The Belmont Market Shopping Centre, a mixed-use project being driven by Thrifty Foods’ parent company, Sobeys, is another step closer to reality.
Keri Scobie, Sobeys’ director of communications for Western Canada, confirmed the company has applied for a development permit from the City of Langford for the project, which will include a 57,000-square-foot Thrifty Foods grocery store on the former Belmont High School site. “We’re still working through the development-permit process, but are obviously excited for a new store in this community,” said Scobie.
Matthew Baldwin, director of planning for Langford, said the development permit will likely be granted within the next couple of weeks, as staff only have to confirm that the plans conform to zoning restrictions and the buildings suit the character of the area. “It should be easier, as we saw a lot of this stuff through the rezoning process,” Baldwin said.
He said the site is already being prepared for development and that a building permit could be issued and construction started within a matter of weeks.
In an earlier interview, Langford Mayor Stew Young said the centre, to be built on a triangular 8.5-hectare site adjacent to Westshore Town Centre, will complete the downtown core and set a tone for the area. “It solidifies Langford with a downtown core,” he said.
The project will be built in phases. It will feature a 200,000-square foot shopping centre, anchored by Thrifty Foods. There will also be office space and about 330 residential units included in the overall project, bordered by Jacklin Road, Jenkins Avenue and the Galloping Goose Trail.
The project is estimated to be worth in excess of $100 million.
The first phase, which will include Thrifty Foods, could be ready for tenants by July 2017.
Sobeys bought the property in 2014 for $23.25 million. That money was used to help build two schools — a $54-million Belmont Secondary at the site of the former Glen Lake Elementary, and Royal Bay Secondary, valued at $40.8 million.
