Two images showing a 87-acre tract of development land, straddling Highway 11, which is for sale in Mission B.C. (Courtesy Goodman Commercial)

An 87-acre tract of of land for sale along the Fraser River in Mission, just outside Metro Vancouver, offers a “historic” opportunity to develop a master-planned community in one of the Fraser Valley’s last remaining large-scale waterfront sites.

The opportunity comprises eight individual titles over a one-kilometre stretch of land bordering the river.

“This is really a historic event. It’s a historic listing,” said Mark Goodman, who has listed the property with Cynthia Jagger, principals of Goodman Commercial Inc. “I mean, when’s the last time we saw 87 acres of waterfront in Metro Vancouver? Just the scale is amazing. It’s a massive, massive site. . . . The point is the City of Mission is open for business.

“There is no official listing price but essentially what we’re hearing and where we see value – and I can’t give a price because there isn’t one – but we’re hearing around $3 million an acre would be market.

“So, you can deduce from there. But, there is no official price and our clients are taking offers as they come in.”

The 87-acre Mission property

The property, located at 7011 Herman S. Braich Blvd., in Mission, is owned by a private family – a third-generation family living in the Fraser Valley. The land is currently vacant.

Goodman said the property is a part of the Mission Waterfront Revitalization initiative – a comprehensive planning area representing approximately 296 acres that sets out to revitalize the area into a complete, walkable and connected community.

“Right now it’s zoned for heavy industrial but the vision of the city is to revitalize this area into a master-planned community. They want to create a Granville Island. They want to create the River District, which is a new master-planned community that was built by Wesgroup,” Goodman said.

“There’s massive amounts of sand which is very valuable actually. Estimates are coming in between $10 and $15 million alone just for the high-quality sand that is currently on the site that can be used as well.

“All the studies have been done on the property. So we have archaeological assessments, construction costs estimates, flood hazard assessments, geotechnical assessments, environmental assessments, architectural concept plans, traffic analysis and the dredging project near completion. Everything is ready to go.”

City has vision for the district

The property features views of the water, agricultural land, mountains including Mount Baker and other natural landscapes.

Key attractions nearby include the Mission Raceway Park, Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore, Mission-Abbotsford Bridge/Highway 11, The Junction Shopping Centre, Mission Memorial Hospital, Lougheed Highway, Mission Industrial Park, West Coast Express (Mission Station), Via Rail Mission Harbour Station, CP Railway Bridge, Mission Marina and Chances Casino.

Goodman said Mission’s Preferred Land Use Option was endorsed in December 2021. Key goals include supporting the existing downtown, focusing on employment lands, pedestrian connectivity along the banks of the Fraser River and an environmentally-friendly relationship to the river.

He said the vision takes inspiration from other master-planned communities throughout B.C. incorporating public hubs, mixed-use and residential projects, signature open spaces, and waterfront destinations such as Vancouver’s Granville Island.

“Basically it’s centre ice for the Fraser Valley. You could not get a more spectacular location to build something magnificent for the community. It’s really historic to have this type of land mass and all the studies done and we’re already getting a lot of calls from major developers throughout British Columbia,” said Goodman.

“It really offers a blank canvas. You can create your vision here. It offers a wide range of building options. It’s truly unprecedented to have this flexibility. Or you can go ahead and build heavy industrial with no re-zoning. It hits all the checkmarks.”

The property is located just south of Lougheed Highway, straddling Highway 11, with a CP Rail line at the eastern border. It is 20 minutes north of the U.S. border and 70 kilometres east of the City of Vancouver.

Fraser Valley’s rapid growth

The Fraser Valley is experiencing exponential population growth as affordability and industrial expansion continues to draw people further east. Latest census figures show the population of the city as of 2021 was 41,519, a 7.7 per cent increase from 2016, Goodman said.

It’s the latest in a flurry of major transactions for Goodman Commercial, which recently sold a prime 1.4-acre site in the Metrotown area of Burnaby for over $45 million. The site will likely become a high-density multiresidential development, taking advantage of the strong residential demand in the area.

The property, at 6470 and 6508 Silver Ave., is currently the site of two three-storey rental apartment buildings totalling 83 units. The buyer is a Metro Vancouver-area private developer while the seller was a private family investor.

The apartment buildings on the site have been in place since 1966 and 1967, respectively.

Other recent Goodman listings, sales

Goodman just listed another 1.1-acre property in the Metrotown area. 6555 Telford Ave. is listed for $43 million and currently has a three-storey rental apartment building with 54 units. Development potential under its current zoning is 298,699 square feet.

Goodman also recently sold a 1.35-acre site on Earles Street in the Norquay Village neighbourhood of East Vancouver, a city block comprising six single-family homes. That property could also soon be redeveloped for a condo project.

The property was listed for $31.9 million and is being acquired by a local developer for close to the asking price. The vendor is a private investor/developer.