Former Okanagan Falls Weyerhaeuser site set to become light industrial park

In 2007, timber giant Weyerhaeuser decided it preferred Princeton over the South Okanagan. It would expand its operation at the former and close its mill at the latter.

And Okanagan Falls heaved a collective groan. Some two hundred employees at the Weyerhaeuser facility, less than five minutes from downtown, would lose their jobs.

The impact is still felt today. Despite numerous proposals, two ownership turnovers and several near-turnovers, the mammoth 114-acre parcel, zoned heavy industrial, remains essentially barren.

But if Garry Peters has his way, the most recent turnover may be the last. On August 11th, Avery Development, the company Peters runs with his wife Victoria, purchased the old Weyerhaeuser site from prior owner Sunniva, Inc.

And Friday afternoon, Peters, a guy who's just as proud of his familial South Okanagan ties as he is of potentially bringing jobs to the region, relayed his plans to PentictonNow.

His company will, he said, rezone the land from heavy industrial to light industrial use. It will then subdivide the 114 acres into 23 individual lots ranging from 1.1 hectares to 6.5 hectares in size, install roads and infrastructure and ideally fill the place with businesses.

Peters doesn't sound like he's wasting time. Friday afternoon he was inspecting preliminary drawings. Tuesday he's submitting the zoning change proposal.

And that’s a good thing. According to Peters, the rezoning process could take up to three months and the subdivision approval a minimum of a year and a half.

"It seems like a long time when Okanagan Falls needs jobs and development now," he said. "My realtor is already fielding calls from interested parties."

What's to say this initiative will succeed when others, such as Sunniva's plan for a high-tech cannabis farm, or a 2013 proposal by Zinfandel Holdings for a mixed-use park that included modular residences didn't?

For one, Peters already owns the land, which wasn’t the case in the Zinfandel pitch. For another, his plans don't involve housing. What's more, he seems like he's done his homework.

Peters said he began investigating the parcel "four or five months ago."

"We have another company that's looking at vertical farming, and I initially looked at this property for that project. But once I saw it and saw the opportunity and got to know OK Falls, I thought this was a perfect fit."

"We saw an opportunity to turn it into a light industrial site and bring smaller businesses and maybe some larger businesses to the area that will in turn bring employment."

Potential employment and its spin-off benefits are seemingly critical to the new owner.

"My mother was born and raised in Penticton and Okanagan Falls," he said, "and we used to spend time in the summers up in the Okanagan. So it means a lot to me."

"But what I've been hearing lately is how Okanagan Falls used to be when Weyerhaeuser was in operation, and the memories people have of a robust and very tightly knit community. So we saw this as an opportunity to do some good, create some value, and bring people here."

Indeed, he's already giving back. Not long after the August purchase, the Christie Mountain wildfire exploded onto the scene. So Garry and Victoria Peters came to town and without fanfare handed over a rather sizeable donation to the Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department.

"There's a handful of very capable developers who want to bring housing and other amenities to the area," said Peters. "But they find it hard because there isn't a lot of employment. We can change that."