PG Mayor says Knights Inn purchase paves way for new arena, performing arts centre

“This property is an integral part of the civic core development.”

That’s according to Prince George Mayor Simon Yu who stated the site of the Knights Inn Motel will be utilized as the future home of a new arena or performing arts centre and possibly an adjoining hotel.

The city purchased the property from BC Housing last week for a shade over four million dollars – the deal did raise some eyebrows on social media as the property was assessed at a value of over 1.2 million by BC Assessment as of July 2022.

In an interview with MyPGNow, Yu stated there is a lot more than meets the eye to the deal.

He said acquiring the current site was key as it will be one of the centerpieces for rejuvenating the downtown core.

“It’s like a stone’s throw away from the old fire hall to the new swimming pool and to our city hall. That will most likely be the location of the new arena or convention centre or new symphony hall. So, we need a little bit more space and geographically it fits the bill.”

“This particular property is an integral part of the civic core development. We need that property to be in the hands of the city.”

Yu added the city was given first right of refusal on the property by the province, an opportunity they were happy to jump at.

“That property has to be part of the program in order to have space and maybe we can add a new five-star hotel attached to the convention hall. We need a space for the investor to come into.”

“We were very fortunate. The province could have put this on the market to everybody else. They understand we are in the midst of the OCP (Official Community Plan) and in the downtown core design – they offered it to us basically in the form of first right of refusal. I am OK with this transaction.”

Yu also wanted to make it abundantly clear no taxpayer dollars were used in the purchase, most of the funding came from the City’s Endowment Reserve Fund.

Furthermore, the mayor isn’t too concerned this purchase will cause a trickle-down effect of inflated real estate property values or asking prices in the area going forward.

“That value is priceless when it comes to planning and a design point of view where we can now design that property as a part of the civic core, which is super important for the development of the downtown core.”

“I don’t believe the property value will increase. That particular transaction is due to the current existing tenancy arrangement. We need to honor it. As the citizens can see, this property is earmarked for demolition.”

In November of 2021, residents of the now-demolished George Street encampment moved into the Knights Inn.

At the time, all 20 occupants moved with their belongings, and temporary fencing was placed around the site to ensure no further encampments were established.

Prior to that, Premier David Eby announced that the former hotel would be operated by the Prince George Native Friendship Centre.

The friendship centre facilitated residents with support services, including daily meals and health and wellness support services.

At least two staff members were to be on-site 24/7 to provide around-the-clock support to residents.

BC Housing currently leases the property and intends to continue to do so after the completion date, with a proposed new two-year lease agreement in place from March 31, 2024 to March 30, 2026.

The organization will then pay $47,250 per month to lease 44 rooms of supportive housing for people living outside or in emergency shelters.

In addition, BC Housing also has the option to extend the Knight Inn lease term for an additional 6-month period beyond March of 2026 and will be responsible for all capital and operational repairs to the property as well as payment of all property taxes and utility charges.

“If you take all of this under consideration, the money we paid (for the Knights Inn) and we still don’t have adequate housing to house our homeless population in Prince George. We still need to use the facility under the current operation form for the next year or two. I believe this is a deal that our citizens can live with.” added Yu.

BC Housing opted to contribute an extra fixed fee of $450,000 towards potential future demolition costs, subject to future council decisions.

BC Assessment issued the following information to MyPGNow.com regarding the Knights Inn transaction:

BC Assessment is currently producing the 2024 roll with value conclusions available once the roll is completed January 2, 2024.

The sale and property information of the Knights Inn is currently under review to determine if the sale price represents an arms-length transaction whereby the buyer and seller act independently without one party influencing the other and both parties are acting in their own self-interest without duress.

Once this review is concluded, the sale price will either be included to set market values or excluded due to the influences impacting the purchase price that represents more than just the current highest and best use of the real estate.