City of Prince Rupert moving forward with leasing plans with Horizon North for property along Wantage Road

Are plans in motion for development
of a work camp within City limits?

Progress it seems is close for the development of a work camp for the North Coast, with the City of Prince Rupert providing notification of its intent to provide a lease for a parcel of land off of Wantage Road.

The land that is the focus of the lease arrangement with Horizon North Camp and Catering Partnership consists of around five acres, and would appear to be located at what was once an old trailer park location running parallel to the Prince Rupert Golf Course.

The five year term of the lease with Horizon North will provide for rent of $111,252 per year for the property, with the option of a right of extension for another five year term, to be calculated based on the unimproved fair market value of the property.

The City first introduced the idea of developing land along Wantage Road during the November 3rd 2014 Council session, with City Manager Robert Long describing the bid to temporarily rezone the area as a proposal that was outside the normal way of thinking.

The review of any potential use of land along the Wantage road area, was one concept that the City was taking towards the prospect of major development in the region, as it looked to become more pro-active with potential developers.

Horizon North appeared at the City Council meeting of November  24th, 2014, providing its vision as to how they would approach the development of a work camp in the community, targeting two locations in the Wantage Road area for their projects.

Their proposal at the time, received a bit of a rough reception during a public hearing held to update the public on the plans, with submissions from School District 52, as well as residents of the Ninth Avenue West and other areas of the city offering up some concerns at the proposed work camp development.

The land to be leased as identified this week, would appear to be an area that they had made note of during their presentation of last year.

At that time, they had suggested that the area would be best used for what had been called a Lay Down area, where they would store building modules before shifting them to the larger camp development site.

The flurry of interest in both parcels of land of last year was part of the city's discussions on how there was  a need for planning when it came to the many proposals for major projects in the region, a theme which was introduced during the final months of Mayor Jack Mussallem's time as Mayor.

A notice from the City
of Prince Rupert
related to the lease
of land along Wantage Rd

The advisory of this week related to the leasing arrangement, was provided through a notice posted in the back pages of the weekly newspaper, which is a requirement for public notification as part of the Community Charter.

Interestingly enough, while it would seem that providing notice to the newspaper is required, there does not appear to be any need for notification to be provided to any of the information sections of the City's own website.

No notification of the arrangement has appeared on the city's information portal as of yet, an option that could be of some use in advising the public about such topics as the current plan to lease the land for the five year period.

Should anyone have an inquiry regarding the proposed lease of the land, they have until 4 PM of October 29th to make their views known to Corporate Administrator Rory Mandryk

Those contributions can be provided by email at rory.mandryk@princerupert.ca, or by fax at 250-627-0999.

There was no indication provided through the notice as to what the plans are at the moment, when it comes to any potential development of the land that the City plans to lease to Horizon North.

While the newspaper notification appears to set the wheels in motion towards some form of use for the Wantage Road area, neither the arrangement to lease the land to Horizon North, or what plans that they may have for it, have been discussed during the public portions of any of the recent Council sessions.

In July of this year, the Horizon North published  an update for investors, offering up the following background information on their plans for the Northwest.

Horizon North continues to progress on key development areas near proposed LNG project sites in British Columbia to be positioned for opportunities in this area. Suitable land positions have been secured in Kitimat and in Prince Rupert, British Columbia near proposed LNG project sites and we continue to dialogue with project proponents and local businesses in anticipation of future activity and development. 

Horizon North anticipates allocating additional capital to these locations in the second half of 2015 starting with some initial open camp developments to service existing customer request which will be expanded as demand and opportunities unfold.

You can learn more about what Horizon North is all about from their website here.

For further information related to City of Prince Rupert developments see our archive page here.