The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) has completed two significant real estate transactions in recent months, including one disposition and one acquisition.
The site that was sold is a 10,700-acre property located in Ashcroft, a small village in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. The property has no proper street address, but is located along Highway 1 near Cornwall Road and is comprised of 47 legal parcels that have been consolidated. The consolidated property is known as Ashcroft Ranch.
The MVRD acquired the property in 2000 with a plan to develop a portion of the site into a landfill to provide long-term waste-disposal capacity for the region, but a landfill was later deemed to be unnecessary. The property has been operated as a cattle ranch for the past 25 years.
In a press release published earlier this month, the MVRD said that, following a competitive bid process, it had sold the Ashcroft Ranch property to Kntam a shaytknmahh: We Help the People Limited Partnership — the economic branch of the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council (NNTC) — for $28 million, a price the MVRD described as fair market value.
"This has been a carefully considered and meaningful process, and we are pleased to sell this important land to the Nlaka'pamux Nation Tribal Council," said Mike Hurley, Chair of Metro Vancouver's Board of Directors and Mayor of Burnaby. "Their connection to this area is deep and enduring, and returning this land to the NNTC is an excellent outcome that will provide incredible benefits to their community members."
According to Metro Vancouver, the land that makes up Ashcroft Ranch was home to an important village known as shTLasht and a gathering site known as Klooch Field for the Nlaka'pamux before it was appropriated during colonization. With the land returned, the area will "go back to being an inclusive community hub and source of food security" that "will include housing, recreation, education, medical facilities, elder care, and a Nlaka'pamux cultural centre."
The site that was acquired by Metro Vancouver is 1223 Derwent Way, a 4.78-acre industrial property located on Annacis Island in the City of Delta. BC Assessment values the property at $33,441,000 and the MVRD acquired the property for $37.15 million on March 12, 2025, according to an MVRD financial statement published earlier this month. The MVRD notes that $500,000 of that purchase price was recorded as a refundable deposit on December 31, 2024.
The financial statement does not outline the MVRD's plan for the site, but the site is expected to be used to expand the existing Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, according to the Delta Optimist. On its website, Metro Vancouver says that the plant is the largest wastewater treatment plant in the region and that the MVRD is "increasing the capacity of the current facility to meet the needs of our growing population." That includes increasing the size of the plant, making seismic improvements, and building new pipes, among other improvements.
Both of the aforementioned transactions were made through Metro Vancouver's Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (GVS&DD) corporate entity.
The financial statement also details several other recent transactions, including construction loans for two housing projects.
The first project is called The Connection and is set for 7730 6th Street in Burnaby, where the plan is to redevelop 30 existing townhouses into an apartment building with 170 units. The second project is called The Steller and is set for 7388 Southwynde Avenue, also in Burnaby, where the plan is to develop a 120-unit apartment building on a site that is currently vacant. Both projects were announced in April 2023 as part of a partnership agreement signed by Metro Vancouver and BC Housing.
According to a financial statement, the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation (MVHC) entered into a construction loan agreement on March 11 with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for $64,882,931 pertaining to The Connection. The total is comprised of a forgivable portion of $13,050,000 and a repayable portion of $51,832,931 that has an interest rate of "up to" 5.35%.
The MVHC then entered into another construction loan agreement with the CMHC on March 21 for $42,825,716 pertaining to The Steller. This loan is comprised of a forgivable portion of $6,100,000 and a repayable portion of $36,735,716 that has an interest rate of "up to" 4.49%.
Additionally, the MVRD says that it and BC Housing also secured a grant contribution of $5,007,313 from the Government of Canada's Interim Housing Assistance Program "in exchange for allocating 10 units at Kingston Gardens for subsidized housing at shelter rates to support asylum claimants."
