City Centre (Town Centre), Coquitlam

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.