Angry about the cancellation of a master-development plan for Coquitlam Centre, city council this week held back a bid for Morguard to build a King Taps restaurant on the southern end of its site.
Morguard, the mall’s property manager, has applied to the municipality to construct the eatery — next to the Cactus Club restaurant along Barnet Highway — and is requesting variances on the design.
But instead of green lighting the development permit, council unanimously voted to stall the proposal until it heard from Morguard about its changes to the project’s form and character, as well as its reasoning for the lack of movement on its “Unlimited” master plan.
Under that proposal, which the city nixed last July after failing to hear from Morguard, Coquitlam Centre was expected to add up to nine towers and transform the 60 acres into a new downtown destination.
At Monday's meeting, Mayor Richard Stewart and council voiced their "surprise" and "disappointment" about the master-development plan cancellation given the company’s fanfare about “Unlimited” as the city was updating the City Centre Area Plan (CCAP) prior to the pandemic.
“I’m confused by Morguard,” Coun. Brent Asmundson said at the Feb. 10 meeting, noting the CCAP accommodated for the mall growth.
Coun. Steve Kim said Morguard’s ask for a permit for the restaurant build “just creates more questions” about the company’s future for the site.
A request for comment from Morguard was not immediately returned.
For 40 minutes, council drilled down on the proposed restaurant variances, citing issues with the height bump by four feet to avoid a BC Hydro right-of-way; the lack of gendered washroom facilities for staff (as required under the city bylaw); and the bicycle parking space for staff.
“I think we can do better on this one,” Coun. Craig Hodge said while Stewart also remarked on sparse details available on the project package.
“I’m still reeling from the fact there was such a big hoopla about Coquitlam Centre ‘Unlimited’ and now the new version of that is really limited,” Stewart said, adding, “[Morguard] would be well served to come before us because I don’t think the form is consistent with their plan.”
Opened in 1979, Coquitlam Centre was the city’s biggest taxpayer in 2024, paying $6 million; the mall is the third-largest commercial node in the Lower Mainland, with two SkyTrain stations within walking distance.
King Taps is a chain that's owned by the same family controlling the Cactus Club, Earls and Joey restaurants. King Taps has two locations in Toronto, one in Kelowna and, soon, two in Langley and North Vancouver.
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