The ownership group behind a bid to buy the Western Speedway lands from the Wille family has applied to amend the area’s official community plan and rezone the property to allow for residential development and a business park that could house a new film studio.
Bastion Development Corporation and Strand Holdings, the firms behind the bid to buy the land, have made an application that will come to Langford’s planning, zoning and affordable housing committee on Monday.
The application suggests the new owners would build 60 single-family homes on small lots at the southwest end of the 81-acre property, while establishing a business park on the bulk of the remaining land that could house a film studio, hotel and variety of other uses.
The land is currently zoned for commercial/recreational purpose. The developers would see just a small portion rezoned residential, with the rest zoned as a business park.
That would likely mean the residents of the All Fun RV Park will have to move out, which resident Norm McConnell said is a daunting prospect given the high cost of rental accommodation in the city.
McConnell said some currently living at the site may be there by choice and able to leave and find another place to park, but others are likely to struggle to find a reasonable rent in a city where the average rent is $1,275, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing.
He estimates the average RV pays about $750 a month at the park for a pad and many will have trouble finding new places to move to or the extra cash to pay for rent.
McConnell said he and the other 45 or so residents are getting anxious as a result of the uncertainty.
“The new owners have done nothing antagonistic or anything to us at all and I don’t want to paint them in a bad light,” he said. “But at the same time it would be nice just to know as much as we could and get some idea of how long we may be able to stay here.”
According to a Langford staff report, the developers are offering, as part of an amenity package to the city, eight acres that would suit an indoor recreational facility and $277,000 as a standard amenity payment for the housing units. They are also willing to help relocate the Speedway itself.
They have suggested allowing racing to continue until the fall of 2022 and then offering the city $2.5 million to help find a new spot and rebuild the race course.
Duncan Thomson, president of ESAI Corp., which prepared the site for sale on behalf of the Wille family, confirmed a contract of sale is in place, but said he could not elaborate on any detail as the sale has not yet completed.
Bastion Development Corporation and Strand Holdings have yet to respond to requests for comment.
Western Speedway, established in 1954, is Western Canada’s oldest speedway. A B.C. “Stop of Interest” sign was unveiled at the site in 2018. The site also includes a go-kart track, mini golf, batting cages and an RV park.
The track and surrounding land are part of the estate of Vera Wille, who died in 2017.
The land, at 2207 Millstream Rd., had been marketed to large developers interested in creating a master-planned industrial business park on the site, with the possibility of an additional small residential development.
When the property went on the market earlier this year, the City of Langford made it clear that it would prefer to see the racetrack remain at Western Speedway.
The official community plan calls for business and light industrial use on that land.
