New development along B.C.'s Sea to Sky corridor aims to reinvigorate community in Britannia Beach

A rendering of the Britannia Beach property development by Adera Development Corporation and Macdonald Communities.

Nearly 50 years after one of Canada’s largest mining operations shut down in B.C., efforts to reinvigorate a community along the Sea to Sky corridor are coming to fruition.

Britannia Beach, a town nestled between West Vancouver and Squamish, is where an “historic artisan village” is being built by Adera Development Corporation and Macdonald Communities.

The project includes 73 townhouses, with the first residents slated to move in next week, as well as a grocery store that’s licensed to sell liquor, multiple restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and even a brew pub.

Eric Andreasen, Adera’s senior vice-president, says the initiative has been nearly 25 years in the works and will improve life for all Sea to Sky residents as well as tourists.

“There’s plenty of areas where people can reside up and down the Sea to Sky highway, the thing that’s missing anywhere is any sort of commercial aspect to it,” Andreasen told CTV News over the phone Friday. “That’s the secret sauce of this project—the commercial aspect.”

Historic buildings that previously stood in the region have been lifted from their foundations, which will be restored, meaning the village will be complete with original architecture.

Once the village is complete, downtown Squamish will no longer be the one-stop-shop for those living in the surrounding areas. According to the latest census data, 384 people currently live in Britannia Beach, while 50,496 live in the encompassing Squamish-Lillooet Regional District—up from 42,665 in 2016.

Another development has been proposed for South Britannia, which would include 900 market-priced units, 150 non-market affordable housing units and a man-made surf park—though the TIgerbay Development Corp. project is subject to SLRD council approval and is years in the making.

“It’s a massive concept that may or may not get through the final approval,” said Andreasen. “But part of the allure of this place—and I’m speaking as a buyer—is all the efforts that are going into this community.”

Having been involved in the development industry for 37 years, Andreasen says the projects in the work in Britannia Beach are the rarest he’s seen in his career.

The townhomes range from 1,400 sq. ft. to 1850, with the starting price at $1 million and ranging to $1.5 million.

By next summer, he believes all of the townhouses will be occupied—and British Columbians are sure to notice.