Burnaby City Council opts not to build new city hall in Metrotown area
Posted September 12, 2023 10:48 pm.
Last Updated September 12, 2023 10:50 pm.
Burnaby City Council has walked back on a plan that would have seen city hall move from its current facility near Deer Lake Park to a state-of-the-art facility at the current site of the Metrotown Library.
Council voted unanimously on Monday night to keep city hall where it is, (rather) than opting for the Metrotown project.
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The current facility is old, outdated, and needs to be replaced, but the plan for the Metrotown facility had a cost estimate of more than $800 million — prompting backlash from the community.
Mayor Mike Hurley says the reason that it would have been so expensive is that the original plan included additions like an expanded library, a convention centre, and even housing.
“It would be nice to have, but at this time and given how the costs are so high right now to build anything, I think would not have been a financially good decision,” he said.
Hurley says the new plan — which will demolish the current building and rebuild on the same campus — will be just a “basic city hall.” He adds that replacing Burnaby City Hall in any way isn’t a matter of desire or preference, making moves to get a new or refurbished building primarily based on the condition of the current building.
“The structural condition of that city hall … is the reason that we’re actually finding ourselves needing to build a new city hall in the first place,” Hurley explained. “It’s not because we want a new city hall, it’s because the structural condition of that building leaves us with some concerns that we can’t ignore.”
