A public information meeting will be held tonight for South Deltans to learn more about the proposed mall developments at the Tsawwassen First Nation.
The meeting at the TFN Recreation Centre (1929 Tsawwassen Dr.) will take place from 7 to 9 p.m.
On Jan. 16, another meeting at the recreation centre will be held for TFN members only. The First Nation members are to vote on the proposed mall developments Jan. 18.
The TFN announced last spring it had entered into a memorandum of agreement to build 1.8 million square feet of shopping and office space off Highway 17 at 52nd Street. Deals were reached with Ivanhoe Cambridge and the Property Development Group to develop the site.
What members will vote on is the development of up to 180 acres with leases running for 99 years.
Ivanhoe Cambridge's project would comprise 1.2 million square feet as a destination retail and entertainment centre. Named Tsawwassen Mills, it would follow the model of CrossIron Mills, north of Calgary, which opened in 2010, and Vaughan Mills, north of Toronto, which opened in 2004.
CrossIron Mills has over 200 stores, including Winners, H&M and Sport Chek, as well as movie theatres and restaurants. Vaughan Mills is similar with many of the same stores and eateries.
Property Development Group is proposing to develop an outdoor retail space and mixed use. The company has been involved in a number of mall developments in Canada, the U.S. and overseas. Some of its projects in the Lower Mainland include City Square in Vancouver, Eaton Centre at Metrotown and Station Square in Burnaby.
TFN Chief Kim Baird, who was interviewed on the Bill Good Show on CKNW Monday morning, said the anchor stores for the mall developments are still being worked out.
Baird said there have been mixed reviews about the proposal. Many are keen for the addition while others have concerns about the change to the region, she said.
When asked about the customer base the malls would attract, she noted CrossIron Mills is in a more remote location than Tsawwassen, yet that mall has been highly successful.
"We expect we would draw a lot of traffic from the Lower Mainland, (and) ferry traffic, but it would also be destination shopping as well. Many would go out of their way to experience shopping at this project," Baird explained.
The chief noted the feasibility of the projects has been "studied quite intensely" by the developers before an agreement was signed with her First Nation. She also said retailers should be able to compete with the new malls.
Noting the land was previously used as farmland but removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve as part of the treaty settlement, Baird said the project could be built by 2015.
She added the TFN would work with neighbouring Delta to minimize impacts.
Also interviewed on CKNW was Delta Coun. Ian Paton, who said as a farmer he's opposed to the loss of so much prime agricultural land.
He also noted more than 1,700 acres of farmland will be lost in South Delta to not only the malls, but also container storage and industrial development, as well as a major housing project at the TFN.
"I find it interesting that the term for Tsawwassen, the aboriginal term, is land facing the sea. Well, I think by the time they're finished there nobody's going to be getting a chance to look at the sea from Highway 17 because you'll be looking at the side of big box stores and container storage."
Asked about the TFN's right to develop its land, Paton said he blames the federal and provincial government for giving up too much prime farmland to get a treaty signed.
