A buyer has been found for the long-idle Royal Bay property in Colwood.
Mayor Dave Saunders confirmed with landowner Lehigh Northwest Cement that it has accepted an offer on the 424-acre waterfront property at Metchosin and Latoria roads, rumored to be worth $30 to $50 million. Paperwork to finalize the deal is underway.
"This is absolutely huge for Colwood," said Saunders, who couldn't reveal which of the several development firms eyeing the site had the successful offer.
Lehigh has been interested in selling the site since it closed its gravel mine in 2007. In February of last year, it accepted an offer from Calgary developer Statesmans Group, but the deal fell through six months later.
Since then, Saunders has met with a handful of other potential buyers as chair of the City's planning and land use committee. He encouraged firms to work together on a joint-proposal.
He also personally approached a marina developer with the idea of putting docks at the site. Crown Marine went on to propose a 150-slip marina to the committee, the details for which were leaked to the media.
Any development at the site would be subject to public review and council would have to vote to rezone the land, which is currently slated for 2,800 residential units and commercial space.
Saunders couldn't say when the details of the sale would be finalized.
"Obviously, from the City's perspective, we'd like to see it get going sooner rather than later," he said. "It's a great opportunity for Colwood to grow its tax base and finally see something happen with that land."