A two acre warehousing and storage site has been bought by the City of sa国际传媒 for $12.3 million for future use as a park and a new road connection.聽
The purchase price for the industrial property at 1956 Dayton St was almost $3 million below the sitesa国际传媒 current value, as determined by BC Assessment.聽
鈥淭he purchase price of $12.3 million was determined by third-party appraisal,鈥 city real estate manager Johannes Saufferer said Monday via email.聽
鈥淎ssessed values are proxies of value, but the city doesn鈥檛 rely on them to transact. In this case, the appraised value was below the assessed value,鈥 Saufferer said.聽
There are several businesses located in leased premises on the property, which is a few blocks south of the Landmark business district.
鈥淚tsa国际传媒 currently fully tenanted. The city has assumed the tenancies and will honour the existing lease arrangements. As such, there will be no changes to the property in the immediate short-term,鈥 Saufferer said.聽
Down the road, however, the city will use the site for a future extension and realignment of Sutherland Avenue so it connects directly with Spall Road. A portion of the newly-acquired property also includes a section of Ritchie Creek, a waterway that has long been culverted and obscured.聽
Intentions are that the creek will be opened up to public access over time, with a new park also developed in the area of the citysa国际传媒 newly-acquired property.聽
The city has a master development plan for the Capri-Landmark area, bounded roughly by Harvey Avenue, Spall Road, Gordon Drive, and Springfield Road, which envisions the neighborhood transitioning over time from largely industrial/service commercial with some older homes to business and residential.聽
鈥淭his acquisition is a great opportunity for the city to advance public amenities to support a densifying neighbourhood and ensure it will become a vibrant and livable hub for residents and workers,鈥 Derek Edstrom, the citysa国际传媒 director of partnerships and investments, said in a release.聽
In 2018, it was estimated that the Capri-Landmark area had about 2,000 residents. The citysa国际传媒 intention is for that population to grow to 10,000 by 2040.聽
The plan envisions the extension of Sutherland Avenue through the area to provide better transportation and public transit, new parks and public spaces, thousands of new homes, and redevelopment of existing commercial and industrial areas.聽
Total cost of implementing the plan was estimated at the time to be $96 million, two-thirds of which would come from fees paid by developers and one-third from the city.聽
鈥淭his is a hole in the middle of our community that has a huge potential to be a phenomenal live-work-play neighborhood,鈥 former Coun. Gail Given said at a September 2018 meeting.聽
But there has been some opposition to the plan, particularly from a few of the 1,300 property owners in the area who鈥檝e said they have no intention of selling their land to the city for the various infrastructure upgrades.聽
Operators of industrial businesses in the area have also expressed concern about where they might be forced to relocate, and at what cost, if the neighbourhood changes as per the city plan.聽
鈥(We) landowners and our tenants comprise over 50 service commercial businesses, with over 500 employees, all of who will be displaced if the current proposed plan is approved,鈥 reads part of a letter signed in 2018 by Lambert and Paul Construction Ltd., a leasing company with about 4.9 ha of land in the Capri-Landmark area.聽
鈥淭here are places to get your lawn mower fixed and buy new tires for your cars,鈥 area landowner Bob Currell pointed out at the time. 鈥淚f all these businesses get chased out, they鈥檙e just going to relocate further away from the city centre, contributing to the sprawl the city is so worried about.鈥
In response to such concerns, then-mayor Colin Basran said only a 鈥渉andful鈥 of the Capri-Landmark property owners were really against the citysa国际传媒 goal of transforming the area.聽
