Development Archives - Page 44 of 56

Development, Retail

Richmond Walmart Gets Green Light

After almost three hours of impassioned pleas begging city council to say no; it said yes, gifting to Richmond in the process its first ever Walmart.

At a packed out, standing room only public hearing at city hall council chambers, city council, by a majority 6-2 vote, approved SmartCentres’ controversial $150 million, ten-year-old proposal for a 14-acre outdoor shopping centre – anchored by U.S. retail giant Walmart.

Councillors Harold Steves and Chak Au were the only two to vote against the West Cambie plan – bound by Alderbridge Way, Garden City, Alexandra and No. 4 roads.

Before the plan was approved, veteran Steves went as far to brand the development the “worst or second worst” the city has ever been involved with.

However, although many in the audience had nothing but condemnation for the proposal – traffic concerns, loss of green space and views, environmental damage and dislike of Walmart topped the list – there was a surprising throng of approval for the project.

November 19, 2013 by david.taylor@colliers.com

Development

Langley Emerges as a Hot Prospect for Business Developers

In a blockbuster cross-Canada deal of more than $60 million, Madison Pacific has bought 12 office/industrial properties, including three in Langley. With the Agricultural Land Reserve severely limiting development closer to Vancouver, the Fraser Valley township is fast emerging as a B.C. commercial real estate hotspot, according to industry experts.

“The Langley site in particular is strategic in that it represents 21 contiguous acres of land with over a kilometre of frontage on the Trans-Canada Highway,” says Robert Gritten, principal at Avison Young, which led the 12 deals for Madison Pacific. “As Madison Pacific invests for the long term, the opportunity this site offers for redevelopment is dramatic.”

Like all properties in the deal – to a total of 540,000 square feet of office/warehouse/enclosed storage space on 98 acres of land – the Langley ones have only 13-per-cent site coverage, compared to traditional industrial averages of 40-50 per cent. All are tenanted by Burnaby-based Taiga Building Products.

Referring to “the stifling effect” on Metro Vancouver of the ALR restrictions established by the Barrett NDP government starting in 1973, Gritten says: “As a result of this supply-demand imbalance, yes, we are more expensive than most, if not all, markets in North America. The geographic advantages that make this city such a great place to live actually work to a disadvantage when we attempt to meet the demand of our industrial manufacturers and distributors. They want and need to be here. We are the gateway for Canada to Asia, but it is so difficult to secure suitable premises for most of our user clients.”