Burnaby could hit new heights as home to B.C.'s tallest towers

A newly proposed tower in Burnaby, B.C., would be the tallest building in the province if approved by the city — but it's not the only high rise vying for the title. 

Development company Pinnacle International wants to construct three buildings near Lougheed Town Centre SkyTrain station. The tallest of them would be 82 storeys tall, measuring 250 metres. 

"That's much taller than any building in Vancouver," said Anson Kwok, vice-president of sales and marketing for Pinnacle International. 

Currently, the tallest building in the province is the Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Vancouver, which rises to approximately 200 metres.

Kwok said because the proposed development is so close to a SkyTrain station, it invites additional height to get more people close to transit. 

"There's a great growth right now in that area," he said. 

Other high rises in the works

The Lougheed project isn't the only tower with potential to overtake the Shangri-La. 

The city also approved a 64-storey residential tower called Two Gilmore Place near the Gilmore SkyTrain station, which is planned to be more than 210 metres high; and a 65-storey tower has been proposed for the former Sears site at Metrotown.

A 37-storey office tower near Gilmore station is slated to become the tallest office tower in the province once complete.

Ian Wasson, senior planner at the city of Burnaby, said there's no intention to compete with Vancouver. 

"I think that this was just a natural outgrowth of the city's town centre plans to create these vibrant, exciting, urban hubs," Wasson said. 

Wasson said skyscrapers have been part of the long-term plan for Burnaby since the 1970s.  

"It's, I think, probably come as a surprise to people outside of Burnaby, but I think within Burnaby there's always been an expectation that these would eventually be achieved."

As for the billion-dollar Lougheed development, the plan is to include hotel and office space, housing and retail.