. (Planning) |chapter= |title=Greater Vancouver regional town centres policy in comparative perspective |url=https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/3484 |last=Perkins |first=Ralph A. |year=1992 |publisher=[[University of British Columbia]] |accessdate=2013-01-01 }}
*{{Cite thesis |degree=M.A. (Planning) |chapter= |title=Communicative regionalism and metropolitan growth management outcomes: A case study of three employment nodes in Burnaby - an inner suburb of Greater Vancouver |url=https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/13559 |last=Tate |first=Laura Ellen |year=2009 |publisher=[[University of British Columbia]] |accessdate=2012-12-31 }}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/urbancentres/Pages/MetrotownCentre.aspx Metro Vancouver: Metrotown City Centre]
*[http://www.metrovancouver.org/planning/development/urbancentres/Pages/MetrotownCentre.aspx Metro Vancouver: Metrotown City Centre]
*[http://davidpereira.ca/?page_id=58 DavidPereira.ca: Metrotown] — History of Metrotown's development
*[http://davidpereira.ca/?page_id=58 DavidPereira.ca: Metrotown] — History of Metrotown's development

{{Coord|49.2255|N|123.0032|W|display=title}}


{{Burnaby Neighbourhoods}}
{{Burnaby Neighbourhoods}}

Latest revision as of 02:18, 2 August 2023

This page is about the town centre in Burnaby, British Columbia. For the shopping mall, see Metropolis at Metrotown. For the SkyTrain station, see Metrotown Station. For the highrise development in Hong Kong, see Metro Town.
Metrotown skyline as seen from Vancouver Harbour

Metrotown is a town centre serving the southwest quadrant of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the city's four officially designated town centres,[1] as well as one of Metro Vancouver's regional town centres.[2]

As officially defined by the City of Burnaby, the town centre is bounded on the west by Boundary Road (taking in Central Park), on the south by Imperial Street, on the east by Royal Oak Avenue, and on the north by a series of local streets (Thurston, Bond, Grange and Dover streets),[3] giving an area of 2.97 km2 (730 acres).[4][5] Kingsway forms the central commercial spine for the neighbourhood, and is paralleled to the south by the SkyTrain tracks running alongside Central Boulevard. The area is served by the SkyTrain's Patterson and Metrotown stations, while Royal Oak Station sits just beyond the southeastern limits of the district.

Name origin

[edit]

Urban researcher and economist R. W. Archer credited the Baltimore Regional Planning Council (BRPC) for coining the term "metrotown" in 1962.[6] The BRPC envisioned metrotowns as "cohesive urban developments... deployed radially and in a series of rings around the City of Baltimore", each accommodating 100,000 to 200,000 people and at greater densities than what was then common in suburban areas.[7][8]

Archer adapted the term in his two-part article From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities, which appeared in the July 1969 issue of The American Journal of Economics and Sociology,[9] to refer to "a unit for planned metropolitan development" consisting of a wide variety of land uses and offering "a large measure of local employment and city-type services", but still "significantly interdependent with the rest of the metropolis".[10] He further suggested that building a connected series of metrotowns was the most cost-effective manner for establishing new urban settlements,[9] and saw developments around Stockholm like Vällingby and Högdalen as examples of this type of built form.[11]

The term was subsequently adopted by the municipality of Burnaby in the 1970s, initially as a common noun to refer to a type of urban development; it eventually became a proper noun referring exclusively to the area around the intersection of Kingsway and Sussex Avenue. (See below.)

History

[edit]
SkyTrain tracks crossing over Kingsway in the western part of Metrotown, following the former Central Park Interurban's right of way

Settlement and industry

[edit]

On the recommendation of Colonel Richard Moody, the Royal Engineers constructed a trail linking colonial capital New Westminster and False Creek to facilitate troops movement between the two points.[12][13] The trail (which later became Kingsway) opened in 1860, and cut diagonally across Burrard Peninsula;[12] land was set aside as a military reserve at a plateau along the road in the area of modern-day Metrotown.[12][13] The road was improved following Burnaby's municipal incorporation in 1892, and the parallel Central Park interurban line connecting Vancouver and New Westminster opened the previous year, making the area increasingly favourable for settlement.[12] Consequently, the provincial government established a series of holding lots out of the military reserve in the 1890s to accommodate working class residents.[12][13] The lots were drawn at right angles to the interurban line, which ran from the northwest to the southeast, accounting for Metrotown's street orientation.[13]

