Neighbourhood plan

Base31 seeks community input on future of site

Over the past year PEC Community Partners began the transformation of Base31 into a thriving arts and community hub. There were music concerts, a Christmas market and even a stage play, together with outdoor art installations and landscape rejuvenation. Over recent months, some of the buildings on the former Loch Sloy site are being refurbished, including MELT Gallery and the Sergeant’s Mess Hall. The former barracks buildings and hangars comprise just ten per cent of the total site, and Base31 is seeking community input as it builds a vision for the remainder of the property. The long-term plan will see restaurants and retail locations, places for people to work and create, parks and trails and a range of housing at various income levels.

The community engagement process will begin at the end of this month with a series on online surveys, followed by workshops and site tours and roundtable discussions. The site will host an Idea Fair in May, where various concepts will be explored. The aim is to create a Neighbourhood Plan for the site sometime in the fall, with an Official Plan amendment submission towards the end of the year. Concurrent with this will be a new level of programming on the site, including a new food and drink complex by the summer and a concert calendar with 40 events scheduled. “When we started this project, we wanted the local community to co-create the process with us, because we believe that is how interesting, authentic and dynamic places are made,” said Tim Jones, CEO of Base31. “Partnerships and collaboration with the local community are central to our revitalization, and there are some amazing major collaboration in the works.” With the expected increase of events offering food and drink, Base31 is exploring the possibility of offering a shuttle service so that visitors will not have to drive to the site.

During a media Zoom session on Monday, Alexandra DeGasperis, Vice President of DECO Communities Inc, one of the partners in PEC Community Partners, gave an overview of the Neighbourhood Plan process. She said that it will be a very long term plan that will evolve to meet changing needs. According to DeGasperis, the plan envisions “a dynamic collection of neighbourhoods— retail, restaurants, places to work and create, trails and recreation areas and a range of housing to suit many needs. Together we will create a County-based community brimming with opportunities.” She said that local residents, businesses and organizations, the Indigenous community, County staff and representatives from the government will be invited to contribute to the vision. The site will provide, in the long term, community amenities, retail and tourism services and be a source of economic vitality for the County. She acknowledged that housing is an area of great interest, but cautions that it is still early days in the project. “We’re looking at a variety of housing, including affordable housing, with detached and semidetached units, townhouses and apartments. This is a long-term project. We’re going to be working with the community every step of the way. For the full timeline, we’re looking at decades here—two, three, four decades for the full build-out of the site.”

Jones stressed that the heritage aspect of the site will be preserved and even enhanced. “We were inspired by the site and its historical significance as well as the opportunity to do something that would leave a legacy in the County. In effect, we’re in love with the site and we’re looking to tell its many stories in a whole bunch of different ways,” he said. “Interpreting the site, preserving its heritage and celebrating the many stories are at the centre of what we are trying to do here. We’re aware of how integrated this place is into the life of the County. We are respecting the history and finding new ways to tell the story.” Jones added that the airport will remain operating, but will be reviewed on an annual basis. “We’re looking for the best uses and how best to serve the community through the land that we have here. Our aim is to create steady growth over the long term.” A new website for the Neighbourhood Plan is under development, and will be accessible via base31.ca.