Owners of Tesla vehicles in the Metro Vancouver will soon have a new dedicated service centre in Port Coquitlam.
Vancouver-based real estate developer Bosa Properties is developing the 59,547-sq.-ft facility, which will be located at 1021 and 1032 Nicola Avenue, near the existing Canadian Tire and Home Depot, in what is a perhaps unwitting nod to Nikola Tesla, after which the car company is named.
In a letter to the City, Bosa Properties Development Manager Jordan Grubner described the facility as a "flagship delivery centre for the Lower Mainland."
"The proposed facility in Port Coquitlam is envisioned as a unique, light-touch establishment with a distinct focus on repair and service rather than traditional vehicle sales," Grubner said. "While serving as a primary repair location for Tesla vehicles in the lower mainland and a terminal destination for imports, this facility stands out by prioritizing the maintenance and support of existing Tesla owners."
Grubner goes on to say that the aim is for 50% of service operations at the facility to be conducted remotely by customers, reducing on-site congestion and eliminating the need to travel long distances -- for those not in Port Coquitlam -- for repairs.
"The proposed facility will serve as the primary location for delivering Tesla vehicles in the lower mainland," Grubner adds. "This facility will also serve as the terminal destination for vehicles shipped to Canada via the US and Shanghai. While some vehicles will be distributed among existing Tesla dealerships, the majority of new vehicles (75% or more) will be routed through this flagship delivery center."
Tesla currently has a delivery and service centre at 901 Great Northern Way, near VCC-Clark Station in Vancouver.
Renderings of the Tesla flagship delivery and service centre in Port Coquitlam. (Christopher Bozyk Architects / Bosa Properties)
Bosa Properties says that Telsa is anticipating delivering approximately 40 vehicles a day from the new facility, on average, and that the facility will service an estimated 50 vehicles a day.
The developer also adds that the facility will create approximately 80 high-paying jobs, with technicians earning wages between $35 and $42 an hour and managerial salaries ranging between $100K and $140K.
Despite Bosa Properties' emphasis on the facility as a servicing station, Tesla still appears to have intentions to use the new space for sales.
The 7.53-acre site -- a vacant lot -- is zoned for agricultural use, but Bosa Properties is seeking to rezone the 1021 Nicola Avenue parcel -- which is a smaller detached lot on the other side of the street -- to a District Commercial zone, and the 1032 Nicola Avenue site to a Comprehensive Development zone that would allow for District Commercial and Light Industrial zoning uses.
The subject site on Nicola Avenue in Port Coquitlam. (Christopher Bozyk Architects / Bosa Properties)
In a report this month, the City, referring to the 1032 Nicola Avenue portion of the site, noted that "the intended tenant is Tesla who wish to use the site for auto sales and service and as a regional storage and distribution center for vehicles and parts."
Tesla's intentions for the 1021 Nicola Avenue site are not mentioned, but the proposed is labeled a "commercial retail" building with 36 surface parking spaces in architectural drawings, indicating the possibility of it serving as a sales centre.
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The City also says that the proposal would require parts of Nicola Avenue to be widened, as well as infrastructure in the area -- drainage, sanitary sewers, and more -- to be upgraded.
Discussing the project, multiple Council members recognized the possibility that Tesla could change their mind at any point, as the company and CEO Elon Musk has with various endeavors in the past, but still voiced strong support for the proposal, saying that the rezoning would allow for an easy transition even in the case of Tesla changing their mind.
An amendment to the Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw for the site was approved this week, and the project is expected to move to the first reading and second reading stage later this month, with a public hearing expected sometime in September.
