Nanaimo-Info-blog: City Purchases Part Of Wellcox Rail Yard

Note: Map shows the entire Wellcox Rail Yard comprised of 53 acres, 7 Port Drive and 1161 Milton Street. Click here for more information about this property.

City purchases property to encourage redevelopment of the downtown waterfront
(NANAIMO, December 13, 2012) – In a forward looking move that will enable future development along Nanaimo’s downtown waterfront, the City of Nanaimo has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to buy roughly half of Canadian Pacific’s (CP) Wellcox Rail Yard property at 7 Port Drive.
The purchase of this property supports a number of goals outlined in the City’s Strategic Plan, including:

•  Securing land that can facilitate the creation of a future transit node
• Securing waterfront property to expand the City’s walking trail network  (the City’s 2013 Budget has allocated funding to conduct a master plan for the waterfront lands, including the CP Wellcox Rail Yard)
• Taking responsibility of development in a key area of the City

“The City is continually looking for ways to improve the livability, accessibility and beauty of our downtown core”, said City Manager, Al Kenning.  “This agreement gives the City a long-term hold on an important piece of property.  The public interests of Nanaimo residents who wish to see this property developed and aligned with the community’s downtown vision are now secured.”
A joint interest between the City and the RDN involves reserving a portion of the new land for a future multi-modal transit exchange to effectively serve the downtown, nearby islands and region as a whole.  With an agreed purchase price of $3.4 million to CP, the City would sell a section of the land to RDN for the purpose of building the desired bus terminal.
“The RDN is pleased to be working closely with the City on this important project,” said RDN Chairperson Joe Stanhope.  “This central site is an excellent location for a transit exchange and it will contribute to the efficient operation of the overall regional transit system.”
The property is comprised of 10.8 ha (26.7 acres) of land and water, with the majority being used by SeaSpan (intermodal shipping) and Island Corridor Foundation (freight and passenger rail), both of whom hold land tenure and perpetual rights of way.  Other tenants on the property include GADD Marine and Island Pallet Solutions.  The City will consequently be arranging discussions with these organizations to determine encumbrances on title to ensure the property can be developed in the future.Additionally, as part of the City’s due diligence, an environmental review is being conducted to determine the level of risk associated with buying an active industrial site. Assuming the City is content with the findings of the review, the property will transfer to the City on March 31, 2013.

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