Mark: Hi it’s Mark Bossert, Top Local Lead Generation. We’re here with Darren McCartney talking about Squamish, BC commercial property and stuffs happening I guess. How’re you doing today Darren?

Darren: I’m well Mark, how about yourself?

Mark: Good, so we’re going to talk about some new stuff that’s happening in Squamish. What’s the first thing on your list?

Darren: A big thing that just came up in the last month, I’ve been working for about a year and a half now on a new business park. There’s an industrial area in Squamish and there’s a 20 acre site a client of mine acquired and there’s a mix of all types of different industrial warehouses going in. We’re very excited, we’ve had a new addition to the zoning, this is really going to help things take off in that area. I want to show you a shot of that neighbourhood so I can explain a little bit better.

Mark: We can see the aerial shot

Darren: If you can see here where my cursor arrow is here at the middle of the business park at Hwy 99 right by Walmart and Home Depot. The site my client owns is this 20 acre lot highlighted in red right here, and right now we’re launching Phase 1 of this business park which has four buildings in this Phase 1 area. I’ve already go one building 100% leased with a bunch of outdoor users, climbing gym, martial arts, fitness and I’m about a quarter of the way through another building that’s also under construction now - they’re just preloading on this side of the building. What just came up recently, is in this lower quadrant here, we’ve achieved retail zoning and effectively, what that will do for our business park here is that it’ll really act as a catalyst for us to take advantage of some retail interest in this site and have a bit of a retail service centre for the entire business park that will really help with the initial development here. New arrivals to the business park in the past few years are Toyota, Ford down here just below the screen shot, Home Depot and Walmart not that long ago. With the additional pre leasing we’re doing here and the retail opportunity, it’s really going to increase the opportunity to add different type of businesses. I just changed the screen shot, can you see that in front of you there? This give you a better feel for it. So we’ve pivoted about 90°, Home Depot would be right here. This is the building that’s 100% leased - it’s very much an activity building, the other being a more light industrial over here, and it’s this retail area over here we’ve got rezoned so there will likely be a couple fast food locations, oil and lube we’re discussing, as well as some other retail type anchors here that will service the balance of the business park. The remaining of the L shape of the 20 acres has been rezoned to allow some additions as well, allowing for indoor recreation and recreation technology. So the intention here, we’ve already got indoor recreation happening with the climbing walls, martial arts, fitness, someone talking about trampolines, that kind of thing. We’re talking to recreation technology users up here, where we’re looking at people who manufacture outdoor gear to set up their manufacturing and office facilities. So it’s a really unique synergy with the amount of outdoor people in the corridor and those entrepreneurs how choose to set up Squamish as home. It gives us an opportunity to leverage that and in bringing some local jobs. Effectively this whole park, in addition to being the first real substantial business park offered in the area, we’ve also got support of the local government, local tax incentives, municipal tax rebates for the first 5 years of tenancy. It’s an exciting project for Squamish, it’s really good timing. It took a little bit of time to get the initial  pre leases involved, but we’ve already got two buildings under construction and we have other deals locking in for the back of the site for larger users. Things are really going to change when you pull off the highway here by summer of next year. You’ll see numerous new buildings going up in that area and a real infill in that development.

It’s fun to work on  and now we’re looking for the retail anchors to put in this facility down here. We’ve already got interest, but we’re definitely still taking phone calls to chat to people about this and see if they’re interested in setting up. So a pretty fun project for me to be working on.

Mark: Alright, and you got some new industrial stuff coming as well?

