Plans to build two highrise towers in downtown Langford have been scrapped, with the land now up for sale pursuant to a court order.
Announced in 2021, Langford Gateway Developments said it intended to build 22- and 18-storey towers on land purchased at Arncote Avenue, Peatt and Sunderland roads.
A total of 269 residential units were planned for the two condominium towers, as well as ground-floor commercial spaces.
Vancouver-based Cynterra Group, the company behind the project, and Langford Gateway Developments were said by Lanyard Investment Inc. to have defaulted on its mortgage. Lanyard had filed foreclosure proceedings in the B.C. Supreme Court last year, asking for $8.2 million to be paid back.
Commercial real estate investment firm CBRE Victoria, which is overseeing the sale of the land assembly for Lanyard Investment Inc., confirmed a court hearing held in October last year granted the lender “conduct of sale” with an effective date of Jan. 15.
Covering almost two acres, the land assembly, includes five parcels of land, with an assessed value of $11.5 million, according to CBRE’s sale brochure.
A sixth lot at 2637 Sunderland Rd. is currently owned by the Langford Fifty and Up Club, which has an existing land swap agreement in place for the 840 Arncote Ave. site that is intended to be the new home for the club.
CBRE's sale brochure notes the previously approved development permit for the two towers has now elapsed.
The parcel of land at 840 Arncote Ave. has been at the centre of recent local controversy when the property developer demolished a vacant house in February last year and failed to clean up the site.
Neighbours have described living next to the site as “unbearable, depressing and demoralizing.”
Concerns were also raised about the impact on public health, with hazardous waste, such as asbestos, confirmed to be among the rubble.
The City of Langford’s bylaw team has issued 25 fines to Langford Gateway Developments Inc. since July 2024, amounting to $10,500. And in December, the city resolved to declare the site as a “nuisance and a hazard” and impose remedial action requirements.
Despite the uncertainty over the land’s ownership, the City of Langford has confirmed it is full steam ahead for their plans to cleanup the site, with the work expected to be completed by the end of February.
“Pursuant to the Community Charter, the costs of the cleanup will be billed to the property owner, and if they remain unpaid as of Dec. 31, [it] will be deemed to be property taxes in arrears,” said a city spokesperson.
The news has come as a welcome relief for Arncote Avenue resident Ashley Halldorson, who for 12 months has had to endure the sight of the derelict plot from her bedroom and kitchen windows.
“I am over the moon that this will finally get cleaned up,” she said. “The timeline is much sooner than I had anticipated so that is a huge bonus. I prefer to live next to an empty lot rather than a garbage pile.
“Fingers crossed the next owners are more responsible than this developer has been.”
