North Burnaby: A Guide to the Heights, Capitol Hill and Brentwood

This guide is for buyers looking at the north side of Burnaby. It goes area by area through the Heights, Capitol Hill and Brentwood, with shorter notes on Willingdon Heights, Westridge and UniverCity, then covers the housing mix, transit, schools, parks and what to check on a hillside lot or near the industrial shoreline. For the city as a whole, start with my guide to moving to Burnaby.

The short version

The Heights: a village on Hastings

The Heights centres on the two-kilometre stretch of Hastings Street between Boundary Road and Gamma Avenue. The Heights Merchants Association counts more than 300 shops, restaurants and services there, and the street closes to traffic for Hats Off Day, a festival that began in the 1980s and is held on the first Saturday of June. Many listing sites still use the area's older name, Vancouver Heights.

At the east end, Confederation Park, on Willingdon Avenue north of Hastings, is one of Burnaby's largest parks:

• Indoors. The Eileen Dailly Leisure Pool and Fitness Centre, the McGill branch library, a community centre with activities for adults 55 and over, and a youth centre.
• Outdoors. Playing fields and a running track, a playground and spray park, a skateboard plaza and fenced dog areas.
• The trail. A 1.3 km forest loop north of Penzance Drive, with steep hills and a view of Burrard Inlet.

Capitol Hill: hillside streets above the inlet

East of Willingdon Avenue, Capitol Hill rises on the north side of Hastings Street. The name was in use by 1909, when lots here were being advertised, and the hill has stayed mainly residential, with its shopping on Hastings. Streets climb toward views over Burrard Inlet to the North Shore mountains.

The City protects a forested conservation area on the north side of the hill, and the Trans Canada Trail, which crosses the north end of Burnaby for 12.1 km, runs through it. Views and slopes go together here: a lot that looks over the water may come with a steep driveway, long stairs or retaining walls.

Brentwood: towers around SkyTrain

In Burnaby 2050, the City's Official Community Plan, Brentwood is one of three town centres, with Lougheed and Edmonds, while Metrotown is the downtown, and the plan concentrates development near frequent transit. Brentwood's hub is Brentwood Town Centre station, which sits over Lougheed Highway just east of Willingdon Avenue and connects directly to the redeveloped Brentwood mall site, which includes residential towers. Gilmore station is one stop west, and Holdom one stop east.

The areas around all three stations are Transit-Oriented Areas under provincial law. Within 800 metres, the rules require Burnaby to allow buildings of up to 20 storeys within 200 metres of the station, 12 storeys from 200 to 400 metres, and 8 storeys from 400 to 800 metres. These rules don't rezone land; the City's usual rezoning process still applies. The City can't require off-street residential parking in these areas, and parking is decided project by project, so confirm what a unit includes before you buy.

Other areas on the north side

• Willingdon Heights. South of Hastings, between Boundary Road and Willingdon Avenue. It grew after the Second World War, and a 1948 brochure called its 500-home project the largest single veterans' housing project in Canada for individually owned homes.
• Westridge. The City's heritage records describe two parts split by Inlet Drive: a 1950s subdivision of houses to the west, and a 1970s subdivision with larger lots and some low-rise homes to the east.
• UniverCity. A community beside Simon Fraser University on top of Burnaby Mountain, built on SFU land that the SFU Community Trust offers to developers on prepaid 99-year leases. Homes there are leasehold, so read my guide to leasehold homes in BC first.

Houses, multiplexes and condos

Housing runs from older detached houses and townhouses to condo towers near SkyTrain, and the rules for house lots have changed. Since July 1, 2024, Burnaby's R1 zone has replaced 12 older residential zones. On lots once zoned for one or two homes:

• Units. Up to three or four homes, depending on lot size, and up to six on lots near frequent transit. Secondary suites count toward the total.
• Forms. Houses with suites and laneway homes, duplexes, multiplexes, cottage clusters and rowhouses.
• Size. In December 2025, the City cut the height limit to three storeys, two for a rear building, and reduced the floor area allowed.
• Parking. No minimum parking within 400 metres of a frequent transit stop. Elsewhere, the City's parking minimums apply.

A street of older houses can change over time. I explain the rules in more homes per lot, and if you buy one unit in a duplex, ask how title is held and read buying a half duplex. For a condo near the stations, read the strata documents for a resale unit, and my guide to presale condos if the building isn't finished.

