Development of Maple Ridge industrial lands could cost between $4 to $14 million per acre, study finds

With industrial and job growth lagging in Maple Ridge, city council is looking at how it can make better use of the city’s underutilized industrial land.

Council received a report with short and long term scenarios about how to best utilize the 355 hectares (with about 119 hectares usable for potential development) of the city’s industrial lands — and the challenges in getting there. Staff said this is a technical study, not a strategy, based on the observation that some of the lands are under utilized.

Located between 232 and 261 streets south of Lougheed Highway, the lands are occupied by a range of businesses including a lumber mill, a towing company, auto wrecker, a business that specializes in plastic injection molding, and a welding company, as well as warehouses, residential housing, an RV park, a forested land, a gravel pit, and several vacant lots.

“How can we make best use of the limited industrial lands, both in the region, as well as in the city?” said Eric Aderneck, the industrial lands program manager for the city.

Over the past decade, the amount of industrial built space in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows has shot up 86 percent. Over that same period, vacancy rates have dipped from six to two percent while rental rates have more than tripled.

“So, if there’s a use there that’s not at its full potential, we’re not scaring away that business, they’re going to stay there as long as they wish, the same as the owner. But if it’s time to redevelop or change or change tenant, they say, ‘Okay, well, what is a higher density or higher activity industrial use for these lands?’”

He added that the report is about industrial uses, not about introducing other types of land uses for the area.

The preliminary findings were that the costs would be around $4 to $14 million per acre, but Aderneck said there are some “dry industrial uses” that wouldn’t need as much infrastructure. When Coun. Ahmed Yousef (now on leave) asked what these were, he said things like storage, parking, and loading — just not manufacturing or industries that use lots of water or generate lots of sewage. 

Some of the major constraints to site development includes the land located within a 200-year flood plain, on sloped sites, in riparian areas, or with poor soil conditions. The staff reported noted potential soil contamination caused by past and present industry in the Albion Industrial Lands.

And while it is close to Lougheed Highway, the access points to the lands are inconvenient due to right-in/right-out limitations, rail crossings, and narrow roads. There are also limited transit service to some parts, making it difficult for businesses to get labour.

Another challenge is the absence of infrastructure like sanitary sewers and water mains.

Coun. Judy Dueck said that these challenges have been brought up over the years, but said that she “appreciate[s] that we need to look at as many opportunities for the industrial, commercial sector, to offset the residential tax base for future generations.”

Some of the study recommendations are to account for these challenges, like the city engaging with CPKC rail to discuss crossing improvements, establish the flood construction level for sites in the flood plain, and to consider marketing the sites while ensuring that land use designations, zoning and servicing is in place to quickly review and permit industrial uses.

Coun. Janny Tan asked how the city can support Kwantlen First Nation in bringing these lands to market. Staff replied that exposing challenges (like infrastructure and local servicing) is helpful so that any developer or investor has an understanding of the challenges and opportunities.

This study was funded by Metro Vancouver and the City of Maple Ridge, with Kwantlen First Nation participating.