Darren: You know what, I just listed another piece of land, another site in the neighbourhood - I’m just going to pull it up on here. Here is a different aerial rendering but the same neighbourhood, this is the property I was just talking about, and we’ve seen industrial land top a million dollars per acre in most of the Lower Mainland, it’s very expensive and we’ve been affordable here for awhile but we haven’t seen the inflow of people buying but there has been a lot of interest and numerous deals in the last six months on land up here. We just had this site down here in the corner, sell for $870,000 for this acre which is a big number for that location in the business park. There’s just not a heck of a lot for sale. Ford has set up, there are some other users setting up in this neighbourhood here. I just listed a .6 acre site at about $469,000 which is a pretty reasonable price given the fact that we’ve seen 870,000 per acre, this site is serviced, it’s filled and more or less ready to go. When you look at the layout of the business park, this really is the extent of the Squamish business park with the exception of some larger heavy industrial land over here. So things are going to happen very fast in this area with the constraints on the Lower Mainland there is really no where to go but u[ on the industrial land values. Investors and users are starting to look this way and there’s a limited supply of inventory up here for people to work with. It’s going to be busy in the business park this year for sure.

Mark: That’s great news and obviously things are happening in Squamish. So if you have an interest in exploring whether your industry or retail operations or manufacturing operations might be a fit for Squamish - remember Squamish is kind of the outdoor recreation capital, certainly of Canada and perhaps world class - skiing, hiking, you name it, can pretty much everything outdoors happens in Squamish. Fantastic area and great climate. The guy to call is Darren McCartney - Squamish Commercial Realty - www.squamishcommercialproperty.com or give them a call at 1-604-892-4875 . Thanks Darren

Darren: Thank you Mark

Mark: Hi, it’s Mark Bossert from Top Local Lead Generation we’re talking about Squamish BC - a pretty amazing part of this province with Mr. Darren McCartney. Darren is a commercial realtor in Squamish. How you doing today Darren?

Darren: Doing great Mark, how are you?

Mark: I’m doing great! So what’s going on in beautiful Squamish in the business climate November 2014?

Darren: You know, it’s interesting, the last three of four years - very challenging years up here and we are starting to see pretty good signs of healthy recovery. We went through a time period where there was lots of vacancy, it didn’t matter what market segment you were looking at, there were businesses shutting down, there were land closures; just a lot of people struggling there for four or five years. But in the last, I’d say six to nine months in particular, we’re really seeing that turn up side down due to the weak market, very littles been developed in the commercial sector and most areas where there may have been 15% vacancy have tightened up so both retail downtown and industrial park vacancy has really tightened up and that’s a very healthy sign. Offices are dragging a little bit, but we’re really starting to see signs of new people getting confident and investing in business up here - so it’s exciting to see.

Mark: So what types of business are starting up in Squamish and are there any examples?

Darren: There are, historically we’ve always got this population of businesses serves local population - call it grocery stores, doctors, dentists, that kind of thing, that are really just the number of people drive the number of businesses that can survive. But we’re starting to see a few different areas where people are showing up right now with people moving down here and opening up businesses; we’ve got people who have moved here that have been commuting for a period of time opening up businesses; and then people who are finding it just too expensive in the lower mainland to do business and coming up here for affordability and lifestyle’s an added benefit. Some examples of a few businesses working on the Sea to Sky Business Park, we’ve had almost all new tenants and are pre-leasing there. We’ve got a new climbing gym opening up which is local people putting together a much needed facility that will service local population and tourists. They’ve got a facility opening next summer, they’ve signed a deal. I’ve got a martial arts guy out of Whistler, who has a very successful business in Whistler and he decided - hey why not Squamish - and he’s been starting into the market on a smaller basis in the last six months or a year and he’s ready to triple in size and leasing space.  Light industrial . . . I’ve got guys who are doing rock work everywhere from Pemberton, Whistler, Vancouver choosing to set up their light industrial business in Squamish - just did a deal last week on that. We’re seeing people from all over and even some of the home based business is needing to get out of their house and expand just because their businesses are starting to blossom and they need space. Really seeing it from all areas which is exciting and I think we’ll see more of it. I think as we start getting development going here and whatnot again from what we’re seeing, I think it’s just going to continue to unfold and gain some momentum. It’s an exciting thing to see unfold.

