The Amazing Brentwood

The Amazing Brentwood is the name of a large-scale mixed-use development in Burnaby, British Columbia, centered on the former Brentwood Town Centre shopping mall. The site is in North Burnaby’s Brentwood Park area, at the intersection of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway, approximately 1.5 kilometres from Vancouver. It is directly connected to Brentwood Town Centre station on Metro Vancouver’s Millennium Line, giving the project an important regional-transit role. The property originated as Brentwood Shopping Centre, a postwar suburban shopping centre planned during the development of the Brentwood Park neighbourhood. The neighbourhood was laid out in the early 1950s with 572 homes and provisions for a future commercial centre. The site was assembled from municipal land and properties held by 14 private owners. Webb and Knapp Canada acquired the assembled site in 1957, while several retailers had already purchased parcels and agreed to participate in an integrated shopping-centre plan. Formal plans were announced in January 1959 and received municipal approval the following month. Construction began later in 1959 as a project reported to cost $10 million at the time. Brentwood Shopping Centre opened on August 16, 1961. Its first day attracted approximately 10,000 visitors and created traffic congestion on Lougheed Highway. At opening, the centre contained 50 stores, approximately 37,600 square metres of retail space, 2,400 parking spaces, and a site of roughly 12 hectares. It was described as the largest shopping centre in Canada at the time. Original anchor tenants included Eaton’s, Loblaws and Zellers; Loblaws’ store was its first in British Columbia. The original design combined an enclosed shopping area with an outdoor strip-mall component. The outdoor area was later enclosed, and a second storey was added during the 1980s. In November 2014, the approximately 11-hectare Brentwood Town Centre property entered a major redevelopment programme branded The Amazing Brentwood. Rather than treating the site solely as a conventional shopping mall, the initiative was planned as a master-planned neighbourhood combining retail, offices, housing and transit-oriented urban development. Published plans called for approximately 120,000 square metres of retail space, 46,000 square metres of office space and three residential high-rise towers, with the towers initially expected to be completed between 2018 and 2021. The development therefore represents a transition from a single-purpose suburban shopping centre to a denser mixed-use district. Its identity incorporates the legacy of Brentwood Town Centre while presenting the property as a broader place-making and real-estate project. The former mall closed in May 2025 and was scheduled for complete demolition, marking the end of the original shopping-centre structure and a further stage in the site’s redevelopment. The available reference material does not identify a current owner, operating company, executive team, listed entity or precise completion status for the wider development.

The history of The Amazing Brentwood begins with the postwar growth of Burnaby’s Brentwood Park neighbourhood. During the early 1950s, the neighbourhood was planned around 572 homes and a future shopping centre. The eventual commercial site was assembled from municipal property and land held by 14 private owners. Webb and Knapp Canada acquired the assembled site in 1957. Some retailers had already obtained individual properties in the area, but they agreed to coordinate their holdings as part of a unified shopping-centre plan. Plans for Brentwood Shopping Centre were formally announced in January 1959 and approved by Burnaby’s municipal council the following month. Construction began later that year on a project reported to have a cost of $10 million. The centre opened on August 16, 1961. Approximately 10,000 people visited on its first day, producing traffic congestion on the adjacent Lougheed Highway. The opening centre contained 50 stores, about 37,600 square metres of retail floor area and 2,400 parking spaces across a site of roughly 12 hectares. It was regarded at opening as the largest shopping centre in Canada. The original tenant mix combined major department-store, grocery and discount retailing. Eaton’s, Loblaws and Zellers served as anchor tenants, and the Loblaws location was the chain’s first store in British Columbia. Architecturally, the centre included both an enclosed shopping area and an outdoor strip-mall section. The open-air portion was subsequently converted into enclosed retail space. A second level was added in the 1980s, reflecting the expansion and modernization of the centre as suburban retail patterns developed. The property later became known as Brentwood Town Centre and continued to function as a major retail destination in North Burnaby. Its connection to the Brentwood Town Centre station on the Millennium Line gave it a direct link to Metro Vancouver’s rapid-transit system and strengthened the site’s suitability for higher-density development. In November 2014, the property entered a substantial redevelopment programme under the name The Amazing Brentwood. The concept broadened the site from a shopping mall into a master-planned neighbourhood. Published plans described approximately 120,000 square metres of retail space, 46,000 square metres of office space and three residential high-rise towers, with the towers originally expected to be completed between 2018 and 2021. The project’s identity and planning framework emphasized the combination of shopping, employment, housing and transit access. The original mall structure reached the end of its operating life in May 2025, when the former Brentwood Town Centre closed. The reference material states that the mall was to be entirely demolished. This closure represents a major physical and commercial transition: the historic 1961 shopping-centre building is being replaced by a denser mixed-use district carrying The Amazing Brentwood name. The supplied sources do not establish the final completion date of the wider redevelopment, identify its current corporate owner or provide a complete account of later construction phases.

