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MARCH 2010, Volume
25 Issue 3
What's
Happening in
British Columbia
Deltaport expansion spurs
100-acre industrial bid
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Deltaport container trade could double after expansion.
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The new $400 million third-berth project at Deltaport container terminal represents the first of "generational" investments in the Asia-Pacific gateway that will benefit the B.C. and Canadian economy for decades to come, according to Port Metro Vancouver president and CEO Robin Sylvester.
It will also spur one of the largest industrial sites in the Lower Mainland.
"It is a very significant strategic step," Sylvester said. "Our projections for container trade, despite the fact that we suffered a decline in the past 12 months as the world economy suffered a recession, are that container trade will double over the next 10 years or so."
Deltaport is the first container terminal in North and South America with three dual-hoist quad cranes that will increase capacity by 600,000 TEUs to 1.8 million annually. It also added 20 hectares of container storage facilities. The new technology and extra space allow three ships to be unloaded simultaneously. The expansion allows for containers to be stacked three high as opposed to the current five, which will increase access and efficiency.
The port expansion has kick-started development on nearby Tsawwassen First Nation lands. The 600-acre reserve is bordered to the south by the BC Ferries causeway and the port authority's container and coal port to the north.
"Tsawwassen First Nation has known about the development of the third berth for quite a few years, and so has been able to project the increased traffic flow into their development plans," said Chief Kim Baird.
"Our land-use plan, which was approved by the community in July 2008, targets the north section of Tsawwassen lands for industrial use, intended to support container-related development, including Deltaport."
Tsawwassen is developing what will become Western Canada's prime industrial logistics park, and Baird said the location of the band's lands surrounding Deltaport provides opportunities for efficient container movement, storage and handling.
The area's development officially started last fall with funding from Canada's economic action plan.
The Tsawwassen band plans to issue an RFP for development of the 100-acre Phase 1 area later this year.
The band is also working with the province to develop an overpass that will direct traffic onto Tsawwassen lands.
- Andrew Petrozzi, BIV
Intrawest sells
Panorama Resort
Intrawest ULC is selling its Panorama Mountain Village to a group of local investors for an undisclosed sum.
Financial details of the sale were not disclosed, however the deal will include the resort's on-mountain and Nordic ski operations, its 50% ownership in the Greywolf Golf Course, all of Intrawest's commercial operations and lodging units in the village and the land available for real estate development.
The local group of investors forming Panorama Mountain Village Inc. includes Panorama president and CEO Rick Jensen and local homeowners and businesspeople.
The deal is expected to close sometime in February subject to regulatory approvals.
The sale of Panorama is Intrawest's second divestiture in recent months. In December, it closed its sale of Copper Mountain resort in Colorado, which it had owned since 1997, to Utah-based Powdr Corp.
Mt. Baldy
up for sale
The troubled Mt. Baldy ski resort, near Oliver, B.C., is up for sale with an asking price of $14.7 million.
"We are open to offers," said a spokesman for Landquest Realty Corp., which notes the resort has control of more than 9,000 acres, and approved density for 1,200 housing units.
The resort is owned by a trio of U.S. investors.
The Mt. Baldy Ski Corporation had developed an aggressive master plan for the resort that outlined a mixed-use retail village, thousands of homes and an 18-hole golf course, in conjunction with the Osoyoos First Nations.
Last year, Mt. Baldy had its financing loan called by Quest Capital Corp.
Tiny rental
apartments
planned
Reliance Properties and ITC Construction Group, with the support of the City of Vancouver, have launched a residential project - Burns Block - that will create 30 self-contained market rental "micro-lofts" in the Downtown Eastside.
At approximately 270 square feet, these will be the smallest self-contained rental apartments in Vancouver.
Burns Block is located at 18 West Hastings, near the recently completed Woodward's building mixed-use complex.
City of Vancouver councillors Raymond Louie and Geoff Meggs, on hand for the January 25 soft opening, said the project is meeting the needs of affordable rental housing in the area. The units will rent from $675 per month and are expected to prove popular with students and single persons. The average rent for a studio apartment in Vancouver is close to $800.
The Burns Block units are not the smallest rentals allowed in the city: under an eco-density initiative, the city allows new condominiums to be built with "lock-off" rental suites as small as 207 square feet.
Giant mall set
for New West
Plaza 88, a $350 million development wrapped around the New Westminster SkyTrain station, has completed construction of three residential towers and has began building approximately 200,000 square feet of retail space as part of a massive 1.2 million-square-foot development.
The development has transformed the New Westminster SkyTrain station into B.C.'s largest station and is a major component of the transformation of its downtown. The mall is being hailed as Canada's first commuter rail shopping centre.
Some of Canada's major retailers have secured long-term leases to be a part of the retail space, including Safeway, Shoppers Drug Mart, Royal Bank of Canada and CIBC.
The newest tenant, Landmark Cinemas of Canada, announced a state-of-the-art, 35,000-square-foot, 10-screen multiplex cinema to be located in Plaza 88.
Currently there is no movie theatre operating in New Westminster.
The project should prove a catalyst for the redevelopment of historic Columbia Street, said New Westminster mayor Wayne Wright.
The retail mall is expected to open in 2011, according to the Plaza 88 developer.
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