Getting around

• SkyTrain. From west to east, the Millennium Line stops at Gilmore, Brentwood Town Centre, Holdom, Sperling-Burnaby Lake, Lake City Way and Production Way-University. The province says the Broadway Subway, extending the line west from VCC-Clark to Arbutus Street, is scheduled to open in fall 2027.
• RapidBus. The R5 Hastings St runs along Hastings between Burrard Station downtown and SFU.
• Driving. Highway 1 crosses to the North Shore on the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, a short drive from the Heights.
• The gondola. TransLink's planned gondola from Production Way-University station to SFU is still in planning, with timing to be determined, so don't count on it when you compare commutes.

Schools and parks

North Burnaby is in the Burnaby School District (SD41). In its 2023 facilities planning, the district groups Burnaby North and Alpha secondary schools with 12 elementary schools, including Capitol Hill, Confederation Park, Brentwood Park and Westridge, while Burnaby Mountain Secondary sits in its Cariboo Lougheed zone. Planning zones aren't catchments, so enter the exact address in the district's School Locator and confirm with the school. You can register online or in person at your catchment school, but only once you live in Burnaby.

• Burnaby Mountain. A 576-hectare conservation area beside SFU, with Burnaby Mountain Park, the Kamui Mintara (Playground of the Gods) sculptures, the Centennial Rose Garden and trails with views over Burrard Inlet. The City notes that black bears and cougars visit occasionally.
• Barnet Marine Park. A sandy shore on Burrard Inlet, off Barnet Road, for picnics and launching a paddleboard, canoe or kayak. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach, and the City warns that parking can back up onto Barnet Highway.

What to check before you buy

• Slopes and retaining walls. Burnaby requires a building permit, with drawings sealed by a professional engineer, for a retaining wall over 1.2 metres. Ask for the permit, and have your inspector look at drainage and any walls.
• Views and neighbours. A view can change. Look up the lot and the blocks around it on BurnabyMap and on the land use map in Burnaby 2050, the Official Community Plan adopted in December 2025.
• Traffic. Hastings Street is a main east-west route, so visit at rush hour if you are buying on or near it.
• Industry on the inlet. The Burnaby refinery opened in 1936 at the north end of Willingdon Avenue. Trans Mountain's pipeline ends in Burnaby, with tanks on Burnaby Mountain and tankers loading at its Westridge Marine Terminal on Burrard Inlet; the federal regulator authorized the expanded system to operate in 2024. Metro Vancouver, which regulates air emissions, takes odour complaints, and the City's Alertable system sends emergency notices.

Questions buyers often ask me

Is the Heights the same as Vancouver Heights?

Largely, yes. Vancouver Heights is the area's older name, in use since the early 1900s, and many listing sites still file homes under it. Search both names when you set up listing alerts.

Can I build a multiplex on a North Burnaby lot?

Many lots now allow it. Burnaby's R1 zone permits up to three or four homes on lots once zoned for one or two, and up to six near frequent transit, in buildings of up to three storeys. Lot size, slope, servicing and permits decide what is practical, so talk to the City and a designer before you remove subjects.

When will the Burnaby Mountain gondola open?

There is no date. TransLink lists the timing as to be determined, and the project needs a place in an investment plan approved by TransLink's board and the Mayors' Council first. For now, buses such as the R5 serve the mountain.

How do I find out which school my children would attend?

Enter the exact address in the Burnaby School District's School Locator and confirm with the school, since catchments don't follow neighbourhood names. You can register online or in person at the catchment school, but you must be living in Burnaby at the time.

Are UniverCity homes freehold?

No. They are built on SFU land that the SFU Community Trust leases to developers on prepaid 99-year leases, so you buy a leasehold interest. Ask your lawyer or notary to review the lease and its remaining term, and check your lender's terms early.

Comparing more areas? See my Burnaby area page and current Burnaby listings, check prices on my market trends page, or read about Coquitlam's SkyTrain neighbourhoods further east on the Millennium Line.

This article is general information, not professional advice. The details come from the City of Burnaby, TransLink, the Burnaby School District, the Province of BC, Metro Vancouver, the Canada Energy Regulator and the Heights Merchants Association, and were current at the time of writing; zoning, catchments and transit plans change. For the City's land use plan and map, see Burnaby 2050 Official Community Plan.