Port Moody has spent $5.9 million to acquire two properties on St. George Street near the Kyle Community Centre.
Mayor Meghan Lahti said the 0.4 acres (17,405 sq. ft.) at 2506 and 2510 St. George St. will eventually be used to expand park space in the neighbourhood.
“This purchase in Moody Centre is a strategic decision that helps us protect green space for future public use and address a recognized deficit of parkland in an evolving neighbourhood,” she said in a news release.
The properties are currently occupied by two homes with tenants who hold active leases.
According to the release, the city will use a property management company to administer the properties while they’re still occupied and there is no timeline to convert them to park space.
The money for the purchase is coming from parks development cost charges (DCCs) collected from developers to help finance the acquisition and improvement of public park space.
Port Moody's general manager of finance and technology, Paul Rockwood, told the Tri-City News, the fund still has $6 million remaining after the purchase.
Property values
According to BC Assessment, the 8,701 sq. ft. property at 2506 St. George, which is occupied by a two-storey house built in 1930, has a 2024 assessed value $1.614 million.
Meanwhile, 2510 St. George next door is valued at $1.615 million. The house on the property was built in 1956.
The real estate website redfin.ca said 2506 St. George last changed hands in November 2000 for $201,650 and 2510 St. George sold for $510,000 in January 2012.
According to zolo.ca, both 2506 and 2510 St. George were listed for sale for $2.3 million each in September 2018 and removed from the market three months later.
A nearby 8,709 sq. ft. property at 2518 St. George, which is occupied by a house built in 1912 and is on Port Moody's heritage register, sold for $1.8 million earlier this year. It has an assessed value of $1.615 million.
Another property at 2514 St. George that is occupied by a new, custom-built seven-bedroom house was sold in February 2023, for $2.250 million. Its current assessed value is $2.224 million.
Rockwood said the city monitors the local real estate market for properties that may be coming on the market and assesses them for "strategic value to the city." He said the purchase price for the properties acquired by the city was likely impacted by the recent provincial housing legislation that mandates higher density in areas near mass transit.
Rockwood said properties in such areas are "being speculated on for land assemblies and other potential redevelopments."
Big plans across the street
Earlier this year, council gave first reading to a proposal by Avenir Senior Living and the Dulex Laidler Group to construct a 12-storey residential seniors complex right across St. George Street from the properties acquired by the city.
The project includes 133 independent and assisted living suites as well as 48 memory and community care units.
The proponents also committed to dedicating a 7.5-metre wide strip of land on the property for expansion of Kyle Park right next door.
Planning for park expansion
On Nov. 19, Port Moody council agreed to host a special community town hall meeting early in the new year to gather and share ideas for expanding parkland in the city’s downtown area.
Lahti said the neighbourhood present several unique challenges as it densifies and more people will all it home in coming years.
“What we can do there, and what we cannot do, those are questions for the entire community,” she said.
Ding Yu, Port Moody’s project manager for parks planning, said while the city is “above average” when it comes to the amount of parkland per 1,000 residents compared to other communities in the Lower Mainland, that will change as the city’s population grows, especially in neighbourhoods like Moody Centre, Glenayre and Coronation Park — now called the Inlet District.
Coun. Haven Lurbiecki said it’s important Port Moody’s park space keep pace with population growth.
“If we can’t keep up with parkland, then we need to moderate our development plans to what we can handle,” she said.
In 2019 the city bought a one-acre industrial lot on Murray Street, next to Inlet Field for $3.9 million to accommodate an eventual expansion of Rocky Point Park. Its 2024 assessed value is $6.081 million.
Port Moody takes possession of its new properties on Dec. 7 and Jan. 16, 2025.
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