Burnaby Tenant Improvement Contractors: 2026 Guide to Metrotown, Brentwood, and Lougheed Commercial Build-Outs

Burnaby: Three Town Centres and an Industrial Belt

Burnaby's commercial market is defined by three planned town centres — Metrotown, Brentwood, and Lougheed — and a large industrial belt along the Big Bend of the Fraser River. Each sub-market has its own building stock, its own tenant mix, and its own construction dynamics.

Metrotown is Metro Vancouver's second-largest downtown after Vancouver itself, with major office towers around Kingsway and Willingdon, dense retail anchored by Metropolis, and a growing medical and professional services cluster. Brentwood has moved from suburban town centre to full mixed-use district over the last decade, with new Class A office space above SkyTrain retail. Lougheed has followed the same pattern more recently. Big Bend and the Willingdon industrial belt house logistics, food production, film production support, and light manufacturing that supplies the entire region.

For a free estimate on any Burnaby TI project — Metrotown office, Brentwood retail, Lougheed medical, or Big Bend industrial — call or text 604-761-1518 or email frameinsteel@gmail.com.

Burnaby's Building Department and Permit Process

The City of Burnaby's building department reviews building permits for interior alterations and coordinates with planning for development permit reviews when the project changes use, adds exterior work, or requires a rezoning question. Building permit review runs six to fourteen weeks depending on complexity. Development permit review adds four to ten weeks when required.

Burnaby's planning department is engaged and detail-oriented. Applications that arrive incomplete get returned. Applications that arrive complete with a code review, structural review, mechanical schematic, and coordinated architectural drawings move through the system predictably. The difference between a smooth Burnaby permit and a stuck one is almost always the completeness of the initial submission.

Cost Ranges for Common Burnaby TI Types in 2026

- **Metrotown Class A office, mid-quality:** $175–$265/sf - **Metrotown office, premium finishes, glass fronts:** $265–$375/sf - **Brentwood mixed-use retail podium:** $225–$350/sf - **Brentwood or Metrotown medical/dental clinic:** $325–$500/sf - **Lougheed neighbourhood retail:** $200–$325/sf - **Kingsway / Willingdon standalone retail:** $200–$350/sf - **Big Bend warehouse improvements:** $50–$120/sf - **Big Bend office insertions inside warehouses:** $175–$275/sf - **Film production support space:** $125–$225/sf - **Restaurant (any Burnaby town centre):** $325–$525/sf - **Cannabis / food processing:** $200–$425/sf

All ranges cover construction, MEP, permits, and project management. FF&E, signage beyond a simple façade, IT cabling, and tenant-supplied equipment are excluded.

Realistic Burnaby TI Timelines

A 3,000 to 5,000 square foot Burnaby office TI runs 14 to 22 weeks from executed lease to occupancy. Retail podium and shopping centre TIs at Metropolis, Brentwood Town Centre, and The City of Lougheed run 16 to 24 weeks because of landlord approval cycles, freight elevator scheduling, and mall-hours construction restrictions. Restaurants run 20 to 30 weeks. Medical clinics run 18 to 28 weeks. Big Bend industrial improvements run 8 to 16 weeks for straightforward warehouse work and 14 to 20 weeks for office insertions.

Base Building Conditions to Confirm Before You Sign

Burnaby's building stock is younger than Vancouver's but not uniform. In the older Willingdon office corridor and along the pre-SkyTrain sections of Kingsway, expect base building conditions closer to a 1980s office building than a modern tower. In new Brentwood and Metrotown high-rises, expect strong MEP capacity but strict landlord work letters that dictate finish selections, subcontractor pre-qualification, and freight access rules.

Diligence items to confirm in writing before you sign:

- Structural floor loading at the location of heavy equipment - Electrical service capacity at the panel and main - HVAC tonnage and outside air availability - Grease interceptor and gas capacity for restaurants - Exhaust routing rights for restaurants and specialty tenancies - Sprinkler head density for your intended use - Path-of-travel accessibility from the public sidewalk to your suite - Landlord work letter scope and TI allowance - Hours of construction, after-hours access fees, and elevator use rules

Working Inside Metropolis, Brentwood Town Centre, and The City of Lougheed

Shopping centre TIs in Burnaby operate under strict landlord playbooks. Expect landlord design review, pre-qualified subcontractor lists, mandatory hoarding standards, restricted delivery windows, dedicated after-hours construction periods, and specific insurance and hot-work permit requirements. Build a two- to four-week landlord approval cycle into the front of your schedule, and price the after-hours premium — often 25 to 45 percent on affected trades — into your budget.

The contractors who deliver reliably in these environments are the ones who have already worked inside the specific centre. When you interview a contractor for a Metropolis or Brentwood project, ask them to name the last three tenancies they completed inside that specific centre.

Steel Stud Framing and Ceilings on Burnaby Projects

Almost every Burnaby TI is built on a steel stud framing skeleton with T-bar or specialty ceilings above. TI Contractors' Lower Mainland partnership pairs SteelStud.ca for framing with Rambo Walls for ceilings, fire-rated assemblies, shaft walls, and Level 5 drywall finishing. On Metrotown and Brentwood high-rises where fire-rated demising and STC 50+ walls matter for landlord acceptance, running framing and ceilings through a single coordinated delivery team is the biggest single lever on schedule and quality.

The Big Bend Industrial Belt

Big Bend along Marine Way is Burnaby's industrial engine — logistics, food production, cold storage, film production support, and light manufacturing. Industrial TIs here are less about aesthetics and more about process infrastructure: three-phase power upgrades, mezzanine additions, dock leveller replacement, roof-mounted MEP, spray booths, cold rooms, and clear-height preservation. Costs run below town-centre office pricing on a square-foot basis but process-driven infrastructure can quickly change the picture. A refrigeration TI or a cannabis production TI will price closer to a medical clinic than a warehouse.

Ready to Price a Burnaby TI

Burnaby moves quickly when the diligence is complete and the contractor knows the local market. Call or text 604-761-1518 or email frameinsteel@gmail.com and we will walk your Burnaby space, review the base building conditions, and produce a written scope, schedule, and estimate against your lease work letter.