After nearly a decade in planning, the first phase of Prince George’s Global Logistics Park is about to go on sale.
The first 25 of a planned 2500 acres between the Prince George Airport and Highway 97 is ready, serviced and waiting for light industrial developers.
Realtor Harry Backlin says he already has seven interested parties.
“And a number of these are not necessarily local companies relocating, we’ve got people from all over the province coming in and looking at getting into that light industrial park, not because of what is happening in Prince George, but because of everything that is happening all around us.”
He says Prince George is a perfect hub for industry wanting to ship to anywhere in North America or overseas via the port of Prince Rupert. The location directly adjacent to the YXS and the 3rd longest run way on the continent also makes it ideal.
However Backlin says the City of Prince George could be doing more to attract developers to the city.
“Some of these people that are coming in are saying; ‘What about tax incentives for light industrial development?’”
He says through research over the past few years he has found that 23 cities in BC have tax incentives for industrial or commercial development including Quesnel, Kelowna and Abbotsford.
Prince George offers a tax incentive on residential development within the downtown core, but Backlin says the City needs to have a conversation on whether it should offer something to industrial developers.
“We should be able to make this city an open door and inviting.” Backlin says “By rolling away the red tape and rolling out the red carpet, providing some type of incentive to make them want to come to the city and provide the kind of employment that we are looking for.”
Despite the lack of a tax incentive, Backlin remains optimistic saying that after 40 years in the Prince George commercial/industrial real estate business, the next 5 years will be some of the best the city has ever seen.
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