After more than two years of presentations to Langford council; assessments, appraisals and negotiations with tenants, the way is paved for a former trailer park to become a major apartment complex.
Property on which the now-closed Shirlmae Mobile Home Park sat, on Hoylake Road directly behind Liquor Planet on Millstream Road, has been sold to a Vancouver developer by local partners who bought out the residents. Council recently approved the rezoning necessary for purchaser Molmar Group to proceed with its planned 150-unit project.
B次元官网网址淭hey will be very similar in frame and structure to the units we just completed at Jacklin Station,B次元官网网址� said Dak Molmar, whose company just opened that 94-unit rental property.
The plan is for a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units, with construction expected to begin this fall after site clearing and landscaping is complete. There is no timeline yet for an opening date, he said, B次元官网网址渂ut I expect the first renter to be in there late fall or early winter of 2016.B次元官网网址�
Ron Cheeke, one of the partners who bought the property two years ago and started the redevelopment and rezoning process, talked about his involvement.
B次元官网网址淭hat place was created in the early 1960s,B次元官网网址� he said. The property was pointed out to him by an accountant friend who thought it would make a nice addition to his nearby business ventures B次元官网网址� the Loghouse Pub and Liquor Planet.
Although there was some resistance from residents when buyouts were first proposed, Cheeke said, they began to get on board once he explained the situation.
B次元官网网址淭he septic system was failing. The electrical system was failing. It was just clear that the park had outlived its use,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he lifespan of mobile home parks is about 40 years, so when you do the math B次元官网网址次元官网网址�
Smoothing the path was the fact each resident negotiated what they would be compensated upon their departure.
The process of redeveloping a mobile home park for another use is complex and takes time, however, due to a Langford policy around B次元官网网址渇air compensationB次元官网网址� that aims to protect a parkB次元官网网址檚 residents, said Langford planning director Matthew Baldwin.
As Cheeke said, B次元官网网址淓veryone has different views on whatB次元官网网址檚 fair, so some negotiations were more difficult than others.B次元官网网址�
Since itB次元官网网址檚 up to the mobile homeowner to decide whether a compensation offer is fair, Baldwin said, the system favours residents rather than developers, and it was introduced that way on purpose.
When residents were initially presented with appraisals of the value of their home that were secured by CheekeB次元官网网址檚 partnership, there was an uproar, Baldwin said, so council got involved and had independent appraisals done for each home. B次元官网网址淪ome of the owners also had their own appraisals that had been done for financing purposes and whatnot, which added a third level of appraisal to the process,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not going to speak on whether everyoneB次元官网网址檚 happy with their compensation,B次元官网网址� Baldwin said, but he pointed out there were no residents at the public hearing for the most recent rezoning application to speak in opposition.
This is the first time a mobile home park has been purchased for the purposes of redevelopment, he said. There was one other park that was purchased that caused a stir around 2008, he said, where residents feared they were to be pushed out, but that didnB次元官网网址檛 end up being the case and the new owner has actually reinvested in the park itself since its purchase.
Land-clearing machinery should start moving in to Millstream and Hoylake roads early in May.
mdavies@goldstreamgazette.com
