FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC
Mill Bay Town Centre Site – 11.7 Acres
Opportunity: To acquire an outstanding retail/mixed-use
development site and develop the leading
community shopping center for the fast
growing South Cowichan Valley along with a
seniors housing component.
Location: West side of Island Highway (#1) and south
side of Shawnigan Mill Bay Road adjacent to
key intersection in Mill Bay, BC.
Description: A high exposure retail site providing more
than 350 feet of frontage along the Island
Highway and 1,350 feet along Shawnigan
Mill Bay Road, part of the 150 acre
“Stonebridge” mixed use development.
Asking Price: $4,500,000 ($8.82 per square foot)
For information, please call:
Randy Holt, Vice President
Cell: (250) 888-1621
Dave Bornhold, Partner
Cell: (250) 686-2988
DTZ Victoria Real Estate Ltd.
888 View Street
Victoria, BC V8W 1K2
Tel: (250) 382-3400
Fax: (250) 382-1333
Subject
Subject
Stonebridge Site
Shawnigan Lake
Mill Bay
Cobble Hill
www.dtzvictoria.com
Overview:
DTZ Victoria Real Estate Ltd. is pleased to present
the offering for sale of the 11.7 acre (+/-) retail
development site at 850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road
in Mill Bay, BC. The subject fronts on the west side
of the Island Highway (Trans Canada Highway #1)
and south side of Shawnigan Mill Bay Road. It is
part of the high profile 150 acre “Stonebridge”
comprehensive mixed use development that will
include single and multi-family housing and retail
components. Servicing and construction of the
project’s first housing phases are expected to
begin in 2016.
At this key intersection in the heart of Mill Bay, the
subject affords a rare opportunity to acquire a
zoned “town center” site with outstanding
amenities in an area of significant growth. The site
is ideal for the development of a grocery anchored
community shopping center that will attract the
area’s leading tenants to serve residents of the
entire South Cowichan Valley and their visitors. It
is also ideal for a seniors housing project in an
area that is inadequately served in that regard.
Vancouver Island:2
Vancouver Island stretches more than 300 miles
from the southeast tip to the furthest point
northwest along BC’s west coast. It offers
breathtaking scenery along its extensive coastline,
mountain ranges, lakes, inlets and forests and
provides a wide range of recreational amenities.
Tel. 250 382 3400 -2- www.dtzvictoria.com
As the first choice to live for Canada’s aging
population, who are attracted to the Island’s
favorable climate and engaging ambiance, the
more populated southern half of the Island has
grown steadily, bringing the total population to
760,000 in 2014 (per BC Stats). At anticipated
growth rates, the Island population is projected to
reach 800,000 within the next 10 years.
The Island economy is both diverse and stable and
has outperformed most other jurisdictions through
the recent global economic turmoil. The traditional
resource mainstays of forestry, fishing and
agriculture still have a significant presence, and
the Island is renowned internationally as a premier
vacation destination. There is also a substantial
public sector presence, with the BC government’s
home in Victoria, Department of National Defence
bases in Victoria and Comox, and numerous
municipal and regional governing bodies.
One of the biggest engines of growth has become
the Island’s advanced technology sector, which is
flourishing and has far surpassed tourism in its
overall economic impact while fostering innovation
and a young talent pool. That industry is well
supported by the Island’s four universities, with a
combined enrollment in excess of 50,000 students.
The Island also enjoys excellent health care
services and facilities and a strong diversified
service sector.
FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC
Subject
Tel. 250 382 3400 -3- www.dtzvictoria.com
The South Cowichan Valley:
As part of the Cowichan Valley Regional District
(“CVRD”), the South Cowichan Valley comprises
the Mill Bay, Malahat, Shawnigan Lake and
Cobble Hill communities in Electoral Areas A, B
and C. These three areas contain a total of
95,000 acres, spanning a stretch of roughly 25
kilometers along the Island Highway and
encompassing much of the settled area along the
Island’s east coast between Victoria and Duncan.
Their cumulative population was estimated to be
19,600 residents in 2015 and is projected to
reach 21,500 by 2020.
