Mission's Waterfront
Imagine waking to the cry of the gulls wheeling over the river. Dressing quickly in your spacious condo, you walk to your favourite coffee shop for breakfast. Your village neighbourhood, tasteful and welcoming, is a walker’s haven, and you say good morning to friends heading to the nearby West Coast Express train station for the easy commute into Vancouver. Your surroundings embrace the river, so you choose the waterfront pathway to your office a few blocks west, passing in front of the local boutique hotel and market, and enjoying the public spaces and views of the mountains, with Mission’s busy small boat harbour and Spirit Square beyond. And you think to yourself how smart you were to move here – to this cozy, efficient and fully sustainable community on Mission’s waterfront with a lifestyle second to none.
Far fetched? Not at all. These are all possible components that could form the future of Mission’s waterfront vision and, step by step, the community will eventually determine what vision comes true.
“I have to compliment Mission’s Mayor and Council” says architect Patrick Cotter, lead consultant in the planning process. “They are creating a database of waterfront assets and opportunities. Because of this they have the facts, so they are in control of the process.”
Three phases of the Mission Waterfront Market and Feasibility Study have been completed. All three are positive documents that provide exciting opportunities for developers. Phase 1, the Market Analysis, identified the number and types of residential units that are viable, along with the square footage of commercial development that could be absorbed. Phases 2 and 3, completed in June 2011, provide a financial analysis with development cost and revenue assumptions, financial modelling and viability. Also included are a defragmentation land strategy, a plan for a destination waterfront and a strategy for raising future development above current flood plain levels.
Of particular interest to the development community are the internal rate of return estimates and years to payback. The project is viable by both indicators. “This way developers know they’re not buying a pig in a poke” observes Patrick Cotter. “The process is both transparent and rational.”
For access to the studies mentioned and current updates: Waterfront Studies