01Port Coquitlam, BC · tier 3 market
High-rise apartment tower cost in Port Coquitlam
A cast-in-place concrete residential tower with underground parking, amenity floors and a formed core. Vertical transportation, crane time and the parking structure are the cost centres that separate a tower from a low-rise.
This pairing is not indexed: Tier 3 city does not carry tier 2 topics. The builder still works on your own numbers.
02The curated band
Hard cost, standard spec
—
No curated row yet
All-in, preset build
$0/sf
220,000 sf, 20 storey
Hard share of all-in
0%
Rest is soft cost, charges, contingency, escalation
BC escalation
3.8%/yr
Quarter ending 2025-09-30
Buildlor Construction Cost Index · Last updated 2026-01-15 · Maintained by Buildlor Cost Desk
Scope: Port Coquitlam, British Columbia — High-rise apartment tower
Inputs: User inputs only
Next scheduled review: 2026-04-15
03Build the stack
Your build
All-in cost — Apartment (high-rise), Port Coquitlam
$173,901,020
$790/sf · band $137,316,017 – $220,496,340
At this specification the apartment (high-rise) prices at about $790 per square foot all-in, with a 48% spread between the low and high band. Hard cost is 71% of the total and everything above it is soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation.
| Line | Amount | $/sf |
|---|---|---|
| Substructure and foundations | $13,935,069 | $63/sf |
| Structure and frame | $27,870,138 | $127/sf |
| Envelope, roofing and glazing | $20,902,603 | $95/sf |
| Interior partitions and finishes | $16,257,580 | $74/sf |
| Mechanical and plumbing | $18,580,092 | $84/sf |
| Electrical and life safety | $12,773,813 | $58/sf |
| General conditions and fee | $5,806,279 | $26/sf |
| Site work and servicing | $6,967,534 | $32/sf |
| Hard cost subtotal | $123,093,109 | $560/sf |
| Design and consultants | $10,832,194 | $49/sf |
| Permits, approvals and reviews | $2,708,048 | $12/sf |
| Project management and testing | $5,416,097 | $25/sf |
| Financing, insurance and legal | $8,124,145 | $37/sf |
| Contingency (12%) | $18,020,831 | $82/sf |
| Escalation to midpoint (12 mo) | $5,706,597 | $26/sf |
| All-in cost | $173,901,020 | $790/sf |
How these figures were produced
- Observed — Recorded directly from the cited source series, unadjusted.
- Modelled — Derived arithmetically from observed inputs using the published method; not a market quote.
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04What moves the number
Cost drivers for this type in Port Coquitlam
Underground parking levels
each level below grade carries excavation, shoring and dewatering that scale non-linearly.
Formwork cycle
a faster floor cycle reduces general conditions but demands a larger crew and more crane capacity.
Amenity and lobby quality moves the finish package far more than suite finishes do.
Amenity and lobby quality moves the finish package far more than suite finishes do.
Elevator count and speed are set by code and occupancy, not by budget.
Elevator count and speed are set by code and occupancy, not by budget.
Port Coquitlam's industrial base is small-bay, where the cost per square foot of envelope and loading is highest. That is why the same drawings priced in Port Coquitlam and in Toronto do not land at the same number even when the trades are the same.
On the preset build above, hard cost is $0 and everything after it — soft cost, charges, contingency and escalation — adds $0. Budgeting off a hard rate alone is the single most common way an early construction budget goes wrong.
Buildlor facts
- Hard cost for a apartment (high-rise) in Port Coquitlam sits at — per square foot at standard specification.
- Soft cost at 22% of hard adds $0 to the preset build.
- BC construction escalation is running at 3.8% a year, or $0 over twelve months on this build.
05Related
Other types in Port Coquitlam
- Warehouse and distribution shellWarehouse · tier 1 topic
- Low-rise office buildingOffice (low-rise) · tier 1 topic
- Retail strip and plaza shellRetail strip · tier 1 topic
- Low-rise apartment buildingApartment (low-rise) · tier 1 topic
- Office tenant improvementOffice fit-out · tier 1 topic
- Retail tenant improvementRetail fit-out · tier 2 topic
- Medical and dental clinic fit-outMedical fit-out · tier 3 topic
06Questions
What does it cost to build a apartment (high-rise) in Port Coquitlam?
On the curated Port Coquitlam band, hard cost runs $0 to $0 per square foot for a apartment (high-rise) at standard specification. Adding site work, soft cost, charges, contingency and twelve months of escalation puts the all-in figure near $0 per square foot on a 220,000 sf preset. Your own area and specification change that number, which is what the builder above is for.
Why does Port Coquitlam price where it does?
Port Coquitlam's industrial base is small-bay, where the cost per square foot of envelope and loading is highest. The published Toronto base range is scaled by a documented factor of 1.01 for this market, and the BC escalation series is running at 3.8 percent a year.
Is the development charge in this number?
No. We do not yet hold a charge row for Port Coquitlam. Enter the figure from the municipality's schedule in the builder.
What is excluded from every figure here?
Land, financing interest during construction beyond the soft-cost allowance, taxes recoverable as input credits, tenant furniture and equipment, and any remediation or off-site works. Those are separate line items in a real proforma.
07Sources
Sources
- [1] Altus Group Canadian Cost Guide — Published construction cost ranges by building type.
- [2] Statistics Canada Building Construction Price Index, table 18-10-0135-01 — Non-residential building construction, Vancouver CMA.
Not advice — Buildlor is a data publisher. We do not bid, price, estimate, or build work, and nothing here is a quote, a tender price, or construction advice. Figures are indicative order-of-magnitude benchmarks for early budgeting and must be confirmed by a qualified cost consultant, quantity surveyor, or general contractor before you rely on them. About Buildlor