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Teens train at RCMP Youth Academy ... Pages 24-25
UNBC explores selling off parts of its property University wants to see 4,000 people living in a new neighbourhood near hilltop campus COLIN SLARK Citizen Staff
The University of Northern British Columbia wants to turn its endowment lands into a 4,000-person neighbourhood and is seeking the City of Prince George to help it lobby the province to make it a reality. First on the agenda on the Monday, March 23 city council meeting was a presentation from UNBC interim president Bill Owen and manager of business development Claudia Barreira. When the university was created in the 1990s, it was bestowed 47 acres of land on Cranbrook Hill to accommodate its future needs and growth. Owen and Barreira told council that
UNMBC HANDOUT IMAGE
The University of Northern British Columbia has asked city council to support its plan to sell part of its endowed lands for future residential development.
the university would like to turn around 35 acres of what’s called the UNBC Land Trust into a mixed-use district with up to 1,800 housing units and a population of around 4,000 people. They said the proposed site was on the opposite side of University Way from the entrance to the campus. Building this neighbourhood, they said, would provide the city with a rich
new vein of property taxes. A low estimate for the area projected a total assessed property value for the proposed neighbourhood at $1.05 billion, with annual tax revenue of around $6.6 million for the City of Prince George and property taxes for all levels of government at around $9.8 million. A high-end estimate for the area
projected a total assessed value of $1.72 billion, city annual tax revenues of $10.7 million and $16.1 million in property tax revenues for all levels of government. Beyond the taxes, the presenters argued that it would fit a need for housing near the university and along a major transit corridor, which would in turn make it easier to recruit and retain students, faculty and other professionals that Prince George needs. As an example, Owen said that Northern Health employees living in the proposed development would have easy access to research facilities and lectures in their fields. Beyond housing, Owen said that the project could also spur private sector investment in the city and could provide retail, child care and other businesses the city needs. Owen pitched the development as a sustainable approach to managing the UNBC land trust over time. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE