Coquitlam History
Lougheed Mall opened September 24, 1969 at North Road and Austin — Burnaby/Coquitlam border. Original anchors The Bay, Safeway, and Woolco. The Lougheed Town Centre SkyTrain station opened with the Millennium Line in 2002; expanded for the Evergreen Extension in 2013-2016. The site is now being redeveloped as 'The City of Lougheed' — 23 towers, ~10,000 homes, 300 shops, ~2 ha of public space.
Quick Answer
What should you know about Lougheed Town Centre History?
Lougheed Mall opened September 24, 1969 at North Road and Austin — Burnaby/Coquitlam border. Original anchors The Bay, Safeway, and Woolco. The Lougheed Town Centre SkyTrain station opened with the Millennium Line in 2002; expanded for the Evergreen Extension in 2013-2016. The si Craig Johnston, Top 1% Team Member — Greater Vancouver REALTORS® and 47+ year Tri-Cities resident, can walk you through the local context. Free Strategy Call ends with a written one-page plan in 24 hours.
Verified facts · Coquitlam History
Mall opened
September 24, 1969
Location
Burnaby/Coquitlam border at North Road and Austin
Original anchors
The Bay, Safeway, Woolco
Bus loop
August 1973 — North Road and Austin Road
First major expansion
1986
Early-2000s renovation
SkyTrain station opened
2002 (Millennium Line)
Evergreen extension station expansion
2013-2016
Lafarge Lake-Douglas terminus
December 2, 2016
Current redevelopment
The City of Lougheed — 23 towers, ~10,000 homes, 300 shops/restaurants, ~2 ha public space
Coquitlam History · Real estate connection
Lougheed-area Coquitlam buyers (Burquitlam-adjacent) are watching a once-a-generation transformation. Pre-redevelopment buying may capture appreciation as the City of Lougheed completes through the late 2020s and 2030s.
A 47-year Coquitlam resident and licensed REALTOR® at The MACNABS, Royal LePage Elite West. The local context that makes the numbers make sense.
The Lougheed area has grown into one of the region’s busiest hubs. For a buyer, that evolution has concrete, present-day implications.
Transit
Lougheed has become a significant transit hub, and that connectivity is one of the strongest and most durable drivers of property demand there is.
Density
The area has seen major redevelopment into a dense, mixed-use centre. If you want new construction with amenities and transit at the door, this is the kind of place built for it.
Amenities
Large-scale retail, services and dining are concentrated here, which means daily life can happen close to home — a real draw for convenience-minded buyers.
Investment
Transit plus amenities plus proximity to employment and campuses make the area attractive to renters, which is why investors pay attention to it.
Lifestyle
A dense, mixed-use hub suits buyers who want an urban, car-light lifestyle rather than a big lot — professionals, downsizers and first-time buyers alike.
Resale
Because its core advantages — transit and amenities — are permanent, homes here tend to stay desirable through cycles, supporting resale.
The takeaway from Lougheed’s growth is that it produced a genuine transit-and-amenity hub, and that is precisely what makes it attractive to buyers who prize connectivity and convenience over space. The history explains why the area is dense, busy and well-connected today — and those present-day qualities are what you are really weighing as a buyer.
If that urban, connected lifestyle appeals, the Lougheed area rewards a visit on foot and by transit to feel how the pieces fit together for your routine — the walk to the station, to the shops, to work or campus. That lived test, more than any history, will tell you whether this busy, well-connected kind of living is the right fit. Some buyers thrive on having everything at the doorstep and the region a quick ride away; others find it too dense for their taste. The area rewards the former generously — and the only way to know which you are is to spend a little time there before you decide.
The mall opened September 24, 1969, on the Coquitlam-Burnaby border. It has since become a major SkyTrain-connected hub anchoring the surrounding Burquitlam and Lougheed neighbourhoods.
Lougheed is being redeveloped into a large master-planned community of residential towers around the mall and SkyTrain, one of the region's biggest transit-oriented developments — a significant driver of demand in adjacent Burquitlam.
Its SkyTrain access, amenities and ongoing redevelopment make it popular with condo buyers and investors who value walkability and transit. The trade-off is density and construction activity during the build-out.
Tri-Cities monthly
June 2026 Coquitlam detached HPI is $1,649,000, -4.8% YoY. What that means for your buy or sell decision — without the salesy fluff. One email per month. Unsubscribe anytime.
No spam, no listings flood, no marketing automation games. Genuine monthly update from a 47+ year Tri-Cities resident.