Also, unlike many municipalities in the Lower Mainland, Chilliwack has industrial land to spare, with five business parks developed over the past six years, totalling more than 300 acres.
Today, about 350 industrial businesses occupy more than 1.5 million square feet of Chilliwack industrial space, with lease rates in the range of $5 per square foot to $8 per square foot, according to Chilliwack Economic Partners, which works with the district in attracting new business.
The reason for the industrial growth is being spurred by a number of highway improvements which - in the future - will make Chilliwack easily accessible from the ports in Delta, the U.S. border and downtown Vancouver. These include the Golden Ears Bridge across the Fraser River, the improved Port Mann Bridge and a new industrial-friendly freeway linking Delta and the U.S. border to the Trans Canada Highway, which runs right by Chillliwack's front door.
Diversified
The opening of Kal Tire's 230,000-square-foot tire plant and distribution centre in Chilliwack five years ago on a 16-acre site - the largest tire depot in Western Canada - is an indication that Chilliwack is on the industrial radar. Recently, Soprema, a major manufacturer of roofing materials, began a multimillion-dollar expansion of its existing Chilliwack plant by starting construction of a second production facility.
It shows how this city of 82,000 people has branched out its economy from its agricultural roots.
Today, the University of the Fraser Valley, MTI Community College, the RCMP Pacific Region Training Centre, the Justice Institute of BC and the Canada Border Services Agency, plus construction and retail employment, buoy Chilliwack's diversified economy.
Retail remains a big play in Chilliwack, despite a recent downturn. An 80,000-square-foot retail village component at Canada Lands' Garisson Crossing development is anchored by Coopers Food, which held its official opening this year. The new project still has dark storefronts, however, a reminder that the city is not immune to the global downturn.
With just 1.7 per cent of B.C.'s population, Chilliwack accounts for 2 per cent of total provincial consumer spending, according to Chilliwack Economic Partners. This year, consumers are forecast to spend $1.08 billion in the community, and the retail sector employs more than 7,300 people, about one-quarter of the Chilliwack workforce.
Housing
It is housing, however, where Chilliwack is grabbing attention from families trying to find a single-detached house that costs less than a million dollars, which happens to be the average house price in Greater Vancouver.
The typical house with a nice yard in Chilliwack costs $350,000, according to the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board. And sales are inching up, with September sales this year at 156 units, up from 137 in the same month last year. "We expect to see the modest growth continue," said board president Mark Andersen, noting that with nearly 2,000 homes for sale in Chilliwack "there are many good opportunities for buyers."
Andersen said local realtors have seen an increase in buyers from Metro Vancouver recently because "the purchasing dollar goes so much further" in Chilliwack.
Even a "house with acreage" in Chilliwack sells for an average price of less than $520,000, which may convince some to give up a similarly priced small condominium in Vancouver.
Corney Les, a veteran realtor with Re/Max Nyda in Chilliwack, said that despite the low prices the housing market remains slow, especially in the new-home market.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. starts of single-detached houses in Chilliwack have plunged 43.8 per cent this year: This is the biggest decline in the Lower Mainland, and pushed Chilliwack house starts down to just 182 units in the first eight months of 2011. Multi-family starts, nearly all condo apartments or townhouses, fared even worse, posting a 64 per cent drop to just 122 homes.
This despite the fact that new-home prices in Chilliwack appear to be at rock bottom relative to Greater Vancouver, 90 minutes away.
For instance, Higginson Gardens, a new development, offers three-bedroom townhouses from $294,000 and brand-new three-bedroom detached houses for less than $475,000.
And new-home buyers can find even better deals than that, Les said.
"Some builders have cut prices on new detached houses to $369,000," he said, adding that buyers can find new 1,500-square-foot townhouses for $225,000. " A lot of new product is on hold until things improve."
Les added that ongoing construction on the Trans Canada Highway, expected to last another two years, has "really hurt business here in Chilliwack."
History
Transportation has always been important. Chilliwack was first settled by gold seekers in 1857 and within a year 30,000 miners were travelling through the area. Some planted farms, and the seed for what would become the third oldest municipality in B.C. The Township of Chilliwack was established in 1873 along the banks of the Fraser River.
from Western Investor December 2011
