Former Military Base One Of The Great Places In Canada

Chilliwack’s Garrison Crossing tops best neighbourhood category in Great Places in Canada contest

Chilliwack, B.C., March 8, 2011 — Everyone who lives in Garrison Crossing knows it’s an exceptional community. So it’s fitting that a Garrison resident, Darlene Goetz, has nominated it to the Great Places in Canada contest launched by the Canadian Institute of Planners to find the best streets, places and neighbourhoods in the country.

Garrison Crossing tops the list in the Neighbourhood category, based on the number of votes received to date, although Goetz feels it is worthy of being called “the Greatest Place in Canada.” Unlike most planned communities, here Canada Lands Company (CLC) redeveloped an existing community, the former Canadian Forces Base (CFB) military base. Mature leafy trees line streets winding past homes in a variety of styles, including former military housing that has been refurbished.

Located on a stunning 153-acre (61.9 hectare) property in Chilliwack, Garrison Crossing is one of Canada’s largest and most significant urban revitalization projects. The former CFB Chilliwack has been transformed into a pedestrian-friendly village of some 1,500 homes. Garrison Crossing is just one of a number of CLC-developed communities located on former military bases.
“CLC, in cooperation with the City of Chilliwack, has brought many innovations to Garrison Crossing that have increased the environmental, socio-economic and community value of this redevelopment project,” said Mark Laroche, CLC’s President and CEO. “From coast to coast, Canada Lands Company’s innovative work is helping create strong, sustainable and competitive communities wherever we operate.”

Garrison Crossing has attracted awards and attention from all over Canada for its singular mix of nature and community, and for combining brand new, traditional-style homes with condominiums, duplexes and expertly renovated single-family homes and townhouses. Designed around the new urbanist principles that CLC has long valued and promoted, Garrison Crossing is dotted with pocket parks, crisscrossed with tree-lined walking paths and includes a diversity of architectural styles and housing types.
CLC’s Garrison Crossing has become a model for the urban village concept: preserving the heritage of the site, while also protecting the environment and creating a real, vibrant community.

"Garrison is a feel-good place," says Randy Fasan, director of planning and land development for Canada Lands Company, “and that is precisely what we set out to do: create the most livable and enjoyable community that we could. CLC’s revitalization of Garrison Crossing celebrates its surroundings and commemorates its history.”

For information about Garrison Crossing and to vote in the contest, visit www.garrisoncrossing.ca.

Nominations and voting in the contest will close March 25. A panel of judges will select finalists in late April and winners will be announced in May. Each winning location will receive a plaque, presented to the local mayor, and winning nominators will also receive awards.

CLC is an arm’s length and self-financed federal Crown corporation. The company purchases federal properties at fair market value, and improves and sells them to optimize the financial and community value. The company also owns and manages select properties such as the CN Tower, in Toronto. To learn more, please visit clc.ca or cntower.ca