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Port Coquitlam sells surplus land

Port Coquitlam city hall is looking to sell off some surplus land to pad its bottom line.
Port Coquitlam city hall
Port Coquitlam city hall is looking to sell off its surplus land

Port Coquitlam city hall is looking to sell off some surplus land to pad its bottom line.

And it already has a parcel up for sale on the south side, zoned for a multi-housing residential development.

The 1.8-acre site at 2560 Pitt River Rd. — located halfway between the Shell gas station and the Red bridge — is being offered through Colliers International until Aug. 6.

According to its listing, the forested land is zoned for up to 57 townhouses. Last year, it was valued at $3.68 million by BC Assessment.

A city spokesperson said the property was sold in 2008 but the deal fell through with the buyer not able to complete the transaction. Now, with strong market conditions and a need for more affordable housing options in Metro Vancouver, the city believes it has a better chance at success, she said.

Currently, city staff are building a land management strategy that will include reviewing the amount of municipal land deemed as surplus.

This year, the city started looking for ways to generate more revenue for the municipality, by hiring a co-ordinator and launching a new revenue committee with Coun. Glenn Pollock as the lead.

Coquitlam has also tried to sell some of its surplus property over the years — much of it on Burke Mountain, where the city plans to accommodate another 20,000 residents over the next decade.

This week, Coquitlam deputy city manager John DuMont crunched the numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., which indicated Coquitlam's housing starts in the first three months of 2015 plummeted by 74% compared to the same trimester last year.

 

OTHER POCO NEWS

Environmental consultants will go into Port Coquitlam civic buildings this year to look for signs of health hazards and operational risks.

The city is currently asking for experts to come forward to conduct a hazardous building materials survey and a risk assessment — as well as a plan to get rid of asbestos, if any is found — at PoCo city hall, the Terry Fox Library and several park washrooms and outdoor pools.

A city spokesperson said many civic facilities were built 25 years ago and haven't had the full inventories done. Previous reviews were completed for the Hyde Creek recreation centre, the PoCo recreation complex, the Wilson Avenue building (leased by Fraser Health and is set for demolition this summer) and the northside fire hall. The updated inventories are used for daily maintenance and future renovation projects, the spokesperson said.

The budget for this year's project is $48,000.

jwarren@tricitynews.com
@jwarrenTC