The provincial government is selling 584 acres on Burke Mountain in Coquitlam as part of its ongoing disposal of Crown assets to balance the books.
On Thursday, B.C.'s finance ministry confirmed the sale of 21 parcels in the Smiling and Partington creek neighbourhoods; in the area at the top of Coast Meridian Road that is slated for the northwest Burke visioning study; and in the urban containment boundary - that is, the area without a civic development plan.
Besides its 584 acres, the province also owns about 300 acres of unsurveyed Crown property on Burke plus the 380 sq. km Pinecone Burke Provincial Park.
The 584 acres, which will be put on the block starting Feb. 4, will range in price from $1 million to $20 million per parcel, the ministry spokesperson said.
Colliers International, which is handling the sale on behalf of the province, has split the land into three categories, ranging from short- to long-term development opportunities:
Group 1: 156 acres in Partington, Smiling and northwest Burke, currently zoned A3 (compact low density) and RS2 (townhouse);
Group 2: 231 acres in northwest Burke and Smiling, currently zoned A3;
and Group 3: 195 acres in Partington and the urban containment boundary, currently zoned A3.
Jim McIntyre, Coquitlam's general manager of planning and development, said the city has been in talks with provincial officials for a while about the Crown land holdings on Burke, and he said Victoria is aware of the city's plans and has been invited to take part in the northwest Burke visioning study.
He also said Colliers has been instructed to tell prospective buyers about the study, which council allowed to proceed last month and is expected to take a year to complete.
Up to 8,000 residents could be accommodated in the study area.
Coquitlam Coun. Craig Hodge, a longtime Burke Mountain resident, said he'll be lobbying for the province to set aside capital from the sale for school sites.
"Burke is growing rapidly and we need to ensure services are available. That means the building of schools," he said.
Over the next 30 years, Coquitlam is expected to add 90,000 more residents - pushing the population level to 225,000 by 2046 from the current 132,000 - with 45% of the new residents living along the Evergreen Line and 25% on Burke Mountain.
