TD Canada Trust is trying again to open a Squamish branch - this time at the entrance to downtown.The banking institution tried last year to work with developers Ed Vernon and Ammi Tepper to put a TD branch at the corner of Hwy. 99 and Industrial Way. District of Squamish Council refused to give the necessary rezoning because Council felt a Downtown location was more appropriate.
TD is now applying for a development permit to pave the way for work to begin to construct the final building at Squamish Station Mall.
The original plans for the mall called for a total of five buildings but only four were built. The fifth building was identified as a bank branch with a drive-thru automatic teller machine (ATM). There wasn't a client for the building so it wasn't constructed when the mall was developed in the mid-1990s by BCR Properties.
If the plan goes ahead and the bank branch is constructed TD will be the first bank in Squamish with a vehicle-oriented ATM.
Shane Sanderson of Marketplace IGA, the anchor tenant in the mall, said he doesn't have any concerns and supports the addition of the bank building.
The property is already zoned to accommodate the bank so the only approvals needed from the District of Squamish come in the form of a development permit. District of Squamish Council can influence the form and character of building through the permit.
Bentall Retail Services, the company managing the mall for the owner, and TD Canada Trust did not return messages left by The Chief asking for more details of the proposed new building.
