Why you might finally see this Burnaby LED display activated soon

A massive LED display located on a Burnaby building near SkyTrain’s Metrotown Station may soon have a chance to impress people by actually being turned on.

Daily Hive Urbanized first reported on the LED display in May 2020, located at Rize Alliance’s Gold House on 6377 McKay Ave. in Burnaby.

At the time of the previous article, it was called the largest urban art screen in North America. During that time, Rize Alliance had tested the LED art installation at the north tower of the Gold House.

Something that happened one month later, in June 2020, effectively shut off the massive display. A B.C. Supreme Court petition issued by the building’s strata against Hope Health reveals further details.

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According to the court documents, Hope Health, which owns unit 403 in the building, obtained possession after the completion of a sale on June 22, 2020. Hope Health discovered that the developer installed 21 transformers in unit 403. Those transformers power the LED display. On Sept. 15, 2020, Hope had those transformers removed, delivering them to the strata’s agent.

The strata claimed that this was a breach of the strata’s bylaws.

This is what the building looks like now:

But this is what it could look like once the digital screen is powered again:

“Hope Health says the strata has failed to prove Hope Health altered its strata lot in a way that interferes with the operation of the digital screen or that the transformers fall within a category of property that is otherwise covered by the strata bylaws.”

In another unit, unit 405, there were 51 transformers installed. Professional electricians were hired by Hope Health and the former owner of the 405 unit to remove the transformers.

The court docs state that Burnaby is “keen for the digital screen to be operational.”

“The strata says it brought this petition because the City has threatened legal action against the strata if the digital screen is not operational soon,” the docs add.

According to the petition, “The City advised the Strata in February 2023 that the Strata and the owners of units 403 and 405 are in non-compliance with the Public Art Covenant. The City encouraged the Strata to ‘obtain access, voluntarily or otherwise, to units 403 and 405’ to complete corrective work proposed by the Developer.”

Other issues were raised in the dispute, such as Hope Health suggesting that the developer should have installed the transformers on common property, not in the strata units. However, the only issue the Supreme Court was deciding was whether Hope Health had breached bylaws and, if so, what the remedy for the breach would be.

After sifting through relevant bylaw rules, the court determined that the screen itself was common property.

“In summary, I find the transformers are intended to be used in the enjoyment of common property. As a result, the transformers meet the definition of ‘common property’ as that term is used in the strata bylaws,” the court document states.

“I accept that ‘enjoyment’ of the digital screen requires it [to] be operational. As a matter of common sense, a non-functioning digital screen – a three-story high LED mesh attached to the side of the strata building – is less attractive than the public art display that was contemplated when the digital screen was installed.”

The Supreme Court also determined that Hope Health breached bylaws by removing the transformers without approval from the strata.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court determined that the strata was entitled to enter units 403 and 405 to maintain and repair the transformers; however, any claims for damages from the owners of those units were dismissed.

While no dates have been announced for when these repairs and reinstallations will take place, there’s a chance this giant Burnaby LED screen will be shining soon. We’ve contacted Burnaby to figure out a potential timeframe for the reactivation of the digital screen.