Imperial Oil has sold its 232-acre property in Port Moody and Anmore to a Vancouver-based company called Brilliant Circle Group (BCG), The Tri-City News has learned.
The sale became official last week, nearly two years after Imperial Oil put the property up for grabs as one of the largest prime real estate development opportunities in Metro Vancouver.
The undeveloped land - 150 acres in Anmore and 82 in PoMo, including the historic Ioco townsite - sits on the eastern side of Imperial Oil's 600-acre holdings in the area.
"We're starting with a blank piece of paper, we're not coming in with any preconceived ideas," said architect James Cheng, renowned as one of Vancouver's leading residential tower designers. Cheng is representing Vancouver-based BCG and said the company's principal, who asked that his name not be used, is a Canadian citizen with residences both here and in Hong Kong.
BCG is well aware of the environmental, heritage and bylaw restrictions on the land, Cheng said, but the property was too enticing to resist, adding that the group has purchased chunks of land in Metro Vancouver before but nothing on this scale.
"This is the biggest one," he said. "You can't find properties like this. They do have a few sites in the city of Vancouver but nowhere near the size this one is."
He noted that BCG is sensitive to the surrounding environment, including Mossom Creek and its watershed and hatchery, and sees the historic townsite as an asset on the property.
The sale is just the first step in a long process, Cheng emphasized, and the goal will be to consult with stakeholders and neighbours to determine how the community wants the land to be used, whether it's better access to the waterfront, environmental protection measures or neighbourhood gathering places.
"The neighbours know best what we need in this neighbourhood," Cheng said. "We'll invite people to envision a day in the life of this area We'll draw up sketches of what we'd like to see, co-ordinate all these things and start to do a priority list and establish some goals of what we'd like to achieve."
But BCG will also have to work with municipal staff in both Anmore and Port Moody, where development requirements and zoning regulations will have a significant role in any future development on the Ioco lands.
Anmore's portion of the property is currently zoned for single-family acreage, and with its recently adopted official community plan, the village has not indicated any push towards increased density.
Anmore Mayor John McEwen said he was surprised by the sale given the property's challenging topography and access issues, particularly since a handful of well-known local developers had expressed interest in the site and later backed away.
"They did ask what makes Anmore so special, and I said it's the semi-rural atmosphere and we'd want to retain that," McEwen said after meeting briefly with Cheng and real estate consultant Michael Geller.
Port Moody's official community plan also classifies the Ioco site as a special study area, meaning any potential development on the site would have to be part of a comprehensive master planning and consultation effort. The OCP also notes that any development other than single-family infill within the heritage conservation area is contingent on completing the David Avenue extension and that there be no new traffic on Ioco Road.
"I was a little surprised to hear [of the sale]," said PoMo Mayor Mike Clay. "There were a number of people kicking tires but they backed away with the challenges they were facing. It looked like one of those things that would just go to the sidelines."
Cheng acknowledged that both Anmore and Port Moody will bring unique concerns to the table but he's confident all sides can work together to create a sustainable community.
"Our starting point would be what kind of a sustainable community can we build," Cheng said. "It's not just with the environment, it's the streams and the biodiversity, as well as the human beings. We forget that human beings are part of the community as well."
And he anticipated that the road to creating that new Ioco community will be a long one, with likely several years of consultation in the making.
"All you have to do is take a walk there and say, 'Wow, what a wonderful area,'" Cheng said of what drew BCG to the property. "But with that comes a major responsibility.
"We want to do it right. We don't want to come in and make a whole bunch of subdivisions and call it a day. We really what to build a community that fits, and we really want to take our time."
Imperial Oil spokesperson Killeen Kelly said future development plans for the site will be developed through discussions between the purchaser and various stakeholders, and it's expected those discussions will involve extensive public consultation.
Asked whether the terms of the sale include any guarantees for environmental protection or preservation of the heritage conservation area, Kelly said the sale of the property will enable part of the townsite to return to productive use, and that some of the heritage structures will be preserved.
She declined to reveal the property's sale price, saying Imperial Oil considers the information "confidential and proprietary."
Imperial Oil will retain ownership of its industrial lands and the buffer zone between the plant and the sold property.
"We are still operating a terminal," Kelly said. "For the foreseeable future, it's business as usual with respect to our terminal operations."
spayne@tricitynews.com
