Maple Ridge Town Centre Sees Continued Growth

Era is a 7.35-acre multi-use development in the centre of  Maple Ridge that will eventually add 800 residential units—including four towers, as well as new office and retail space—over the next 10 years

It’s not surprising that Maple Ridge continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in Metro Vancouver. Over the past five years, Maple Ridge’s population has grown by over eight per cent and now exceeds 85,000 residents. Many of these new residents are drawn by the community’s combination of affordable real estate and abundance of outdoor recreational activities. What’s new is the number of people who are looking to live in Maple Ridge’s growing town centre.

“We’re excited by the continued level of interest in the town centre from the development community,” says Brent Elliott, the Manager of Community Planning at the City of Maple Ridge. “Our long-standing goal is to create a vibrant urban centre with a wide variety of housing, shopping and recreational options for residents. We’re working to add new community gathering places, restaurants, patios and festivals to make our town centre a destination for people of all ages.”

Elliott points to two major new mixed-use developments that demonstrate the City’s long-term vision of combining residential, employment and recreational activities in the Town Centre.

The Brick Water development currently under construction on 227th Street features over 200 new condos built over new commercial space. Similarly, Era is a 7.35-acre multi-use development in the centre of town that will eventually add 800 residential units—including four towers, as well as new office and retail space—over the next 10 years. “We want to plant a flag and say: ‘This is where the town core is,'” says Jeremy Towning of SwissReal. “It will have a European flair in that it’s a city within a city with a community park in its centre. Our vision is to help of create a vibrant, walkable downtown area with businesses, stores, offices and housing.”