A plan to develop a 10-acre parcel of Victoria Airport Authority property has taken a step forward now that is has been excluded from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
It doesn’t mean the proposed $35-million Gateway commercial project on the corner of Beacon Avenue and the Patricia Bay Highway has the green light.
Developer Omicron’s plan must still go before Sidney council, which will consider the project that requires a rezoning and an amendment of the official community plan.
“We will start refining the plans and preparations for the communication process with the elected officials and the community,” said Peter Laughlin, Omicron spokesman.
At least two open houses are being planned, he said.
Omicron hopes to lease the site for 62 years. The land is owned by the federal government and leased to the airport authority.
Federal rules limit any buildings to one storey, Laughlin said. The overall plan calls for 10 buildings.
A 30,000- to 50,000-square-foot grocery store would be the anchor tenant. There would also be a “significant” medical and professional component. A major appliance and electronics store is also expected to move in. No names are being revealed.
Laughlin expects Gateway would complement locally owned stores in Sidney.
“The focal point of the project is actually to bring the sales back to Sidney that currently go to downtown Victoria [and] Colwood/Langford,” he said. “It would increase retail sales for everybody concerned.”
If all goes smoothly, construction will start late this year and Gateway’s preliminary opening would take place in fall to winter 2017, Laughlin said.
Victoria Airport Authority and Omicron officials plan to meet with Sidney staff next week to discuss the next steps, including dates to make a presentation to council members, said James Bogusz, Airport vice-president of operations and development.
Sidney Mayor Steve Price said Tuesday “the whole community of Sidney is looking forward to actually seeing an application put forward so they can get some detailed information on this. Because so far, we really haven’t had a lot of detail.”
