Wesbild has halted a planned six-tower, 2,000-unit multi-residential development in Port Coquitlama, B.C.

The master-planned project, known as PoCoPlace, was slated for the corner of Lougheed Highway and Westwood Street and would have included significant retail space and amenities. Phase 1 had been slated to include a 37-storey rental tower and a 35-storey condominium tower, with construction expected to begin next in 2027.

“That was obviously an important project for us,” Bruce Irvine, the city’s director of community planning and development, told The Globe and Mail. “It was actually the largest single project that this city had ever received by quite a long way.”

Wesbild President and CEO Kevin Layden told the Globe that declining rents and stubbornly high costs made the project financially unworkable.

“Rents are down, which is a good news story,” he told his interviewer. “But when the rents fall, your revenue falls, and when revenue falls, if costs don’t fall, then it doesn’t work. So you end up not going forward. I mean, it’s a very common problem across the industry right now. I don’t think we’re alone.

“We like rents where they are. We just want everyone else to reset their expectations as well, which is not happening.”

Layden cited lower immigration levels and the popularity of financing programs from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation that have contributed to softer rental markets as key factors in Wesbild’s move.

Irvine told the Globe that Vancouver-based Wesbild’s decision reflects a broader shift in planning priorities toward placemaking, employment lands and community amenities rather than a sole focus on housing targets.

“When building cities, we really have to be resilient. It can’t just be about building more housing,” Irvine told his interviewer.

Layden also pointed to growing economic uncertainty in British Columbia.

“There’s just too much uncertainty,” he told the Globe. “And then you can’t get the economics to work. So, what happens is, companies like ours, we’re looking at Alberta, we’re looking at Saskatchewan, we’re looking at other properties in Ontario. That’s what happens. Investment dollars will go elsewhere.”

Pictured: Halted Wesbild multi-residential project in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

Remdering: Wesbild

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