Industries bring 200 new jobs
A local business centre is in its first phase of development
The second building at Golden Ears Business Center, built by Onni, is currently under construction and will be occupied by Eurorite Cabinets upon completion in about four months. Onni will then begin construction on two more buildings, one to be occupied by an outdoor sport distribution company called Maurice Sports. Six buildings in total are planned for the business park.
Photograph by: Maria Rantanen , TIMES
A couple hundred jobs are moving to Pitt Meadows in 2013.
Two new leases in the Onni Group-owned Golden Ears Business Center are for Eurorite Cabinets and Maurice Sports, according to Kate Zanon, City of Pitt Meadows business services spokesperson.
"These two new tenants will be locating in two new buildings that are in the permitting process now," Zanon said. "With these two businesses comes an additional 200 jobs to Pitt Meadows," she added.
Maurice Sports will be the first tenant in a new multi-tenant building. They will occupy about 80,000 square feet of one of the six proposed buildings.
Eurorite Cabinets will be moving into a building that is currently under construction and will be the only tenant in that building, according to Zanon. Both tenants are planning to move into the business centre in 2013.
"Onni has been working very hard at attracting a strong mix of tenants for the GEBC and the Pitt Meadows Economic Development Corporation is glad that we have been able to assist both Onni and the tenants with their questions and inquiries through this process," said Zanon.
"My understanding is that a number of Maurice Sports employees are quite excited about the reduced commute because they live in Maple Ridge," said Kim Grout, director of operations for the City.
Onni staff said that the Golden Ears Business Center is currently the largest industrial development in Metro Vancouver with more than 1.6-million buildable square feet on the site.
The first building is almost 85 per cent leased and represents another 50 jobs. The surrounding area, including the Golden Ears Bridge and Airport Way access roads, were planned to accommodate growth and traffic in the area specifically for business. This project reinforces council's goals of creating jobs and lessening out-of-town commuting for residents.
Onni noted that the Golden Ears Business Center is currently the most versatile centre in the Lower Mainland accommodating light industrial users looking for flexible space anywhere from 5,000 square feet to 1,000,000 square feet in a regional market that has been identified as lacking industrial space.
"Our economic development model is working and council is very pleased with the new businesses being attracted to our community. In addition to the obvious tax benefits, our partnership with Onni is allowing more Pitt Meadows residents to work close to home and to spend less time commuting and more time with their families," said Mayor Deb Walters.
"We have positioned ourselves well to not only benefit our residents with jobs but with the economic and tax benefits that development such as this creates. This is a win for our community and I am very pleased with the progress made to date," added Walters.
The second building at Golden Ears Business Center, built by Onni, is currently under construction and will be occupied by Eurorite Cabinets upon completion in about four months. Onni will then begin construction on two more buildings, one to be occupied by an outdoor sport distribution company called Maurice Sports. Six buildings in total are planned for the business park.
Photograph by: Maria Rantanen , TIMES
