PENINSULA Lighthouses get heritage status
Active Pass lighthouse in the Gulf Islands is one of two to earn heritage status, page 3 Black Press C O M M U N I T Y
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Cluster of Concertos
Sidney Classical Orchestra features a variety of soloists on stage Jan. 31, page 14 Watch for breaking news at www.vicnews.com
Friday, January 24, 2014
Steven Heywood/News staff
Victoria Flying Club operations manager Marcel Poland shows off the Go Canada sign they put up to display their support of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia — and to challenge others to show off their spirit. Read more on page 3.
$40 million retail site for North Saanich Former Sandown race track en route to a big makeover in 2015; public meetings begin next month Steven Heywood News staff
Public consultation on a proposed $40 million retail shopping area in North Saanich begins in earnest next month with a series of community meetings. Set to break ground by the fall of this year, Sandown Commons will take shape on a 4.85-hectare property that was once part of a harness racing track and part of a land swap between its owners and the District of North Saanich. Idle for years, the Sandown horse racing track, owned by the Randall Family of Vancouver, will be changed — the 4.85 hectares turned into commercial property and a remaining 33.6 hectares left as agricultural land within the municipality. The process was set in motion Monday as North Saanich council approved a phased development agreement between
them and the property owners. What this does is push the rezoning process forward, following steps that include public consultation, land swaps and reclamation work, leading ultimately to a development permit. Peter Laughlin of Omicron, a development services and construction firm engaged by the Randall Family for Sandown, says they have interest expressed by retail outlets and others for an estimated 80 per cent of the property. He said he was not at liberty to say which businesses have expressed interest. That said, Laughlin noted there are no big box stores planned for Sandown Commons. He said the space is not sufficient for that type of store. Instead, the site will be a mix of retail outlets and professional office space. He added the planned development of the Jesken Town Centre on the
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An artist’s rendering of what Sandown Commons might look like, built at the former side of the North Saanich horse racing track. Tsawout First Nation includes box stores. This, he added, will compliment their own commercial development. Depending on the outcome of the site cleanup, rezoning and permitting process with North Saa-
nich, Laughlin said construction could begin as early as spring, 2015. He added the actual groundbreaking would take place when the grounds are cleaned up this fall. That cleanup, says Mayor Alice
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Finall, will see the removal of the grandstand, stables and variety of outbuildings. The land, too, will be cleaned up with all of the remediation — work valued at an estimated $750,000 — paid for by the owners. Finall said greenery will be added to create a buffer between the commercial area and the agricultural land. To make the deal work, North Saanich had to swap 12 acres of agricultural land of its own for the commercial property being removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve. Finall said that parcel will be taken from behind the municipal hall and next to the mountain biking track. “This has always been a good deal (for the municipality),” Finall said, “and it has only become a better deal for the community.” PleaSe See: Sandown change, page 2
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