The pristine shoreline, lakes and rolling terrain of
the South Cowichan Valley offer picturesque
natural features and many diverse recreational
amenities. They make the area a highly desirable
living environment for anyone who appreciates
the rural ambiance and lifestyle offered so close
to a larger urban centre like Victoria.
The area’s evolution is historically rooted in
forestry but has been more heavily influenced
over the past two decades by the growth and
economic factors at play in the Greater Victoria
area. With the rapid rise of Victoria housing
prices and the region’s limited options for meeting
the demand for affordable housing, the South
Cowichan Valley has become an increasingly
popular suburban choice for young families and
retirees alike. The area’s development in part as
a bedroom community for Victoria and Duncan
has also been assisted by ongoing upgrades to
the Island Highway that have made the daily
commute much more manageable.
The employment base within the area has
evolved towards tourism, agriculture (notably
wineries and organic farming) and service
industries. Internationally renowned private
schools, Brentwood College and Shawnigan Lake
School, operate in Mill Bay and Shawnigan
respectively. The primary retail centres for the
region include the 88,000 square foot Mill Bay
Centre just south of the subject, and the 90,000
square foot Valleyview Centre in Cobble Hill.
FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC
The Stonebridge Development:
The “Stonebridge” lands comprise a total of 150
acres that are located on the west side of the
Island Highway between Deloume Road and
Shawnigan Mill Bay Road. The development of the
Stonebridge lands (so named for the handcrafted
stone pedestrian bridge built across Shawnigan
Creek by the late patriarch owner Grant Garnett)
has been anticipated for many years. With its
central location in the South Cowichan Valley, it is
now well recognized as a key strategic site
presenting the best opportunity to create a multi-
faceted community core.
The lands had long been owned by the Garnett
family until 138 acres were sold in early 2014 to
one of the most experienced residential developers
on the Island, the Limona Group. Limona has been
working diligently since 2008 to create a
comprehensive plan with the various amenities that
Tel. 250 382 3400 -4- www.dtzvictoria.com
best fit the community’s objectives. An extensive
public consultation and approval process was
undertaken by Limona and, following the
guidelines set out for the Stonebridge lands in the
revised Official Community Plan that was adopted
in mid-2011, the rezoning of most of the
Stonebridge lands was completed in the fall of
2013 (as per the zoning map below).
The plan envisions a mixed use development that
features approximately 325 residential units in the
southwest quadrant, multi-family (townhouses and
condominiums) or mixed-use mostly in the
southeast quadrant, the subject retail site in the
northeast, a seniors housing development on the
west side of the subject site and a new RCMP
detachment (now under construction). Extensive
creekside riparian zones promise abundant public
greenspace, including linear trails and pathways.
Stonebridge
Lands
FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC
The Stonebridge Retail/Seniors Site:
The Stonebridge site is located at arguably the
South Cowichan Valley’s most important
intersection of Shawnigan Mill Bay Road (the
primary connector to Shawnigan Lake) and the
Island Highway (Trans Canada Highway #1). It
offers tremendous exposure with more than 350
feet of frontage along the Highway and 1,350 feet
along Shawnigan Mill Bay Road. The intersection
is signalized with dedicated left turn lanes on the
Island Highway and advanced turn signals.
Primary access to the subject is direct from
Shawnigan Mill Bay Road and can also be
obtained from Barry Road on the west side upon
completion of construction of that road frontage.
The site has no significant challenges in terms of
topography, as it is gently sloping down from
Shawnigan Mill Bay Road to the top of the bank on
Tel. 250 382 3400 -5- www.dtzvictoria.com
the north side of Shawnigan Creek (i.e. edge of the
riparian zone). The only exception is a treed knoll
in the northwest portion of the site that will have to
be leveled as part of the site preparation work.
The site is served by hydro, cable, natural gas and
a community water system operated by the Mill
Bay Waterworks District, though significant
upgrading of the water service will be required to
facilitate the scale of development permitted under
the zoning bylaw. A new sanitary sewer system is
also needed to accommodate the development of
the subject and surrounding lands, the plans and
approval for which are well advanced.
