As people flock to new developments in the Burke Mountain area of Coquitlam, some residents are finding it's not quite what they expected, at least when it comes to shopping and amenities.
Dave Whitehead lives on Burke Mountain and said he and some of his neighbours are disappointed with some of the commercial amenities in the community specifically, the recent additions of a TD Bank and Shoppers Drug Mart in the Meridian Corner shopping centre as part of Wesbild's Foothills development.
He said the general sentiment from neighbours is that the two businesses are neither needed nor wanted, since both companies have other locations a few minutes away.
"A coffee shop, bakery or café is what people want," Whitehead wrote in an e-mail to the Tri-Cities NOW.
"People were also put under the impression that such a development was coming."
Meridian Corner and another centre, Meridian Crossing, are the two commercial developments in the Foothills, located at the corner of Coast Meridian Road and David Avenue.
Meridian Crossing opened earlier and includes a Subway, a sushi restaurant and a 7-Eleven.
It appears the biggest challenge to getting businesses to move into the neighbourhood is lack of population.
Wesbild said it has heard complaints from residents and is trying to respond.
Jen Derbyshire, the company's director of marketing and communications, said the developer looked at leasing the commercial space as soon as building began on Burke Mountain, but quickly realized it would be tougher to get tenants than expected.
She said the company brought in a leasing agent and aggressively courted coffee giant Starbucks.
Derbyshire noted the company even offered Starbucks free rent, but was turned down.
A lease with another local coffee shop was signed, but the business had to back out.
"You name a coffee place in Vancouver we went after them," she said.
"Essentially, what they said to us was they love Burke [Mountain], they love the idea of Burke, but that the population that exists there at the moment is not large enough to support their business."
Derbyshire said Wesbild could have waited five or 10 years, but decided to move ahead with committed tenants.
"What we heard in the end from our homeowners is, 'Please just get us something,'" she said.
Derbyshire also noted a much larger commercial centre is in the works for the Partington Creek neighbourhood that will provide amenities for the community.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said he's also heard from residents on Burke Mountain anxious for amenities.
"With any of the masterplan communities, it's always a challenge because the businesses have trouble locating in new neighbourhoods until the population is there," he said, adding the city can dictate the amount of space but can't tell developers what businesses they should sign up.
He also noted the Partington Creek centre will have a variety of services, including a full grocery store, when it's built.
"This is a magnificent neighbourhood, it has some amazing amenities now and it's going to have everything they could ask for, but it comes slowly," Stewart said, adding he tends to hear more about the lack of schools in the area than about businesses.
