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The City of Langford: a fast-growing, business-friendly lifestyle city where a young, motivated, hard-working and diverse population is turning heads and making headlines. In fact, Langford has stacked up some recent awards, including “Best Community in BC,” “#18 in Canada” by Maclean’s, and “Most Resilient City” and “Best Place for Work in BC” by BC Business. Impressed?
You should be. This dynamic city, which is already home to more than 3,000 thriving businesses, offers so much more than a place to work. Its population of 45,000 can attest to a range of community settings from metropolitan to rural, access to top-of-the-line professional services and shopping, all surrounded by nature and enviable recreational experiences.
Business and Development Friendly
Maybe you are an existing business owner in Langford looking to expand. Perhaps your mission is attracting new talent, or you might be brand new to the area and looking to invest. In any case, Langford’s economic development staff is a team of pros with diverse expertise, and they come armed with demographic, market and investment knowledge to help you kick off or expand your next venture. Once the lease is signed and business is underway, the City of Langford takes a hands-on, collaborative approach to supporting the business community. From marketing campaigns, one-on-one business coaching and cooperative advertising opportunities, the City is there every step of the way.
Housing
Of course, if you’re going to live in Langford, you’re going to need a place to live. The city offers a wide range of housing in proximity to businesses and services, and this includes affordable home ownership opportunities like the newly announced down payment grant program.
Langford is tapping into its Affordable Housing Reserve Fund to provide partial down payments for Langford residents to buy their first homes—novel thinking in these unprecedented times.
Mayor Stew Young said unprecedented times and a housing crisis require novel thinking.
The $3 million Attainable Home Ownership program, which will offer as much as 75 percent of the five percent down payment required for a condo in Langford, is granted on a sliding scale based on gross annual household income.
Those with incomes less than $99,999 would receive 75 percent, while those between $100,000 and $115,000 would receive 50 percent of the down payment and those with up to $135,000 would receive 25 percent. The goal is to assist as many as 250 families, and City officials hope the program will set the bar for other regions when it comes to providing attainable housing.
Technology and Innovation
Langford is rapidly becoming a hub for tech companies. Most recently, Plexxis Software made a $44 million investment by moving its headquarters from Brampton, Ontario, to Langford, bringing with it 100 new jobs.
Out of all the mainland communities Plexxis could have chosen, Langford was no accident. The company’s CEO Chris Loranger said the move offers his employees a better quality of life than what they experienced in the Greater Toronto Area, and he cited “no commute,” “no mosquitoes,” “a fun place to live” and the ability to “get everywhere in five minutes” as rationale for choosing Langford.
Lifestyle
With more than 2,200 acres of green space and parks to explore, including Goldstream Provincial Park and a variety of regional and City parks, there’s always somewhere new to discover in Langford. Additionally, the City is home to four lakes Langford Lake, Glen Lake, Florence Lake and Lake Ida Anne. A small portion of Thetis Lake Regional Park also falls within its borders and is favourite swimming and hiking spot among the locals. Looking to go for a swim, catch a fish or go for a hike with a view? Langford’s parks and lakes provide a relaxing opportunity to connect with nature.
Ready to shred the bike trails, hike some of the most beautiful trails on the West Coast or relax on a paddleboard between meetings? Langford is definitely the place for you.
Langford is a hub for outdoor recreation enthusiasts, especially mountain bikers and cyclists. The Jordie Lunn Bike Park is Langford’s newest addition to the mountain biking scene and is a one-of-a-kind recreational cycling space that caters to cyclists of all ages and abilities. The City is also home to many dedicated biking and cycling routes that make Langford an increasingly accessible community.
If team sports are more your thing, consider that Langford is the proud home of Rugby Canada. Training year-round on Vancouver Island, Canada’s international teams have achieved unprecedented success in recent years, including a bronze medal for the senior women at the 2016 Rio Olympics and both programs holding fast as defending Pan-Am Games gold medalists.
Langford is also home to Pacific Football Club (Pacific FC), a division of the Canadian Premier League. Named after the Pacific Ocean, Pacific FC is based out of Langford’s newly redesigned Starlight Stadium, which accommodates upwards of 6,000 spectators. On game day, the stadium is alive with energy featuring a unique family fan zone and plaza area surrounded by palm trees, a pond and fountain.
Mayor Young says by making affordable housing a priority and creating recreation opportunities for families, Langford has built a community that companies look for when choosing a location.
“What we’re doing here in Langford is creating a culture where we can get things done,” he said. “We have the ability to attract investment, which is good for our families because living and working in your own community is important.”
Learn more | langford.ca
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