Imperial Landing at Steveston
Location: Village of Steveston , Richmond , B.C. along the South Arm of the Fraser River
Client: BC Packers Ltd. (Weston Foods Inc.) IMPERIAL LANDING
at Steveston
Scope: 41 acres
- Fraser River front site
- 750 new homes
- 70,000 sf of commercial space
- library site
- 7 acre, 1 km long public riverfront park
Objective: Formulate and implement a business plan based on the best strategy to enhance and capture the optimal value of the surplus land asset. Work with the community to create a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the former fish landing and processing facility site. Then determine all site preparation requirements, design required infrastructure, secure land use and all other approvals, and market the entire project as a complete package.
Before
Role: As a senior land development consultant with Moodie Consultants Ltd., and then under Zuliani & Company Consultants Ltd., Steve Zuliani served as project manager of 15 specialty consultant firms during all phases over a 5 year work program.
Responsibilities included managing and coordinating project team and day to day activities to plan and complete:
- Business Plan – Due diligence on site potential, requirements, scheduling, risks and forecasted financial outcomes
- Land Use Planning – Extensive community consultation, design and technical analysis to generate master land use plan to amend Official Land Use Plan
- Land Use Approvals – Preparation of comprehensive zoning regulations and design guidelines
- Conceptual & Detailed Design of all infrastructure, shoreline/flood protection, public park areas
- Negotiations with City, Provincial and Federal authorities for all technical and regulatory approvals
- Comprehensive public relations strategy to protect project gains from minority position political interference and special interest groups
- Marketing – Packaging, marketing and selling the project (land, designs, approvals) as an unique development opportunity, creating a competitive marketing process amongst leading building developers
- Financial forecasting, budget management and reporting
Result: Imperial Landing at Steveston is one of the last significant waterfront sites in the Vancouver area available for development. The south facing waterfront site at the mouth of the Fraser River , in the heart of the picturesque Village of Steveston , is considered to be key in the community’s future.
The redevelopment of the site had been awaited by many residents and interest groups which therefore required a carefully managed public consultation program which involved many committees and more than 130 meetings in the community. It was anticipated that the community lead process would take time and the resulting plan was broadly supported by the community and nearly all special interest groups.
The mixed use plan includes single family, townhome and low rise apartment sites located near the riverfront or within neighbourhood groupings. The jewel of the plan is a heritage themed waterfront park that links an existing trail system on the east to the village centre on the west.
The development plan provides a wide mix of housing types to accommodate a variety of households and to maximize market absorption. The site enjoys a small fishing village character as fishing boats pass the site and will be able to moor off shore. Many residential homes will have unobstructed views into Georgia Strait and of the Gulf Islands .
A variety of fishing industry artifacts from the site are part of an award winning comprehensive heritage plan that will provide the project a unique character for both residents and visitors. The park includes boardwalks, four piers, a bridge over a former moorage pond and an open frame structure built from the remains of the 100 year old Imperial Cannery.
The development plan protects and improves the natural environment by sheltering and enhancing intertidal marsh areas. Interpretive information panels will help inform passersby of the ecological function of the foreshore habitat.
The Imperial Landing at Steveston is now under development after successfully securing all land use and other approvals and transferring ownership to a local building developer following the marketing program that resulted in a sale value to the property owner greater than forecasted.
