Park Place Seniors Living, a company that offers assisted living and long-term care for seniors, has filed a lawsuit against the District of Central Saanich for expropriating a 2.2-acre lot last year.
The company filed a civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court on Jan. 20, seeking "fair market value" for a piece of land that's been expropriated by the district.
The company claims that the district's payment of $4.64 million for the Wallace Drive and Hovey Road (Lot A) parcel of land, which they had owned for more than 15 years, was much less than the property's assessed value of $7.2 million.
“Right from the start, there was a large discrepancy on what was deemed market value,” says Lina Saba, Park Place senior director of brand communications and marketing. “It was just a matter of time and preparation to get to the point where we're at now with this claim."
In 2024, the district conducted a separate appraisal for the property and initially pegged the value at $3.1 million.
This amount, the company said, severely undervalues the worth of the land that was earmarked for long-term care for seniors in the future.
After attempts to reach a price agreement failed, the municipality started the expropriation process last spring.
In preparation for the civil case, the company requested information from the district on their process and justification in moving forward with the expropriation. The information that came back, Saba said, was extremely redacted with very minimal information.
"We're not getting the information, which means the community members and constituents and taxpayers are not getting the information either,” she added.
In response, the district stated that all document reviews and redactions were carried out by outside legal and privacy specialists in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The district's civic redevelopment online information page states that it obtained two land appraisals, based on current land zoning, the official community plan and data such as current similar land sales under the B.C. Expropriation Act. The property is designated as farm use even though it is not in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
The district made an advance payment of $4.64 million based on those appraisals. In the event the amount is "disputed," it may be challenged in court; however, the property will still be formally transferred to the district, as was the case last summer.
Mayor Ryan Windsor says the district stands behind its valuation and looks forward to a resolution and fair outcome for taxpayers. “It is not uncommon for processes like these to require a court ruling, and the district is confident in its position."
The civil claim lists, among other things, disturbance damage, including but not limited to reasonable costs, expenses, and losses, directly attributable to this project, general damages, legal fees and appraisal costs.
The company said it’s been a very costly situation for them not just in dollars but in resources, time and energy that takes away from their core business, which is serving seniors and the 40 other properties the company operates.
According to the district, the property on Wallace Drive and Hovey Road meets all the requirements for a project that would replace the aging existing buildings on Mount Newton Cross Road with a new municipal hall as well as police and fire stations.
Through a rezoning process, the district thinks the company could still advance their adjacent Lot B site on Hovey for a seniors care facility, which is rather unfortunate, according to Saba.
"We've had to scrap plans for the property that have been floating around for a long time and that takes a lot of effort and cost and resource to do."
