Delta council last week approved a zoning bylaw amendment which would allow for the continuation of an existing lumber storage operation as a permitted use at a Nordel industrial site, as well as a broader range of industrial uses to enable future redevelopment.
Located at 8099 Nordel Way, the 1.88-hectare (4.4 acre) property along the Highway 91 Connector, near the Alex Fraser Bridge, was previously used as a highway maintenance yard operated by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
The property was sold by the province in 2021, with an asking price of more than $12 million.
No new development is proposed at this time.
Meanwhile, a new Metro Vancouver staff report to the Regional Planning Committee on the region’s latest Economic Impact of Industrial Lands Study notes how the study reiterates to member jurisdictions, as well as stakeholders, that industrial lands are the foundation for a significant amount of the region’s total economic activity, with a disproportionately large amount of employment and wages above the regional average.
The study will also help guide the ongoing implementation of the Regional Industrial Lands Strategy.
The study found that industrial lands continue to represent just four per cent of the Metro Vancouver land base but 22 per cent of the region’s jobs, while total industrial activity accounts for 31 per cent of the jobs in the region and pays 14 per cent higher on average.
The study also notes that industrial lands account for 30 per cent ($43 billion) of the region’s overall GDP, and contribute $8 billion annually in government tax revenues.
However, the region has a limited supply of industrial lands and a strong demand for industrial space, which has resulted in extremely low vacancy rates, with high rents and land prices.
The study notes that there is a sizeable amount of non-industrial activities taking place on industrial lands and that the potential effects of an insufficient supply of industrial land on the regional economy, while difficult to precisely ascertain, would vary by sector and likely be negative for the region as a whole.
According to another study, from January 2019 to June 2023, an estimated 5.1 million square feet of space was taken up by firms in Calgary rather than Metro Vancouver. The economic impact of the lost opportunities to Calgary is estimated to be over 6,300 direct jobs.