Some improvements to the Island Highway,
Shawnigan Mill Bay Road and Barry Road are
anticipated to be necessary in connection with the
development of the subject.
Frances Kelsey
Secondary School
Kerry Park
Recreation Center
Stonebridge
Retail/Seniors
Site
Mill Bay Centre
Brentwood College
Bayview Centre
Sunset Maples
Townhouses
FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC
New RCMP Detachment
(under construction)
Existing Improvements:
The existing improvements on the site include an
approximately 40,000 square foot retail and office
complex known as “Pioneer Square”, which was
originally constructed in the 1970s and expanded
in 1987. While the building is now substantially
rented on a month-to-month basis to a mix of local
retailers and service providers to provide modest
holding income, the structure is acknowledged to
be functionally obsolete and will ultimately give
way to the new development.
There are also two rental houses on the subject
lands with month-to-month tenants in place.
Environmental:
A Phase 2 environmental assessment has
identified that the primary area of concern relates
to residual hydrocarbon contamination along the
east boundary adjacent to the Island Highway,
stemming from the site’s former gas bar facility
(closed in 1990). Further details are available
upon request.
Surrounding Uses:
On the north side of Shawnigan Mill Bay Road
across from the subject are Frances Kelsey
Secondary School, a BC Ambulance Service
station and the Kerry Park Recreation Centre.
Immediately on the south side of Shawnigan Creek
is the Lions Cove seniors condominium project. A
new RCMP detachment is under construction on
the west side of Barry Road.
The nearest commercial retail facilities are located
at the intersection of Deloume Road and the Island
Highway and have no room for expansion. The
“Mill Bay Centre” is an older 88,000 square foot
multi-building center on the east side of the
Highway. It is anchored by Thrifty Foods and
includes a BC Liquor Store, Royal Bank, Island
Savings Credit Union, Pharmasave and Subway
outlet. On the west side of the Highway is the
Bayview Centre in which McDonald’s, Tim
Horton’s, Coast Capital Savings and People’s
Pharmacy are the primary tenants. A Shell gas bar
and A&W restaurant are also in place on that side.
Tel. 250 382 3400 -6- www.dtzvictoria.com
Zoning:
There are currently two zones applicable to the
subject.
The east half and southerly portions, comprising
almost 6.5 acres, are zoned C-5 Village
Commercial in which the permitted uses include
shopping centre, grocery store, retail stores,
restaurants, office, personal service uses,
automotive parts and accessory sales, market,
bowling alleys, childcare/daycare and hardware
and camping supply sales.
The northeast portion (5.46 acres) is currently
zoned CD-6 Village Comprehensive
Development 6 – Congregate Care, which allows
for personal care and seniors congregate housing
and accessory uses including retail commercial,
office, personal services and restaurant.
FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC
Tel. 250 382 3400 -7- www.dtzvictoria.com
Stonebridge
Retail/Seniors Site
Stonebridge
Retail/Seniors
Site
FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC
www.dtzvictoria.com
Legal Description:
P.I.D. 010-208-089
Parcel C (DD 91923I) of Section 3, Range 8,
Shawnigan District, Except That Part in Plan 34171
P.I.D. 000-278-131
Lot B, Section 3, Range 8, Shawnigan District, Plan
34171, Except Part in Plan VIP51810
P.I.D. 025-942-310
Lot 1, Section 3, Range 8, Shawnigan District, Plan
VIP77020
Asking Price: $4,500,000.00 ($8.82 per square foot)
Information contained herein has been obtained from the owners or sources deemed reliable by DTZ Victoria Real Estate Ltd. Whilewe have no reason to doubt its accuracy, we regret we cannot guarantee such information. All measurements and other informationherein should be independently verified by the reader or prospective user and are subject to the user’s own inspection of the
premises and due diligence work and to the user’s satisfaction with the results of such review.
For more information, please contact:
DTZ Victoria Real Estate Ltd.
Randy Holt, Vice President / Partner
Dave Bornhold, Partner
Office: 250 382-3400
Cell: 250 888-1621
Cell: 250-686-2988
N
FOR SALE Retail/Seniors Development Site
850 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay BC