City to Pay to Have Neighbourhood Plan Developed for Old Golf Course

By 250 News

Area bound in red will be part of a new neighbourhood plan

The City of Prince George is going to hire a consultant to develop a neighbourhood plan for the lands which are currently home to the Prince George Golf and Curling Club, the P.G. Playhouse, the Pine Valley Golf Course, the Pine Centre Mall, and the Anthem Properties.

All of the stakeholders will be   consulted as the consultant develops a plan for the more than 200 acres of land. Mayor Colin Kinsley says there have been two developers interested in the property but their vision didn’t match the vision of the City Planners.  In the case of BFW, the most recent proponent, that plan would have a “business park” developed in the area, and that, says Mayor Colin Kinsley, is not what the City has in mind for that area of the City, “There wasn’t a meeting of the minds on the best appropriate uses for that, so Council then said, before we can support a plan, we need to know what the whole thing is going to look like.”

Golf Course President Kevin Bowman  says he hopes  that with a  development plan in place,   it will be easier to sell the property, “This is a process  that needed to happen, it needs to happen regardless,  the reality  is it should have happened a long time ago, there were previous  potential buyers that should have gotten on to doing this, even  BFW admitted, had they known what they know now,  they  could have started this process a long time ago.”

It will take at least 6 months for this plan to be developed and Bowman isn’t too happy about that.  “The time line is less than ideal, we all know that’s going to be 8 or 9 and it really throws a wrench into our timeline.”  The Golf Club has already lost a year of construction time because of the legal wrangling with the Pomeroy Group, and this plan could cost another year. Bowman says the Club will work towards keeping their time lines and to making sure the Neighbourhood plan process doesn’t get bogged down.

Bowman is realistic, he knows, time is an important factor if the Club is to get the best bang for its buck on the sale of the old golf course. “We wanted to capitalize on the market a year, or even two years ago because it was strong.  I believe the economy overall is going to remain strong, but it (timing) is certainly creating more challenges to moving the property for sure.”

In the meantime, the Prince George Golf and Curling Club needs $11-$15 million dollars to develop the new site off Foothills Boulevard and north of North Nechako Road.  If the old property doesn’t sell, Bowman says the Club will NOT be borrowing the money “The reality is, the Club is not in the position to borrow the money.  We need to have some certainty from the City on what they will or won’t allow on that property and therefore we can go to a potential buyer and make a deal that will allow them to advance funds on the sale.”

It is likely the Pine Valley Golf Course could be “changed”.  The City promises that if any recreational facility has to be changed, the replacement will be better.  Mayor Kinsley says there is still a strong desire to have an 18 hole par three golf course in that area.

The cost of hiring a consultant to produce a neighbourhood plan is in the $60 – $80 thousand dollar range, money the City Manager says is covered in the Administrative Operations budget.

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