Kamloops, A Great Deal For Community Trust

A community trust is creating a neighbourhood in British Columbia which it believes is worth a lot and has the potential for significant development.

Finlay Sinclair, president and CEO of TRU Community Trust, stated that, “We’re attracting the development community to partner with us on the build, but our pre-approved zoning for up to 7500-8000 residents, 3500 units, and just under 200,000 square feet of commercial,” adding also, “We’re attracting both developers to come and partner with us but also the community to come live here. We think there’s a good local, regional, and provincial opportunity for people to make this the place they want to live.”

The TRU Community Trust is seeking to form Kamloops’ newest neighbourhood around Thompson River University.

When asked why investing in Kamloops is a great option for investors, Sinclair responded, saying, “It’s a stable economy, it’s a growing economy, and it’s an affordable real estate opportunity for anybody in this country at any income level,” he said. “We are right on the leading edge of all the service, commercialized land that anybody living in the future on the property is ever going to need.”

Indeed, the area is drawing the attention of investors from across the country, many of whom have been kicked out of the province’s expensive lower mainland markets.

“Absolutely, we’re the affordable alternative. I think it’s pretty clear to people across the country that Vancouver has exceeded any normal, reasonable threshold of affordability for younger families that don’t have an equity position in the market already,” Sinclair said. “You can get in and have a wonderful lifestyle either in our development … but Kamloops as a whole has very affordable housing comparable to Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Calgary. We have weather that unmatched in Canada. We have hot, hot dry summers and short, short winters.”

It is expected that the market will enjoy continued growth.

“We see the real market opportunity is the fact that Kamloops is constantly increasingly land value and an increasing real estate market,” Sinclair said. “It doesn’t spike and go up and down irrationally in ways the larger market does. It’s constantly going up and is a stable environment.”