Plans for a revamped garden centre on Mamquam Road propose to grow businesses as well as plants.
The project slated for what is now the Village Garden Centre proposes to maintain the garden centre function, but also expand operations to include retail, a deli, a café and a handful of "small business incubators."
The lot at 1861 Mamquam Road has been used as a garden centre for 33 years, district planner Sabina Foofat said. The property comes with construction challenges as more than 60 per cent of the parcel cannot be built on because of overhead B.C. Hydro power lines.
Designing within those limitations, the proponent plans to keep the garden centre's existing building and greenhouse and add nine 800-square-foot and two 1,600-square-foot business spaces. The spaces would be rented out to start-up business as a kind of testing ground, Foofat said. It would give people the chance to have a regular store frontage to see whether their business idea will fly or not, she said.
"What we have tried to do is make a zone there for business trying to expand out of their home," Foofat said.
The existing building on the property would be used to sell produce with a strong emphasis on B.C.-sourced goods. Close to 5,000 square feet of the site would be dedicated to a local produce grower, who would also sell vegetables in the store, she noted.
Plans also include two food-truck stalls and two small food kiosks. The centre of the lot is to be landscaped as an outdoor seating area with gazebos and picnic tables.
"We think this is a great concept," Foofat said. "We think this is a great evolution of the site."
Mayor Greg Gardner questioned whether the retail component would compete with businesses already downtown. Foofat responded that staff recognizes that Squamish wants to maintain its "downtown first' policy, but the nature of the business spaces would be different, she said.
"I am excited about the concept. I am supportive of the artisan use," Gardner said.
Coun. Corinne Lonsdale said the project could be a draw for Squamish.
"This is really something that can be so positive for this community," she said.
Coun. Doug Race said the project reminded him of the Old Country Market in Coombs, B.C., just without the goats on the roof, while Lonsdale compared the plan to the Blue Heron French Cheese Co. in Oregon.
"[People] will stop here and then they will go downtown," she said.
The rezoning and Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment proposals for the site go to public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. at municipal hall.
