Port Moody keeps popular Outpost open through 2029

Port Moody’s popular Outpost community hub will remain open for at least another three years.

On June 23, Port Moody council unanimously approved a new temporary use permit for the Moody Centre gathering space.

Coun. Diana Dilworth said the Outpost’s transformation from a shuttered gas station to a temporary sales centre to community destination has been remarkable.

“It’s amazing,” Dilworth said. Over the last number of years, it’s really grown to be a gathering place within the community.”

The Outpost, located on St. Johns Street across from the Moody Centre SkyTrain station, serves as a unique hybrid of a licensed café, bar, community event space, and Marcon Developments presentation centre.

The approval comes after the site’s previous permit reached the maximum allowable extension under provincial legislation, requiring the developer to submit a new application based on the same concept.

Council unanimously voted to authorize a new permit.

Originally established in 2017 as a presentation centre for Marcon’s residential developments, the Outpost has evolved over the past nine years, hosting everything from live music, book launches and art workshops, to family programming and community events.

Coun. Kyla Knowles, who currently serves as chair of the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Committee, said the venue exemplifies the kind of “third space” the city has been discussing as a place where people can gather outside of home and work.

Rather than being planned as a traditional community facility, Knowles said the Outpost has succeeded because it developed organically.

“We’ve spent a lot of time talking about third spaces lately, as it comes to development and spaces we kind of look for in the city for people to gather,” she said. “I’ve been to paint there with my young child, I went to a vegan dumpling making class there, I’ve been to a book launch there, and while my daughter was sitting in a hairdresser’s chair . . . I went and had a beer there.”

Knowles said she hopes the city sees more community-focused spaces emerge in the future.

Port Moody has been a magnet for hybrid commercial businesses operating under temporary use permits. Another example is Site B located on Murray Street, which operates as event venue, renting out its space for a variety of uses.

Staff noted the use of temporary use permits has expanded gradually over time following the COVID-19 pandemic.