A proposed 6,206 sq. metre (66,800 sq. foot) industrial warehouse in the BCR Industrial Park is step closer to being built, following a vote by city council on Monday.
City council approved the first two readings of a bylaw to rezone a 0.63 hectare (1.56 acre) section of 8875 Willow Cale Rd. and 1077 Boundary Rd. to facilitate the development. Final approval of the rezoning will come back before city council once a traffic impact study has been completed.
David McWalter of McWalter Consulting Ltd., who is acting as agent for Interior Warehousing and Brink Group founder John Brink, said the proposed warehouse is part of a larger expansion planned in the city.
“John Brink also owns Interior Warehousing,” McWalter said. “They want to expand by about a million square feet over the next few years.”
For reference, the Prince George Costco location is about 100,000 sq. feet, he said.
Site preparation for the development has already begun, with the delivery of more than 20,000 cubic yards of gravel for the building foundation, McWalter said. If the rezoning is approved, Interior Warehousing is expecting the delivery of a pre-engineered building to the site in late October.
Construction is expected to be completed by the spring of 2023, he added. The facility is expected to store a variety of dry goods and employ a small number of people full-time once operations begin.
City director of planning and development Deanna Wasnik said city administration is in support of the proposed development.
“The subject properties are located within the BCR Industrial Park and have City services available. The subject properties are also bound by Boundary Road (arterial) and Willow Cale Road (major collector) offering easy access to highways and rail lines to help facilitate the movement of goods,” Wasnik wrote in her report to council.
The property is currently zoned U1: Minor Utility, and BC Hydro has a transmission line next to the property, Wasnik wrote. Interior Warehousing is seeking to rezone the property to M5: Heavy Industrial to facilitate the warehouse project.
“Correspondence with BC Hydro has confirmed no concerns with the proposed rezoning, as the right-of-way is not needed,” she wrote “The remainder of the U1 zoned portion will remain in place to accommodate the BC Hydro transmission line.”
The section of land being developed is not the same location which prompted a lengthy legal battle between Brink and BCR Properties Ltd. over an undisclosed landfill on the site, McWalter said.
