Real Estate

Commercial/Industrial Land

Castlegar Pricing

  • Serviced Land - Roughly $300k/acre1
  • Lease (industrial) approx. $5/sq. ft.1
  • Lease (commercial) approx. $10/sq.ft.2

Castlegar is a Substantially Cheaper Place to House your Business

  • On average, industrial/commercial land prices are 50% (Abbotsford - $600,000/acre) to 85% (City of Vancouver - $2 million/acre) lower than Vancouver metro region3, and 50% lower than the City of Calgary ($600,000/acre)4.
  • Commercial lease rates are 60% to 160% lower than the City of Calgary4 and 50% (Abbotsford) to 250-900% (City of Vancouver) lower than the Vancouver metro region5.
  • Industrial lease rates are 30% to 60% lower than the Vancouver metro region6 and 50% lower than the City of Calgary4.

"West Kootenay Centre" - Castlegar Has 37 Acres of Land for a Big Box Retail/Service Centre

The City of Castlegar is encouraging development of a big box retail centre to serve the Columbia/Kootenay Valleys on city-owned airport lands. Adjacent to the West Kootenay Regional Airport and the recently constructed Chances Gaming Centre (casino), this land services a trade area population of 60,000 people, and is both the largest and most accessible tract of raw, flat commercial land in the West Kootenay.

  • Subdivision size is flexible.
  • Servicing - the City extended water and sewer lines across the bridge (Columbia River) in 2011. Phase 2 construction planned for 2012 will extend potable water and sewer to the boundary of the airport lands.
  • Land use - the site is designated as Regional Commercial Airport. Appropriate uses include: department stores, medium and large sized retail, service commercial, tourist entertainment and accommodation, auto dealers and service stations, professional offices and services, institutional (utilities) offices, work yards, and storage areas, and retail commercial including building, garden and nursery services and accessory yards.
  • Access – the City is undertaking a traffic study with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to determine best layout for intersection access.

Price is negotiable and depends on nature and scope of proposal. Contact the City at economicdevelopment@casttlegar.ca for more information.

1Based on active listings, 2010 (there are no active listings as of October 2011

2Based on active listings, October, 2011

3Daily Comm News Vancouver Industrial Region

4CB Richard Ellis (www.cbre.com), 2010

5Vancouver Retail Real Estate Report 2011

6http://www.westerninvestor.com/index.php/news/bc/579-civic-fees-add-to-industrial-lease-rates-

Housing Prices

Housing affordability is a key feature of being able to attract and retain labour force supply. House prices are a fraction of B.C. and Calgary housing prices while median household income (Statistics Canada, 2006 Federal Census) is only 5.8% lower than the B.C. average.

Average Residential Home Resale Price (end 2010):

Castlegar - $268,462
Kootenay Region - $256,013
B.C. - $500,000
Metro Vancouver - $763,000
Calgary metro single family - $461,000

Src: Kootenay Real Estate Board, B.C. Real Estate Association, Calgary Real Estate Board

Based on house resale prices in 2010, housing prices in Castlegar are:

  • 46% lower than the B.C. average
  • 65% lower than the metro Vancouver average
  • 42% lower than metro Calgary average

Rental is also affordable, with average gross rent $572 in 2006 (Statistics Canada, 2006 Federal Census) compared to a B.C. average of $828.

Local Real Estate Services

Local real estate companies are a first point of contact in the search for commercial or industrial lease, land, or new construction opportunities.

Re/Max Home Advantage
1444 Columbia Avenue
t: 250.365.6767
www.kootenaysold.com

Castlegar Realty Ltd
1761 Columbia Ave
t: 250.365.2166
www.castlegarrealty.ca

Century 21 Mountainview Realty Ltd
1695 Columbia Ave
t: 250.365.2111
www.century21.ca

Additional Resources

Residential real estate listings – www.mls.ca

Castlegar commercial/industrial listings:

  • http://clslink.ca – search term "Castlegar"
  • http://www.icx.ca – search term "Castlegar"

B.C. Real Estate Association (real estate statistics) - www.bcrea.bc.ca