• 2025

  Former mall closes

  [1]The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org

  The former Brentwood Town Centre closes in May and is scheduled for complete demolition.

• 2014

  The Amazing Brentwood redevelopment begins

  [1]The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org

  The Brentwood Town Centre site enters a master-planned redevelopment programme combining retail, office and residential uses.

• 1980

  Second level is added

  [1]The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org

  A second storey is added during the 1980s as the shopping centre expands.

• 1961

  Brentwood Shopping Centre opens

  [1]The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org

  The centre opens on August 16 with 50 stores, 37,600 square metres of retail space and 2,400 parking spaces.

• 1959

  Brentwood Shopping Centre plans are approved

  [1]The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org

  Plans are announced in January, approved by municipal council in February, and construction begins later in the year.

• 1957

  Shopping-centre site is assembled

  [1]The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org

  Webb and Knapp Canada acquires a site assembled from municipal land and properties held by 14 private owners.

• 1950

  Brentwood Park neighbourhood is planned

  [1]The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org

  The Brentwood Park area is developed with 572 homes and provisions for a future shopping centre.

A transit-connected, master-planned mixed-use district evolving from one of Canada’s early large suburban shopping centres into a combination of retail, residential, office and public-transport-oriented development.

• Shopping centre · 1961

  Brentwood Shopping Centre

  The original retail complex opened in 1961 as Brentwood Shopping Centre. It combined an enclosed shopping area with an outdoor strip-mall component and included department-store, grocery and discount anchors. The open-air portion was later enclosed, and a second storey was added during the 1980s. The centre was subsequently known as Brentwood Town Centre before its closure in May 2025.

• Mixed-use real estate development · 2014

  The Amazing Brentwood mixed-use development

  The redevelopment programme repositions the former shopping-centre property as a master-planned neighbourhood. Published plans include retail, office and residential high-rise components, with direct access to the Brentwood Town Centre SkyTrain station. The reference material does not confirm the final built scope or completion status.

• 2025

  Close the former Brentwood Town CentreOther

  Background

  The redevelopment required the former shopping-centre structure to cease operating.

  Action taken

  The mall closed in May 2025 and was scheduled to be entirely demolished.

  Aftermath

  The closure ended the operating history of the original mall building and cleared the way for continued redevelopment under The Amazing Brentwood identity.

  Source

• 2014

  Redevelop the shopping-centre site as a mixed-use neighbourhoodStrategy

  Background

  The Brentwood Town Centre property was selected for a major redevelopment intended to respond to its large site area and direct connection to the regional SkyTrain network.

  Action taken

  The project was branded The Amazing Brentwood and planned to combine retail, office space and three residential high-rise towers in a master-planned district.

  Aftermath

  The initiative shifted the property’s identity from a conventional shopping mall toward transit-oriented mixed-use real estate. The original mall later closed in May 2025 for complete demolition.

  Source

1. 1The Amazing Brentwooden.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Amazing Brentwood official websitetheamazingbrentwood.com