It may not be the centre of the universe, but it’s certainly staking its claim as the place to be in the Lower Mainland.
In case the ubiquitous presence of cranes and construction scaffolding wasn’t sufficient proof that Burnaby is booming, city hall has made it official with its latest building permits report.
The city is on pace to break its own record for annual total construction value for projects in 2015. By the end of this year, building permit values are expected to be in the $800 to $900 million range – eclipsing the former value of $792 million set in the pre-recession boom of 2008.
It’s not hard to see why.
As Mayor Derek Corrigan pointed out, Vancouver is pretty much built up, and for developers wanting to put up rapid transit-oriented highrises, Burnaby is the “best game in town.”
The city must be congratulated for taking a common-sense approach to development, approving permit fee increases to allow the hiring of extra staff to process development applications. Keeping the process flowing efficiently will help to ensure that the city remains attractive to the developers who are injecting so much life – and money –into our city.
But we’d be remiss not to raise a huge warning flag.
While we’re busy celebrating the hundreds of millions of dollars in building permits (and the resulting property tax windfall), we can not afford to overlook those who are being silently elbowed aside.
We have repeatedly featured stories of residents concerned that all this highrise development is pushing out affordable rental apartment buildings – rental apartments that are providing safe, livable housing for folks who simply can’t afford any of the magnificent new condos being put up in their place.
Many of these folks represent those who are in some way already marginalized by society. Seniors. Refugees. Immigrants. Single parents. The working poor.
These are people who all add value to our city: who represent a diverse range of cultures, of values, of opinions and voices that we need to hear.
We can’t afford to become strictly a bedroom community of Vancouver, full of double-income professional couples who see Burnaby merely as a handy stop on the SkyTrain line and not as a community they belong to, and contribute to, in the many ways existing residents already do.
We’re glad the city is prospering. But we urge the city to always remember: We can’t afford to prosper at the expense of those who need us most.
That’s not the kind of foundation Burnaby was built on. And it’s not what we want our future to be built on, either.
