The Neighbourhood Place Rental Tower and Community Hub, Edmonds, Burnaby, British Columbia

A 114-year-old church lot in Burnaby’s Edmonds neighbourhood is becoming one of the largest rental projects B.C. has put public money behind. Gracorp Properties broke ground on The Neighbourhood Place with The Neighbourhood Church and BC Builds at a Sept. 18, 2026 event, and the province’s $90 million grant is the largest BC Builds has committed to date.

The site combines the former Edmonds Baptist Church and a vacant lot used as a community garden at 7135 Walker Avenue and 7244 Arcola Street.

Project Scope

The development totals about 380,000 square feet. Its centerpiece is a 50-storey purpose-built rental tower with 480 homes: 384 at market rents and 96 below market, which meets BC Builds’ 20% non-market minimum. About 40% of the units will have two or more bedrooms. The top floor is all resident amenity (co-working, a chef’s kitchen, a games room and a theatre), and there’s a gym at ground level.

Next to the tower, a six-storey community building will house a new home for The Neighbourhood Church, a food bank, worship and gathering space, an atrium, offices, about 1,500 square feet of street-level retail and room for educational programming. A single-storey auditorium seating more than 300 sits alongside, and five levels of underground parking hold more than 200 stalls.

Graham Construction is building it, and MCMP Architects designed it with nods to the 1912 church. Gracorp is Graham’s development arm, so the builder and developer sit under one roof. Completion is pegged for fall 2030 by one account and spring 2031 by another.

Why It Matters

The ownership structure is the unusual part. The church sold the land to a not-for-profit housing operator it controls, and Gracorp won’t hold an ownership stake. Gracorp’s role is to develop and deliver, while the balance beyond the grant is financed with a mortgage.

That’s the model B.C. has been pushing: use land owned by churches and nonprofits, layer in cheap public capital and get a private builder to take on delivery. A 50-storey tower is a bigger test of that approach than the mid-rises most faith-based housing deals produce. If it lands on budget, expect more congregations sitting on transit-adjacent land to get calls.

Project Team & Details