During the Great Depression, Burnaby reeve William Pritchard instituted a series of make-work programs to put the unemployed to work, using municipal funds and loans.[13] This put a strain on Burnaby's finances, and in 1932 the province stepped in by suspending the functions of Burnaby's government and appointing a commissioner to run municipal affairs.[13][14] Under the province's control, Burnaby struck a deal with the Ford Motor Company to build an assembly plant near Kingsway and McKay Avenue.[15] The plant opened in 1938, and was used to produce military vehicles during World War II;[15] it became an Electrolier facility at some point after the war.[16] Wholesale grocer Kelly-Douglas Company built a manufacturing plant and warehouse to the east of the Ford/Electrolier plant in 1946, and Simpsons-Sears opened a catalogue sales and distribution facility to the east of the Kelly-Douglas plant in 1954.[15]

The stretch of the Central Park interurban line through Burnaby and New Westminster ceased operations on October 23, 1953, before the rest of the line's abandonment the next year.[17]

Planning for a "metro town"

[edit]

Building upon a 1964 report by the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board (forerunner to the Greater Vancouver Regional District, GVRD), Burnaby's planning department prepared a report titled Apartment Study, which was approved by the municipal council in 1966.[18] In this document, Burnaby's planners proposed a hierarchical structure for co-locating housing, commercial activity and other amenities, with a "town centre" level as the highest tier.[19] The town centres were to serve as "a major focus of population and community activity", include "a complete cross section of commercial facilities" and "a full range of cultural and recreational activity", and provide residential accommodation "with easy access to well developed industrial areas and places of employment".[19][20] The planners further identified three sites around the municipality as candidates to be developed into town centres: Brentwood, Lougheed and the area around the Simpsons-Sears facility at Kingsway and Sussex Avenue.[19]

Burnaby's planning department further conducted a survey of the local land-use structure, and published a hardcover book titled Urban Structure in 1971. Echoing Archer's metrotown concept, the book recommended establishing an "intermittent grid of metro towns" as the best alternative out of the various urban built forms.[21][22] However, by 1974, the planners decided instead to create only one metro town, for fear that having multiple such developments (as recommended by Urban Structure) would divide the municipality's focus and drain its resources.[23] Brentwood, Lougheed and the Simpsons-Sears site were evaluated as candidates for the site of the sole metro town; with the former two locations already gravitating towards a car-centric pattern of development, the planners decided that the Simpsons-Sears site had the most potential to match their original vision for a metro town.[23] The report thus recommended that "the Kingsway/Sussex town centre be designated as a Metrotown development area"; the recommendation was approved by the municipal council in July 1974.[24]

Concurrent with planning at the municipal level, the GVRD also worked on addressing growth patterns at the regional level, and in 1975 released The Livable Region 1976/1986, which proposed establishing "regional town centres" (RTCs) in several locations around Greater Vancouver. Such centres were envisioned as nodes of employment, entertainment and cultural amenities serving the local population, in order to reduce travel into the city of Vancouver.[25] Burnaby's central location within the metropolitan area was seen as an advantage to siting an RTC in the municipality,[26] and with the planning process for the Metrotown development at Kingsway/Sussex already under way, the GVRD expected that designating Metrotown as an RTC would provide for the easiest implementation of the concept and set an example for future RTCs to be established in Surrey and Coquitlam.[27][28] The site's location along the disused Central Park interurban was also considered favourable, as the GVRD was proposing to build a light rail transit system (which eventually became the SkyTrain) along that right of way.[29] The proposal thus recommended for an RTC to be "started immediately in the Central Park area of Burnaby" (as well as in downtown New Westminster).[28]

Burnaby and the GVRD subsequently launched a joint study of the Metrotown RTC,[26] and the municipality's planning department followed up in 1977 with the release of Metrotown's development plan, which further articulated the development concept and strategy for the area.[24][30]

Uncertainty emerges

[edit]
Metropolis at Metrotown and Metrotowers, developed at the site of the former Kelly-Douglas facility

Recessions in the 1970s and early 1980s, along with an altered political landscape following the 1979 municipal election, cast uncertainties onto the Metrotown development,[31][30] with mayor Dave Mercier suggesting in 1981 that the Metrotown plans be revisited.[32] Meanwhile, with "Metrotown" being perceived by local residents as a "sterile name" unindicative of its environs, a naming contest was held in 1982 to rename the Kingsway/Sussex area.[33] "Orchard Park" was the leading candidate until the contest was called off by mayor Bill Lewarne, citing the expense associated with updating the literature already printed which promoted the area as Metrotown.[33]

