The axing of the Provincial Capital Commission is resulting in a windfall of properties for the City of Victoria including Crystal Garden and Ship Point.
Mayor Dean Fortin, B.C. Finance Minister Mike De Jong, members of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations and about a hundred shipyard workers were on hand for the announcement at Point Hope Maritime in Vic West. Point Hope properties currently owned by the city will be transferred to the province then sold to shipyards owner, The Ralmax Group, which has promised to invest millions in the
The city's newly acquired properties include Crystal Garden, Ship Point, Reeson Park, Quadra Park and Belleville Green.
Fortin said the deal came together in three months after the province announced the dissolution of the Provincial Capital Commission. Properties transferred to the city will help advance plans for David Foster Way, an Inner Harbour pedestrian pathway between Rock Bay and Ogden Point, he said.
The city will save about $350,000 in leasing costs it has been paying to the province for Crystal Garden, part of the Victoria Conference Centre.
The Ralmax Group, which leases Point Hope for shipyards operations, will purchase the land from the B.C. government and invest up to $30 million in new infrastructure and expansion, including a metal fabrication shop at the south end of Harbour Road.
More to come.