Best for
Coquitlam City Centre (also called Town Centre to distinguish it from the Coquitlam Centre mall nearby) is the newest downtown in Metro Vancouver. For 40 years it was a low-rise suburban area built around the mall and the civic plaza, with almost no residential density. The 2016 arrival of the Evergreen Extension SkyTrain — which made Coquitlam's Lafarge Lake–Douglas station the new easternmost terminus of the Millennium Line — triggered a construction boom that is still going. More than 30 new residential towers have gone up or been approved in the last decade, most clustered within a 10-minute walk of the station.
The appeal for newcomers is the combination of greenfield new construction, transit access, and family amenities. Lafarge Lake is literally a 3-minute walk from the SkyTrain and has a 1.2-km walking loop, a rowboat rental, and the famous Lights at Lafarge display that runs from late November through January — one of Metro Vancouver's best free Christmas traditions. Coquitlam Centre mall (retail, grocery, movie theatre, restaurants) is a short walk in the other direction. Douglas College, one of BC's largest post-secondary institutions, is on the doorstep.
Rents in the new towers list at $2,100–2,600 for a one-bedroom, $2,700–3,300 for a two-bedroom. Older rental stock in the surrounding blocks is rare since this area was mostly low-density before 2016. If you want SkyTrain access, new buildings, and enough space for a family without Vancouver prices, Coquitlam City Centre is one of the strongest options in the region.
Services in Coquitlam
Local price ranges for services — we don't yet break these down to the neighbourhood level, but prices in Coquitlam are consistent across most inner areas.