“BUY land because they’re not making it anymore.”
That old saying is most certainly at the heart of the City of Terrace’s far-reaching policy regarding the Skeena Industrial Development Park just south of the Northwest Regional Airport.
Thanks to an arrangement with the province to buy Crown land for resale to industrial concerns, the city is closing in on its largest transaction there yet — nearly 1,000 acres to a Chinese industrial conglomerate.
It means millions being paid into the city’s corporate lands account.
The prospect of all that money raises the issue of how to spend it. City officials caution that the city is responsible for basic infrastructure at the industrial park, an expensive proposition at the best of times.
But it’s also time for the city to consider the quality of life of its citizens. Aside from the city’s steps to develop affordable housing to be financed by land sales, it should direct itself toward green space.
If the city grows, green space will be at a premium as development pressures grow. One particular parcel is the large lot just beside the parking area on the western edge of George Little Park. It would be a natural extension to the park and even if purchased now and left undeveloped for some time it would be a wise move benefitting future generations.
To repeat that saying: “Buy land because they’re not making it anymore.