FROM GOATS TO GREENWAYS: BURKE’S EARLY DAYS

When Ray first arrived at Burke Mountain in the early 2000s, it wasn’t the bustling suburban community we know today. It was still, in many ways, the countryside — with open ditches, two-lane roads, and more livestock than traffic.

RAY: “Coast Meridian was two lanes, open ditches both sides. There were cows, people riding horses on the road… I bought goat meat up at the top of Coast Meridian. That’s what Burke Mountain was like.”

At the same time, Coquitlam’s city centre was preparing for growth — laying the groundwork for SkyTrain and experimenting with a mix of towers and mid-rise buildings. The city had always been dynamic, but Burke itself was still decidedly rural.

Marketing Lessons from Westwood Plateau

Before Burke, Wesbild had faced the challenge of selling homes in a place no one had heard of — Westwood Plateau. The solution? Creative, high-visibility marketing.

THEO: “How do you get people to come out to a new community? At Westwood, you had ‘Bug Your Builder,’ the Street of Dreams, and the golf course — big moves that created excitement and market acceptance.”

Those strategies weren’t necessary for Burke. Westwood’s success had already built Wesbild’s reputation and strengthened its relationship with the City of Coquitlam. But the underlying principle remained: you need a hook.

From Golf Courses to Community Centres

In the 1990s, golf was the amenity of choice. Westwood Plateau’s 18-hole course, academy course, and clubhouses were a $30 million investment on top of the land cost — designed not just for golf’s sake, but to sell real estate.

By the time Burke was in development, the market had changed.

RAY: “Your amenities today are for a different demographic. Trails and green space remain popular — we found that on both Westwood and Burke. But the equivalent of a golf course now is something like a community centre or a village core. For Burke, that’s the anchor.”

And those new anchors come with a hefty price tag.

THEO: “The Burke rec centre could be $100 to $150 million. It’s a big-ticket item.”

Burke Mountain may have started with goats and gravel roads, but its future was shaped by lessons learned on Westwood Plateau: build amenities people want, adapt them to the times, and make them part of the community from the start.