October 22, 2018

Sidney Crossing commercial retail development cancelled

Today we announced that we will not be proceeding with our Sidney Crossing project, a 100,000 square foot commercial retail centre slated for a 10-acre parcel of land at the Victoria International Airport.

The property is located at the intersection of the Patricia Bay Highway, Beacon Avenue, and bounded by Sterling Way. This unfortunate decision is a result of the rapidly rising construction costs combined with significant off-site infrastructure requirements, including a pedestrian overpass, as required as part of the re-zoning of the project lands.

“Timelines are critical success factors in the development business”, said Bill Tucker, CEO, Omicron Development Inc. “The approvals necessary for this project regrettably took longer than any of us anticipated, resulting in a significant escalation of development costs. Standing down on this project is very disappointing and an extremely difficult decision for our firm. We pride ourselves on building quality projects in communities and we won’t compromise our professional standards or the community by looking for ways to deliver less in order to address the impacts of escalating costs. The Town of Sidney, Victoria Airport Authority, and the community dedicated a significant amount of time to ensuring that Sidney Crossing met the expectations and needs of the community. This announcement is not an outcome that anyone foresaw.”

For media inquiries, contact Peter Laughlin, Director, Vancouver Island at 604.419.4701.