BC Business
In red, the federal parcel sold in 2014. In blue, the provincial parcel sold Friday
Three Vancouver area First Nations have purchased one of the last major tracts of undeveloped land on Vancouver’s west side for a half-billion dollars. On Friday, the Tsleil-Watuth, Squamish and Musqueam First Nations announced that they had acquired the 38-acre parcel in Point Grey—currently the site of West Point Grey Academy—from the provincial government and have preliminary plans to redevelop the plot over the coming years.
The sale follows an announcement made by the three First Nations in February that they intended to acquire the lands. At the time, the provincial government ministry handling the sale said that any rezoning and development plans would follow a consultation process established by the city of Vancouver. Provincial politicians were also floating the idea of redevelopment, although without committing to a specific vision. Vancouver MLA Andrew Wilkinson, who represents nearby Quilchena, said at the time that “the development could help improve much-needed housing supply in Vancouver.”
The deal is part of the long-term transfer of the remnants of a former Department of Defence installation to local First Nations. This latest plot, with sweeping views of Vancouver, is up the hill from a 52-acre site that the three First Nations acquired in the fall of 2014 in conjunction with the Canada Lands Company—an arms-length federal agency that develops or prepares for development former federally owned lands. That parcel was sold for $237 million.
The lands themselves are the site of a former First Nations village.
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