Another Downtown Area Business to Relocate

Friday, May 18, 2007 03:55 AM

BCAA plans to leave location at 5th and Victoria

Another business has decided to leave the downtown area and relocate at the new, "River Point Shopping Centre".

The Manager of the BCAA office in Prince George, Kelly Noonan, has confirmed, that office will leave it’s current location at Victoria and 5th Avenue and relocate to the Highway 16 West - Ferry Avenue shopping centre that is now under construction.

Earlier this week, it was learned Integris Credit Union had decided to leave its location at Parkwood and relocate at River Point, if it can get the permission to have a larger than currently allowed facility. In the Credit Union’s case, the Parkwood location is just 7 blocks from the Towne Centre branch which is the head office in Prince George. Integris says the move will better distibute its Branches throughout the City.

In BCAA’s case the issue is, again, increased space. Noonan says it will also provide customers with better access. BCAA hopes to be in its new location this fall.

So far, River Point will offer The Brick, East Side Marios, Integris Credit Union, BCAA, RONA and has an application in for a rezoning to allow the Liquor Depot to build on site.

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Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 03:55 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: southfortguy on May 18 2007 7:28 AM

Finally a new restaurant chain....

Posted by: lmorg on May 18 2007 7:40 AM

Is the city going to buy this one now for 200,000?

Posted by: owl on May 18 2007 9:57 AM

Downtown is getting far too congested for offices such as the BCAA. Such businesses must move to new suburban retail/office locations so that the downtown becomes less congested.

The downtown needs to be less congested if it is ever to compete with shopping centres.

If we are ever going to see as many cars parked around Northern Hardware as we see around WalMart, we have to raze a block next to it to build a proper parking lot.

We'll make a suburban shopping centre out of the downtown yet.

;-)

Posted by: Parrothead on May 18 2007 10:57 AM

It's a good move - getting to the BCAA office is a pain in the behind right now. Eastside Marios - too bad it couldn't be a better chain than that, like Montanas or something

Posted by: trueblue2 on May 18 2007 2:49 PM

I think it stinks...two downtown businesses (that is if you see Parkwood as a downtown business) have both announced in a matter of days they will be leaving their locations in favour of the new mall on Highway 16.

Top that off with the Brick leaving for that same mall in the next couple of months and there is even more empty space downtown.

Aren't we paying people at City Hall and Initiatives Prince George to attract and retain downtown businesses???

Posted by: owl on May 18 2007 10:31 PM

The reason why there is no business replacement downtown is because the market in the city is not increasing. Retail is moving to locations which are car friendly. Figure out how to make the downtown both car and people friendly and we might have a chance.

In the meantime, the more space is made available in the suburbs without making the downtown more user friendly, the worse it will get.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on May 19 2007 7:45 PM

Maybe any business moving out of downtown should have to go to council, like liquor store relocation's?

Councilor Moose could get all confused and vote against it because he doesn't fully understand what's going on. Some councilors just don't understand why businesses don't just go broke rather than relocate. After all the city still gets the taxes even if the place has gone bust, so businesses should not be allowed to relocate if a "councilor" doesn't like it.

Posted by: trueblue2 on May 19 2007 9:03 PM

Geez..i wish some of the people here would speak clear Engish. Sorry Yamma but I have no idea what you are taking about. Please ecplain....

Posted by: owl on May 20 2007 2:10 AM

"Integris Credit Union had decided to leave its location at Parkwood and relocate at River Point, if it can get the permission to have a larger than currently allowed facility"

The zoning bylaw at the moment restricts the size of certain service businesses located in suburban areas. The intent is to keep head offices or local main offices downtown.

However, the BMO was allowed to build its PG flagship outside downtown, so others are trying to do that as well. In many communitees that is allowed. So, it will be interesting whether the City will make one more exception. I think if they do so, they should scrap that part of the bylaws and allow any size commercial to build anywhere.

Parkhill is the best example of a shopping centre which was not to be a shopping centre.

Posted by: Foo738 on May 20 2007 7:05 AM

The policies of this Council is lacking in social planning.
They are very good at creating slums, i.e. CN intrusion, loss of riverfronts. First Avenue to the river is plain ugly, noisy and dirty and that doesn't help downtown.

Posted by: Palopu on May 20 2007 10:05 PM

Dont forget the upside. The City can take the Building Permits for the Brick, BCAA, and Intregis, and add them into the mix and say we have ex number of millions in new building permits, while ignoring the fact that what we have in effect is Companies transferring from one part of the City to another. While the building permit number looks good, in actual fact for the 3 companies involved there will be no new business. This type of thing has been going on in Prince George for years and gives the illusion of growth.