By that point, Daon Development Corporation had emerged as the main developer for the Kelly-Douglas site at Metrotown, with proposals to build a department store complex, offices and residential towers.[34][35] However, the recessionary environment and the company's financial woes continued to stall development.[34] Further complicating matters was a proposal by Triple Five Group (developers of West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America) to build a large mall and amusement centre at the corner of Lougheed Highway and Boundary Road.[36] Fearing this proposal would deflect activity away from Metrotown, municipal council reaffirmed in 1984 that Metrotown would remain as Burnaby's commercial core,[36] and mayor Lewarne stated that council would not rezone the Lougheed/Boundary site for the Triple Five proposal.[37] With the provincial government refusing to intervene,[38] the Triple Five proposal was abandoned. Nonetheless, while that proposal was in play, the Metrotown development experienced delays in locating anchor tenants, further worsening Daon's finances.[37] Daon pulled out of the development in 1985 before ceasing operations the next year; the Kelly-Douglas site was subsequently acquired by Cambridge Shopping Centres (now Ivanhoe Cambridge).[39]

Development resumes

[edit]
The Crystal Mall complex, opening between 1999 and 2000

Development in Metrotown began to pick up in the mid-1980s, in tandem with the launch in late 1985 of the SkyTrain system (including Metrotown Station), which follows the alignment of the former interurban through the area. The form of development, however, came to be dominated by retail complexes, differing markedly from the original vision for Metrotown as a pedestrian-oriented mixed-use node.[40]

Cal Investments received financial backing from Manulife Financial to develop the Simpsons-Sears site,[41] with ground breaking in August 1985 and completion targeted for fall 1986;[42] Sears was to remain as an anchor tenant at the new Metrotown Centre, to be joined in that role by Woodward's.[42] The Electrolier site became Station Square, opened in 1988 by Wesbild Enterprises; part of anchor tenant Save-on-Foods' rooftop parking deck collapsed on opening day, injuring 21 people but causing no deaths.[43] Cambridge developed the Kelly-Douglas site into Eaton Centre (named after its anchor), which opened in 1989;[44] the mall was renamed Metropolis following the demise of the Eaton's chain in 1999.

The Crystal Mall complex opened at Kingsway and Willingdon Avenue between 1999 and 2000,[45] incorporating an Asian-themed shopping centre, residential and commercial highrises, and a Hilton hotel. Ivanhoe Cambridge purchased Metrotown Centre in 2002,[13][46] which was merged with Metropolis into a single mall (Metropolis at Metrotown) in 2005,[47] creating the second largest enclosed shopping mall in Canada by total retail floor space.[2][48]

Features and amenities

[edit]
Burnaby Public Library's Bob Prittie Metrotown branch

Central Park sits at the western edge of Metrotown, and includes amenities such as tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool, a pitch-and-putt golf course, and Swangard Stadium at its northwestern corner.[49] Smaller parks in the area include Kinnee Park, Maywood Park and Old Orchard Park. The area is also served by the Bonsor Recreation Complex[50] and the Burnaby Public Library's Bob Prittie Metrotown branch.[51]

Marlborough Elementary School and Maywood Community School (K-7) both fall within Metrotown's borders, while Chaffey-Burke Elementary sits just to the north. The closest secondary schools serving Metrotown are Moscrop Secondary School at Willingdon Avenue and Moscrop Street, and Burnaby South Secondary School near Royal Oak Avenue and Rumble Street. All aforementioned schools are operated by the Burnaby School District.

The town centre is also home to Old Orchard Shopping Centre, a strip mall at the intersection of Kingsway and Willingdon Avenue which pre-dates the malls along the south side of Kingsway built since the 1980s.

Demographics

[edit]

As of 2006, Metrotown had a population of 25,540, increasing by 4% from 2001.[52] Between 1991 and 2001, the town centre's population increased by 43.9%.[53] Jobs in the town centre numbered around 22,900 in 2006, accounting for 20% of employment in Burnaby.[54]

According to the 2006 census, 53% of the residents in the census tract immediately south of the Metrotown SkyTrain station commuted to work by public transit, the highest of any census tracts in Metro Vancouver;[55] public transit mode share to work for the entire Metrotown area was around 42%.[56]

