Let’s go back to the August 1968 pages of the Delta Optimist when the possibility of a new shopping centre being built in Tsawwassen created plenty of buzz in the community.
George Hodgins Realty Ltd. submitted to the city a plan for a $10-million shopping complex on 13 acres immediately north of the Tsawwassen Safeway store.
It was reported that the proposed shopping centre contained parking for 706 vehicles as well as four high-rise apartment complexes, each containing approximately 100 units.
The centre would also include a bowling alley and a theatre.
The project was to be “architecturally designed with great emphases being given to landscaping.”
“Most of the stores shown in the accompanying plan have been spoken for, officials say, and numerous nationally-known tenants will locate at the centre,” the article stated.
Fast forward to this year and an application has yet to be submitted to the city for the eventual redevelopment of the Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall.
Three years ago, Century Group president Sean Hodgins held an open house to unveil a proposed master plan for the site, showing a concept aimed at transforming the complex into a mixed-use urban village.
That plan, which has not had any further public engagement to date, included 700 condo units in eight low-to medium-rise buildings, as well as a new library at the heart of the development. The library would be given to the city, which currently does not own the Tsawwassen Library building.
The concept also had 120,000 square feet of ground-level retail.
