Developer buys 6,000 Texada acres

Gulf Islands Driftwood
Wednesday, November 03, 1999

By Mike Levin

In the biggest land sale ever recorded on Salt Spring Island, Texada Land Corporation has sold its entire island inventory to Vancouver-based developers Derek Trethewey and Rob McDonald.

The partners took title to the company Monday as well as 6,000 acres stretching from Mount Maxwell through the Burgoyne and Fulford valleys and up to Mount Tuam. They also received Horn Island, off the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

While neither side would reveal the sale price, it is believed to exceed $20 million.

In a brief telephone interview with the Driftwood before leaving on a holiday, Trethewey said he has no immediate proposals for most of the land.

He did confirm plans to clear an 11-hectare (27.2-acre) lot east of Fulford-Ganges Road and at the bottom of Lees Hill (near the Burgoyne Bay turnoff) for a vineyard.

Logging is slated to begin Monday in an area bordered by Fulford Creek. The Islands Trust said it was told large setbacks from the creek will be incorporated into the project.

Trethewey referred all question to his on-island operations manager Brent Kapler. Kapler was unavailable for comment, although local residents said they were approached by Kapler last week about informal information meetings.

Texada’s four properties include primarily agricultural and forest lots but also a chunk with residential zoning that could be used to create another commercial centre, in the Burgoyne Valley, as outlined in 1995’s Official Community Plan.

Trethewey and McDonald are best known for their Stump Lake Ranch project in the Interior’s Nicola Valley.

The partners moved an existing cattle ranch away from the lake and subdivided the shoreline into residential parcels.

Planners at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said the Stump Lake project went smoothly, with good communications among the parties.

“They didn’t argue every point like some developers and didn’t exploit the environmentally sensitive areas of the lake,” said the district’s Barb Jackson.

Reporters covering the development for newspapers in Kamloops — the closest urban centre — said there was no opposition to the project and that Trethewey had a good reputation for environmental stewardship.

But the situation could be different on Salt Spring where the high purchase price could demand immediate cash flow to service. The vast majority of land is managed forest, which means the highest value is for its timber.