References

[edit]
Footnotes
  1. ^ "Town Centres". City of Burnaby. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  2. ^ a b "Metrotown City Centre". Metro Vancouver. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  3. ^ Perkins (1992), p.159
  4. ^ Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.14
  5. ^ "Metrotown General Land Use Map" (PDF). City of Burnaby. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  6. ^ Pereira (2011), p.15
  7. ^ Baltimore Regional Planning Council (1962). Metrotowns for the Baltimore Region: A pattern emerges (Report). p. 2-3. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ O'Bryan, Deric; McAvoy, Russell L. (1966). Gunpowder Falls Maryland: Uses of a water resource today and tomorrow. U.S. Geological Survey. p. 64.
  9. ^ a b Pereira (2011), p.14
  10. ^ R. W. Archer (1969). "From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities, I". The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 28 (3): 257–269. doi:10.1111/j.1536-7150.1969.tb03223.x.
  11. ^ R. W. Archer (1969). "From New Towns to Metrotowns and Regional Cities, II". The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 28 (3): 385–398. doi:10.1111/j.1536-7150.1969.tb03104.x.
  12. ^ a b c d e Beasley (1976), pp.106-107
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Glavin, Terry (2006). "Lost Cities". Vancouver Review. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  14. ^ "Young Burnaby: 1911-1943" (PDF). City of Burnaby. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  15. ^ a b c "Burna-Boom 1925 - 1954". Heritage Burnaby. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  16. ^ Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.18
  17. ^ Ewert, Henry (2010). "British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited" (PDF). Canadian Rail. No. 534. p. 9. Retrieved 2013-01-01. {{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. ^ Pereira (2011), p.34
  19. ^ a b c Pereira (2011), p.35
  20. ^ Parr, A.L. (1966). Apartment Study (Report). p. 2-3. {{cite report}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Pereira (2011), p.45
  22. ^ Beasley (1976), pp.35-37
  23. ^ a b Pereira, David. "The Town Centre Model: Part 3". Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  24. ^ a b Burnaby Planning Department (1977), p.7
  25. ^ GVRD (1975), p.18
  26. ^ a b GVRD (1975), p.32
  27. ^ Perkins (1992), p.48
  28. ^ a b GVRD (1975), p.20
  29. ^ GVRD (1975), pp.20, 21, 24
  30. ^ a b Pereira, David. "Metrotown". Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  31. ^ Pereira (2011), pp.88-91.
  32. ^ Mackey, Lloyd (1981-09-16). "Burnaview". Burnaby Today.
  33. ^ a b "Metrotown name stays". Burnaby Today. 1982-10-20.
  34. ^ a b "No early awakening for Metrotown". Burnaby Today. 1982-09-08.
  35. ^ "Daon plans huge project". Burnaby Now. 1983-12-12.
  36. ^ a b "Backroom deal favors mall; Political involvement slammed". Burnaby Now. 1985-02-04.
  37. ^ a b "Kiss Metrotown Goodbye?". Burnaby Now. 1985-02-25.
  38. ^ "Victoria 'out' of mall brawl". Burnaby Now. 1985-02-11.
  39. ^ "Daon out of Metrotown". Burnaby Now. 1985-10-16.
  40. ^ Pereira (2011), p.91
  41. ^ "Metrotown makes it big". Burnaby Now. 1985-04-01.
  42. ^ a b "Bulldozers mark Metrotown's start". Burnaby Now. 1985-09-02.
  43. ^ Feld, Jacob; Carper, Kenneth L. (1996). Construction Failure. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 193–194. ISBN 9780471574774.
  44. ^ Constantineau, Bruce (1987-02-25). "Developers take Burnaby to court". The Vancouver Sun.
  45. ^ "About Us". The Crystal Mall. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  46. ^ "Ivanhoe Canmbridge Purchases Metrotown Centre". Lexpert Magazine. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  47. ^ 2005 Report on Activities (PDF) (Report). Ivanhoe Cambridge. 2005. p. 13. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  48. ^ "Burnaby Visitor's Guide" (PDF). City of Burnaby. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  49. ^ "Central Park". City of Burnaby. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  50. ^ "Bonsor Recreation Complex". City of Burnaby. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  51. ^ "Bob Prittie Metrotown: Burnaby Public Library". Burnaby Public Library. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  52. ^ 2006 Census Bulletin #1: Population and Dwelling Counts (PDF) (Report). Greater Vancouver Regional District. 2007-03. p. 5. Retrieved 2012-12-29. {{cite report}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  53. ^ GVRD Policy and Planning Department (2002). 2002 Annual Report: Livable Region Strategic Plan (PDF) (Report). Greater Vancouver Regional District. p. 19. Retrieved 2012-12-29. {{cite report}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  54. ^ Tate (2009), p.15
  55. ^ Skelton, Chad (2012-03-01). "Metrotown the most transit-friendly neighbourhood in the region". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  56. ^ Pereira (2011), pp.75, 144
Bibliography
[edit]

49°13′32″N 123°00′12″W / 49.2255°N 123.0032°W / 49.2255; -123.0032


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