Construction could begin in a matter of weeks on the Belmont Market development slated for the corner of Jacklin Road and Jenkins Avenue.
Thrifty Foods’ parent company, Sobeys Inc., has applied for a development permit from the City of Langford. Once the next step - a building permit - is granted, construction can begin on the mixed-use development.
“There’s been excavators for a few weeks now,” said Langford director of planning Matthew Baldwin. While Sobeys has not applied for a building permit yet, Baldwin said it’s not uncommon to see that application come at around the same time the application for a development permit has been filed.
As for the development permit, he said staff are expected to take a couple of weeks to review it. “I don’t foresee any problems,” he said. “A lot of this has been seen before.”
The roughly 22 acre site spans from the corner of Jacklin Road and Jenkins Avenue west to the school board offices and east to Brittany Drive while bordered south by the Galloping Goose trail. It has already been rezoned for this type of development and Baldwin said staff are busy going over the application to make sure the proposed development’s form and character fit within Langford’s Official Community Plan.
That proposal includes a roughly 250,000-square foot shopping centre that features an almost 53,000-square foot Thrifty Foods grocery store.
The entire site will be accessible from several entrances on Jacklin Road and Jenkins Avenue, including a new signalized intersection that will be installed roughly where the Westshore Town Centre access is between Jacklin Road and Brittany Drive.
“This development is paying for the signalization of that intersection,” Baldwin noted.
“We’re excited as anyone to see what’s coming.” Baldwin noted the development will also provide opportunities for other business that are looking to branch out on the West Shore. “Commercial development is always good for the local economy.” He added this development will help solidify Langford’s position as the West Shore’s economic centre. “We’re encouraged by this amount of investment.”
Keri Scobie, Sobeys’ director of communications for Western Canada, said they are still working through the development permit process and will soon have more to share about the project’s timeline.
“We’re excited about the Thrifty Foods location and the Belmont development and look forward to sharing more information with the community and our customers further into the development approval process,” she said.
The site, formerly home to the old Belmont secondary school, was purchased by Sobeys in 2014 for $23.25 million.
Sobeys also acquired a lot at the corner of Jacklin Road and Jenkins Avenue that was not owned by the School District.
katie@goldstreamgazette.com