Image: Kim Evans, used with permission / Multiple Chilliwack Fire Department units were paged to Little Mountain Thursday morning after a motorhome caught fire and impacted a unit at a multi-unit housing complex on Yale Road.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack Fire Department

Chilliwack firefighters called to RV fire at Yale Road housing complex, which previously had a demolition permit

Nov 21, 2024 | 10:29 AM

CHILLIWACK — Multiple Chilliwack Fire Department units were paged to Little Mountain Thursday morning after a motorhome caught fire and appeared to impact a unit at a dilapidated multi-unit housing complex on Yale Road.

Pictures taken by Kim Evans show smoke billowing from a motorhome unit adjacent to a unit closest to Yale Road. There appeared to be visible damage at the end unit closest to Yale Road.

Yale Road was briefly blocked while firefighters worked to control the fire. Chilliwack RCMP attended for traffic control purposes.

The fire was struck at approximately 10 a.m. and did not spread beyond the housing complex, which is located just east of a Centex gas station.

Image: Kim Evans, used with permission / Firefighters work to control a fire at a Yale Road multi-housing complex Thursday morning in Chilliwack.

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Fraser Valley Today is awaiting comment from one of the three assistant fire chiefs for the Chilliwack Fire Department.

In March 2024, Fraser Valley Today reported that this same multi-unit housing complex on Yale Road has had an active demolition permit, as well as two development applications.

“There are two development applications for 46915 Yale Road currently on hold,” City of Chilliwack spokesperson Liana Wiebe said in an email to Fraser Valley Today. “Neither application has been presented to Council, so no staff reports or other documents are available at this time.”

One application is to rezone the subject property from a CS2 (Tourist Commercial) zone to an R5 (Low Rise Apartment) to facilitate the construction of a new apartment development. The second application is a development variance permit application to increase the maximum permitted lot coverage from 50 per cent to 57 per cent and decrease the minimum required interior side lot line setback from 6m to 1.54m within the proposed R5 (Low Rise Apartment) Zone.

Formerly known as Willow Court, the complex at 46915 Yale Road, located two kilometres east of downtown Chilliwack, appears to be a shell of what it once was based on Google Maps imagery of the property dating back to 2009.

Image: Google Maps / A view of Willow Court (46915 Yale Road) from this Google Maps image in April 2009.

According to realty website Redfin, the property could be redeveloped into a 40-unit, five-storey market condo project.

“Developers Alert, 5-storey market condo project for sale in heart of City of Chilliwack,” a listing on Redfin stated. “Potential to build 40 residential units with buildable 59,101.52 square feet, stunning mountain views with glaciers.”

If the Redfin listing is correct, the current property consists of a four-bedroom house and a multi-family motel that contains two bachelor suites and nine 1-bedroom suites. Several renovations have been done to the property including new windows, roofing, flooring, painting, kitchen and bathroom.

A geotechnical report is available, Redfin states, through “due diligence.”