Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / A former single-family home at 46039 Southlands Drive in Chilliwack. Chilliwack City Council is set to consider a recommendation from city staff at its meeting today that would see a local company awarded with a $222,910 contract to build a parking lot at this site, directly across from City Hall. The City of Chilliwack bought this home in 2021 as part of a future city parking lot expansion effort. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

City contract

City of Chilliwack moves forward with new parking lot at the site of a former single-family home

Sep 3, 2024 | 11:33 AM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack City Council is set to consider a recommendation from city staff at its meeting today (Tuesday, September 3) that would see a civil construction firm awarded with a $222,910 contract to build a parking lot on the site of a former single-family home directly across from City Hall.

According to item 7.4 on today’s council agenda, city staff selected B.A. Blacktop as the leading proponent based on its low bid and its shortest working window of the three submissions that were received for the City Hall parking lot tender.

Andrew Pipke, senior road safety specialist for the City of Chilliwack, wrote in his staff report dated August 28 that B.A. Blacktop’s low bid of $222,910.02 was cheaper than Strohmaier Excavating (2019) Ltd.’s bid of $254,070.74 and B&B Heavy Civil Construction Ltd.’s submission of $316,600.00.

City staff pointed out that B.A. Blacktop is a reputable construction company based on its extensive history of working with the City of Chilliwack on annual paving projects, the Vedder-Promontory design-build construction package, and the Knight Road and Mary Street cycling improvement projects.

The parking lot will be constructed at 46039 Southlands Drive, the site of a former single-family home across from Chilliwack City Hall that was vacated earlier this year by a family after an eviction order was issued. The City of Chilliwack bought the property at 46039 Southlands Drive in 2021 as part of a future parking lot expansion.

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City staff say the recent addition to City Hall not only added extra space for staff, but also ushered in new meeting rooms used to facilitate larger meetings with partners and community groups. Staff wrote in a report dated July 24, 2024 that during peak times, the visitor parking lots at 46019 and 46029 Southlands Drive regularly filled up, forcing visitors to search for limited parking along Southlands Drive, Southlands Crescent, parking in already designated parking lots for city staff, or along Brooks Avenue near the Chilliwack Alliance Church.

City staff took out a demolition permit and arranged for demolition of the home to occur in the early summer.

Fraser Valley Today was tipped off in late 2023 that an eviction order was issued to a family by HomeLife, which managed the property on behalf of the City of Chilliwack, four days before Christmas. There were at least two occupants in the home at the time of the eviction order.

“The property… is owned by the City of Chilliwack and in 2024, the existing house is scheduled for demolition in order to facilitate parking lot construction,” Wiebe said in an email to Fraser Valley Today dated December 27, 2023. “We acknowledge the unfortunate timing of this notice and our staff will work with the property management company to ensure the tenant is treated fairly and will be provided with assistance to help with a successful relocation.”

The house reportedly experienced flooding in the basement at some point in the past couple years, but one of the occupants, a single mother, didn’t want to necessarily leave the home, citing concerns about Chilliwack’s expensive rental market. The family also had a senior rescue cat and loved the big backyard, making the move even more difficult.

The home in question was purchased in April 2021 for $925,000, according to publicly available records on the B.C. Assessment website. The home has been assessed at $895,000, including $564,000 for the land and $331,000 for the building. The lot size is 9,148 square feet. The home was built in 1957.