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JULY 2008, Volume
23 Issue 7
Click here to download this story in PDF format
Regional Roundup: Port Alberni, B.C.
Port Alberni
changes gears
Landmark tax concessions gave local pulp mill an
edge and saved hundreds of jobs
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Port Alberni's downtown, looking towards Mount
Arrowsmith. |
Port Alberni's economy is transforming from forest dependency into a retirement haven and tourist destination that sits smack between the main Vancouver Island highway and the magnetic draw of the Pacific Rim, according to some residents.
During the first quarter of the year, Port Alberni/West Vancouver Island single-family residential values increased the best of all six mid-island zones in a survey by the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board, an indication of how times are changing.
"We think we are the most affordable, livable community on the island," said VIREB director Lyle Price, of Re/Max Mid Island Realty. "We have great community facilities, but we're still behind most of the other communities on the island in regard to prices."
During the first quarter, prices in Port Alberni/West increased to $256,081, from $203,637 - a 26 per cent jump from one year earlier. Parksville-Qualicum continued on top in average values, up by 12 per cent from $383,189 to $430,542.
The VIREB survey lumps together Port Alberni with Tofino-Ucluelet and does not provide individual statistics for each of the three. But after years of generally negative press concerning Port Alberni and its forest-dependent economy, local folks are excited about a new stability there and real optimism concerning the future.
"We're definitely getting a lot of people here from out-of-town now," Price said. "Some months, 40 to 50 per cent of all our buyers are from elsewhere, providing they are able to sell in the markets they are in."
He said the trend of many people in other areas of the country deciding to retire either in the Okanagan Valley or Vancouver Island is a fact that is here to stay.
"We've got a bit of a bubble here that I think will last a while."
Price is involved with Harbour Quay, a mixed commercial/residential development project. A 900-square-foot commercial space there sells for under $100,000. Two bedroom condos started at $189,000.
Lower prices
Realtor Dave Koszegi of Re/Max said he's seeing many mid-50s people from the Lower Mainland and Victoria selling their homes then using the cash difference as a nest egg for early retirement in the Alberni Valley.
Port Alberni's lower prices are the key, Koszegi agreed, and some of the finest salmon fishing on all of Vancouver Island has not hurt. Port Alberni offers a first-rate lifestyle. Many prospects also like the fact that it is about a half hour's drive from Qualicum Beach. Parksville and Nanaimo aren't that much further away.
"My volumes are good," he said. "Homes here definitely will sell if they are realistically priced."
Koszegi partnered with a local contractor to develop a 55-lot waterview subdivision package that is now on the market. Prices start at $89,900.
Forestry
Landmark agreements between Western Canada's major paper manufacturer, the city of Port Alberni, workers at the mill there and the provincial government are being cited as the dawning of a new day in Port Alberni by Pat Deakin, the city's economic development commissioner.
"Council here has been working very hard to get things turned around," he said.
As the B.C. forest industry entered really difficult times three or four years ago, Port Alberni was a microcosm and case study of how a resource community can get hammered by forces beyond its control.
Last August, Catalyst Paper announced "an indefinite curtailment" of one of the two remaining machines at Port Alberni, thus reducing mill employment from more than 2,000 in its hey-day to an all-time low of 230. To top it off, major sawmills in the region along with their supporting industries were shutting down permanently.
Income dropped
In 2000, average annual family earnings in Port Alberni, according to Statistics Canada, stood at $43,709. By 200,5 that number had fallen to $40,107 and there were about 1,500 fewer wage earners. Property crime had climbed substantially.
In 2005, you could buy an average single- family detached home in Port Alberni for $152,684. By comparison, the same home in Courtenay-Comox sold for $252, 516, according to MLS data.
By 2006 - despite residents having higher than average B.C educations - 23 per cent of all Port Alberni households were supported by incomes below the national poverty line.
"The city knew it really had to step up to the plate," Deakin said.
The city provided Catalyst with a $300,000 immediate tax break in 2007, before upping that to $425,000 annually until 2012. The company re-started the idled paper machine in May.
The city also negotiated an agreement with the provincial Finance Ministry so that Catalyst could decrease Port Alberni schools taxes. That move is expected to save the company a further $2 million annually.
Tax break for business
The local economy is stable once again, Deakin said, and the city is definitely changing economic course away from forest dependency. Port Alberni recently embarked on a $650,000 commercial area redevelopment project, and began offering tax breaks to local businesses.
A $40 million new high school is scheduled to be completed within the next two years and numerous residential housing and commercial building projects are already underway. Port Alberni has a modern hospital and local nursing program.
During the second week of July, the city will host a Tall Ships festival; work is well underway to have a steam train operating between Port Alberni and Qualicum by this summer.
Mining controversy
In Ucluelet-Tofino, meanwhile, a Vancouver mining company's plan to develop a copper mine in Clayoquot Sound is raising alarm.Selkirk Metals Corp. has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Ahousaht First Nation. The company has formed a subsidiary aiming to develop an open-pit mine at Catface Mountain, visible from the community.
Tofino district council sent a letter of opposition about the proposal to the provincial government in April. The Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce has also expressed concern, along with local residents.
Selkirk president Gordon Keevil said plans are to begin the first phase of drilling shortly.
The Tofino-Ucluelet area is the site of multimillion-dollar tourism and condo developments, including a new Jack Nicklaus golf course currently under construction.
– Stephen Rae
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