A pop-up garden centre could end up sprouting in Burnaby depending on how its plans go in a neighbouring city.
CityState Consulting has applied for a temporary use permit that would allow Urban Roots Garden Market to open a pop-up garden centre on a large vacant lot in Port Moody. If approved, the company is planning similar pop-up shops in Burnaby, as well as Vancouver, Coquitlam and Langley.
CityState’s Gaetan Royer said the centre would operate for two years, while the property awaits redevelopment.
According to its website, Urban Roots is a new retail component of a longtime grower that’s been supplying Lower Mainland garden centres since 1981.
According to a staff report, the new pop-up garden centre will be composed of modular shade structures and a peaked tent on the eastern portion of the 1,928-square-metre lot, with parking for 21 vehicles on the western portion.
Royer told the Tri-City News, a sister publication of the NOW, keeping vacant properties active can be critical to maintaining the vibrancy of neighbourhoods undergoing transition.
“When you hit an empty spot where there’s nothing to look at but a gravel parking lot, it drives you back to your car to move on,” he said, adding neighbouring businesses will benefit by shoppers visiting to get their garden supplies. “Impromptu shopping happens when people feel good as they walk down a street.”
- With additional reporting by Mario Bartel, Tri-City News
