Mayor Paul Horn has no doubts anymore of whether Mission’s plans to develop its waterfront will come to fruition.
Speaking at the Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas lunch on Dec. 9, Horn outlined the city’s greatest hits over the last year, and the development and planning projects for the future.
“There’s no question that the waterfront will happen. It’s not a dream. It’s not a wish or an aspiration,” Horn said. “It’s been proven out, and it will happen.”
The city has been working on a development masterplan for the area, which will be completed in June, 2022.
Horn said the community engagement has created some key themes for council: creating a robust connection to the downtown core; creating a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses with accessible green space; and enhancing the raceway to attract businesses and enterprises that can work alongside it.
But the waterfront is just one aspect of a city experiencing a development boon.
Horn alluded to figures suggesting the Abbotsford-Mission area is expected to grow by 20 per cent in the next 10 years, and that new construction spending has increased by over 400 per cent in the last four years (and more than doubled last year).
Four year ago it was at $50 million, last year it was at $96 million, and by the end of 2021 it is expected to be at $210 million, according to Horn.
“For those folks who say Mission shouldn’t grow. They’re missing it, Mission is going to grow. It’s growing right now,” he said.
“Other than the UBC endowment lands, there’s no place in Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley that will grow faster.”
He said the value of the average home in Mission increased 40 per cent in a year, and provided an anecdote from a local realtor, who said almost half the people who showed up to his open house were investors.
The city has redesigned its building application process, and hired three new employees to their planning department in mid-budget cycle to help them catch up on their building permits, Horn said.
A developers forum is planned for next year.
It’s important to council that they scale their resources alongside the development, otherwise “conflicts will ensue and opportunities will be lost,” Horn said.
He noted this involves long-term planning and a commitment to reviewing and revising their work, rather than just “willy nilly development.”
The city is working on transportation and utility master plans, and numerous development-area plans for neighbourhoods like Silverdale and Parr Avenue, Horn said.
He said that infrastructure upgrades need to be in place to ensure the community remains economically viable.
RELATED: Building Mission’s waterfront ‘financially viable’ for developers, planners say
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