City looks to attract developers to revitalize downtown Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The council is getting creative to attract developers for part of the redevelopment of 100th Street and 100th Avenue. 

In a recent advert submitted to westerninvestor.com, the City of Fort St. John hails the site as the “crown jewel” of its revitalization strategy and says it is “open to any and all proposals.”

Talking about how important it is for the city to revitalise itself to Energeticcity.ca, Ryan Harvey, communications manager at the City of Fort St. John, said: “I think it’s a pretty big goal of council and the staff to ensure that we’re meeting the needs of our community by attracting developers and attracting the right businesses for our community.” 

He added: “The city is excited to see what comes up in the next month and they will then go from there. 

“…We will be looking to see the best use of that piece, and evaluating that way.”

A tax exemption bylaw was passed by the city on July 14th, the city will give potential developers construction-based incentives. 

“For a development with a minimum construction cost of $5 million, the exemption would apply to 100 per cent of the municipal taxes on the land and improvement for five years,” Harvey said. 

In the westerninvestor.com advertising post, Mayor Lilia Hansen is quoted as saying: “When we say we have 300 days of sunshine, it’s true. 

“We have a beautiful landscape and wonderful people. When we have visitors that come up to the Peace Region, they’re amazed at what we have. They say, ‘I wish I knew this sooner. Why didn’t I come earlier?’”

Councillor Trevor Bolin is also featured: “We’re the hub of northern B.C. and those jobs are in the oil and gas sectors and natural resources, but also in hospitality, retail and other essential community services. We need people focused on bettering themselves and living and working in the community.”

The post says the city has been working with Colliers on its downtown redevelopment plan, and claims there is “already interest in the site from regional, provincial and national developers.”

When asked about what these projects would mean for the job market in the city, Harvey told Energeticcity.ca: “Anytime that we get into some big construction projects, there is a lot of potential and it’s great for industries in our community.”

About future plans of redevelopment in other parts of the city, Harvey said: “The city is marketing and actively using various methods to promote development or the sale of city-owned property in the downtown.” 

Other projects include the VRS communities project on the old hospital site, the Fort St. John Association for Community Living project and the BC Builds project.