Queensborough Real Estate & Homes For Sale
The colourful community of Queensborough is unique from the other neighbourhoods of New West as it lays across the river from the city proper in an area formerly called LuLu Island. The neighbourhood enjoys a mild temperate rainforest climate similar to Vancouver’s with an annual rainfall of 111cm with 2000 hours of sunshine. Lows dip down to 6°C with summer highs reaching 22°C.
Immigrants from Japan, India, China, Italy Russia, Greece, Finland and Ukraine first arrived in the area in the late 1800’s looking for work in the area’s canneries, shipyards, sawmills and farms. They purchased the real estate surrounding their workplaces and built cultural halls and churches to begin developing the close-knit multicultural community we now call Queensborough.
Now, the community has developed an outlet mall and casino and has plans to add a footbridge across the river to the downtown waterfront so residents from both neighbourhoods can enjoy each others’ amenities. Queensborough’s 5,484 residents have a median household income of $66,914, which is 37% higher than the city’s average with 4% fewer low-income households. (2006).
Queensborough Homes For Sale
- All Listings
- $700,000 - $800,000
- $800,000 - $900,000
- Over $1,000,000
New Westminster was BC’s first capital and is the province’s oldest city. It’s located on a hillside overlooking the banks of the Fraser River in the geographic centre of Metro Vancouver. Other neighbouring communities include Burnaby to the north, Surrey to the east and Richmond to the southwest.
Employment Opportunities
24% of New Westminster residents work in the sales and service sector, following closely by the business, finance and administration industry. The Queensborough area's participation rate is 74.8%, which is 5% more than the city's average.
The largest employers in New Westminster are Royal Columbian Hospital, TransLink, and Douglas College, but Queensborough’s Starlight Casino and outlet mall have created many jobs right in the neighbourhood.
Shopping
Queensborough Landing is one of New West’s premier shopping centres. It houses outlet stores, electronics shops, fashion retailers and home-improvement centres.
There are also many shopping options to the west in nearby Richmond, and of course residents are close to New West’s malls, antique shops, local businesses and the lauded River Market.
Dining
There are many dining choices in Queensborough from Greek to Mexican, pizza and sushi. Tim Horton’s and Starbucks keep Queensborough’s young professionals going and provide great places to meet up before hitting one of the area’s trails.
The Starlight Casino houses five restaurants with live music each night, and is quickly becoming one of New West’s hottest dining destinations.
Transportation and Ease of Access
Downtown Vancouver is about 30 minutes by train from Queensborough. The Queensborough Bridge carries auto traffic off the island and to outlying areas via Highway 91A.
A proposed footbridge project would cross the river to Quayside, opening up many exciting downtown possibilities for Queensborough Residents.
Schools
Queen Elizabeth Community School serves as the local elementary school and has one of New West’s three Strong Start Early Learning Centres.
Queensborough Middle School opened in 2003 and welcomes 238 students. Queen Elizabeth Community School as well as the Community Centre are adjacent to the middle school. The three institutions often collaborate on projects to help local students develop life-long skills and stewardship of the global community.
New Westminster Secondary School is one of the largest high schools in the province. It offers an array of programmes from mini-schools to well-supported athletics and arts departments. It also offers its students the opportunity to enter the rigorous International Baccalaureate Programme.
Nearby colleges are New West’s Douglas College, Burnaby’s Simon Fraser University and Vancouver’s University of British Columbia.
The Arts
The city at large is a major supporter of local arts, providing two local performing arts venues that host myriad artists from around the world as well as local theatre groups.
The Starlight Casino located in Queensborough has live entertainment each night among its five different dining venues, including dueling pianos and frequent free concerts by local favourites.
Recreation and Sports
Queensborough’s public parks include Ryall Park (which has an all-wheel park for BMX bikers and skateboarders) and Queensborough Neighbourhood Park which has a children’s water play channel and outdoor fitness circuit.
The newly developed Port Royal Park was designed to bring residents closer to the Fraser with the Port Royal Riverfront Walk. The park also offers exciting features like
Queensborough also has an off-leash dog park, a community centre with a 2,834 square foot fitness room with weights and cardio equipment and a studio for classes, and a system of well-maintained trails offering walkers, bicyclists and runners inspiring views of the river’s rugged beauty.
The Outdoors
The newly developed Port Royal Park was designed to bring residents closer to the Fraser with the Port Royal Riverfront Walk. The park also offers exciting features like trees and open green space, a plaza with trellises, a playground, public art features, a dock and a fountain.
The Port Royal Community Garden is a gorgeous new 78 plot community garden located on the shores of the river.
The Port Royal Loop connects the eastern tip of the neighbourhood with the growing Port Royal development. The trail supplies residents with plentiful views of the river and its marine life.
The Queensborough Perimeter Trail is currently under construction and will connect the whole neighbourhood to the surrounding Fraser River with vistas, lookout points, wheelchair access, flower beds, a dock and benches.
Investing in Queensborough Real Estate
Recent residential developments have focused on tying Queensborough more closely to its New West roots by adding more single family homes that resemble the old heritage style homes that draw so many prospective buyers to the suburban neighbourhoods near the city center.
The city’s investment in Queensborough continues to improve residents’ quality of living with the brand new Port Royal Park, the Queensborough Community Centre and the stunning Queensborough Perimeter trail and Port Royal Loop that leads to the new Port Royal development. Soon enough, a footbridge will connect the community to the popular Quayside River Market destination and boardwalk, making now the perfect time to invest in this growing area.
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