Mark: Awesome, so things are definitely heating up in Squamish in November 2014; probably going to continue that way for quite a while - would that be your read on it?

Darren: Absolutely, that’s what I feel right now. My phone’s ringing instead of me having to call people and it’s been that way for six months so I think we’re in the tip of the iceberg right now which is great.

Mark: Awesome. So we’ve been talking with Mr. Darren McCartney about Squamish, BC. It’s heating up over there - so give him a call. You can reach him at squamishcommercialproperty.com or call him 1-604-892-4875. Thanks a lot Darren

Darren: Thanks

Mark:  Hi, Mark Bossert from Top Local Lead Generation.  We’re here talking about the beautiful, amazing Squamish BC with Squamish Realtor Darren McCartney.  How’re you doing today Darren?

Darren:  Doing great Mark, how about yourself?

Mark:  Good, good.  So Squamish, I know is like an undiscovered little gem, unique in the world with amazing outdoor activities, world class in just about everything that you want to name from mountain biking to wind surfing to climbing to skiing to backpacking and high alpine.  So what’s going on in the residential market in Squamish right now?  November 2014

Darren:  It’s been a very interesting nine months here, you’re right Squamish is a town that’s one of the local sayings is ‘it’s filled with hidden gems’ and not all the locals want to share it but us realtors do and we’re really seeing some positive interest in the area, very quiet after the Olympics for a few years and had the normal market issues as everyone else did.  I think we had it worse here but it’s interesting, I think that people who have moved up here are starting to tell their friends about it and just from an affordability perspective without even knowing what Squamish has to offer people are finding their way here and because of that where we had an inordinate amount of homeless things and landless things for a few years there, it’s really tightened up.   In the last nine months I’d say we’ve gone from being oversupplied, nine months to a year, and finished products like homes and condos, townhomes and whatnot to actually being balanced and going into more of a sellers’ market here and it’s been five years since we’ve had that phenomena so we’re still adjusting.  It’s exciting and I think what is more interesting, we’ve seen single family home construction start again and we’ve seen individuals buying lots but  I think what’s more interesting, more telling is the fact that we’ve started seeing developers buying land again.  This was not the case for quite some time and we’re seeing that interest return so I think it’s definitely a good sign of long term growth as opposed to just a little blip in the market.

Mark:  So, is there new investment in the area?

Darren:  There is new investment in the area; people are coming in buying up development sites.  I’ve seen a lot of that particularly in the downtown core and for zone residential sites so I myself have probably sold half a dozen multifamily land sites in the last nine months, I’d say and all new money coming to town.  I think people have always believed in the Squamish story, people who’ve been following it but it’s been a matter of when and I think just the fact that we’ve seen all that end product tightening up on the resale side, there’s an obvious supply issue now where new product is selling particularly townhomes right now and we’re probably ready for condos as well and vacancy has tightened up so it’s kind of a zero to a few percent right on the rentals here so we were in a situation where we had too much of everything, now we need new homes, we need condos, we need townhomes and so developers are reacting to that and putting their money where their money is so it’s great.  That new energy also market Squamish, people come in, they buy and they have to market their projects so I think that the gap that we had for a few years there, that really affected economic growth in a number of areas so I think we’re going into a healthier multier time period where aside from being affordable, offering a great lifestyle, people are really starting to see the value offering that we have up here and excited to see that unfold.

Mark:  That’s great Darren.  Squamish is one of my favourite places on the planet and how can you miss with Whistler just up the road, world class skiing, cross country skiing up at the Olympic training centre, amazing mountain climbing and back packing and hiking and the Sea to Sky gondola, it just goes on and on and on.  Fishing, hunting, wildlife, you name it, there’s eagles, eagles all over the place.

Darren:  I think I wrote a list once of outdoor activities, I did some ad in the Western Investor years ago and I think I came up with 40 items or something like that, everywhere from bird watching to ATVing  and hunting, those are the more peripheral ones at this stage then all the outdoor stuff you were talking about.  It’s unique, to need to make sure to leave a big of money to buy toys when you move up here, for sure.

Mark:  So, we’re going to keep exploring what’s going on in Squamish.  Maybe look at some property up there, so thanks a lot Darren.  If you want to reach this guy, he knows what’s going on in Squamish; this is the guy for real estate in Squamish, so give him a call.  Mr. Darren McCartney, SquamishCommercialProperty.com or you can call him 1-604-892-4875.  Thanks Darren.

Darren:  Thank you Mark.

Mark:  Hi, it’s Mark Bossert from Top Local Lead Generation.  We’re here talking about Squamish, BC, a pretty amazing part of this province with Mr. Darren McCartney.  Darren’s a realtor and a commercial realtor in Squamish.  How’re you doing today Darren?

Darren:  Doing great Mark, how’re you?

Mark:  I’m great.  So what’s going on in beautiful Squamish in the business climate in November 2014?

Darren:  You know, it’s interesting; the last three or four years, very challenging years up here and we are starting to see some pretty good signs of healthy recovery.  We went through a time period where there was lots of vacancies.  It didn’t matter what market segment you were looking at; there were businesses shutting down, there were lots of closures, just a lot of people struggling there for four or five years but in the last, you know, I’d say six to nine months in particular we’re really seeing that turn upside down due to the weak market, very little’s been developed in the commercial sector and most areas where there may have been fifteen percent vacancy have tightened up so both retail downtown, industrial park vacancies really tightened up and that’s a very healthy sign.  Offices dragging a little bit but you know we’re really starting to see signs of new people getting confidence and investing in business up here so it’s kind of exciting to see.

Mark:  So what types of business are starting up in Squamish and are there any examples?

Darren:  There are, historically we’ve always got this population of businesses, local population call it grocery stores, doctors, dentists, that kind of thing that are really just the number of people drive the number of these businesses that can survive.  We’re starting to see a few different areas where people are showing up right now, Whistler people moving down here, opening up businesses.  We’ve got people who have moved here and who have been commuting for a period of time opening up businesses and then people who are finding it just expensive in the lower mainland to do business and coming up here for affordability and lifestyles an added benefit.  Sometimes the driver, some examples lately, of a few of those different businesses working on Sea to Sky business park; we’ve had almost all new tenants in our preleasing there, we’ve got a new climbing gym opening up which is local people putting together a much needed facility that will service local population and tourists and so they’ve got a facility opening next summer, they’ve signed a deal.   I’ve got a Martial Arts guy out of Whistler, a very successful business in Whistler he decided, hey why not Squamish and he’s been kind of starting into the market on a smaller basis in the past six months or a year and he’s ready to triple in size and leasing space.  Light industrial  . . . .  were the business hub of the corridor and I’ve got guys who’re doing rock work everywhere from Pemberton, Whistler, Vancouver, every direction choosing to set up their Light Industrial  businesses in Squamish, just did a deal on that.  You’re kind of seeing people from all over and even some of the home based businesses is starting to need to get out of their house and expand because their businesses are starting to blossom and they need space so really kind of seeing it from all areas which is exciting and I think seeing more of it as we start getting development going here and whatnot again which we are seeing.  It’s just going to really continue to unfold and gain some momentum, so it’s kind of an exciting thing to see unfold. 

Mark:  Awesome, so things are definitely heating up in Squamish in November 2014, probably going to continue that way for quite a while.  Would that be your read on it?

Darren:  Absolutely, that’s what I feel right now.  What I say is, my phone’s ringing instead of me having to call people and it’s been that way for six months, so I think we’re in the tip of the iceberg right now, which is great.

Mark:  Awesome, so we’ve been talking with Mr. Darren McCartney about Squamish BC.  It’s heating up, up there November 2014 so give him a call. 

You can reach him at squamishcommercialproperty.com or call him at 1-604-892-4875. 

Thanks a lot Darren.

Darren:  Thanks.