Tranquille developer backs out of Kamloops project citing ‘paralysed’ provincial gov’t

The future is uncertain for the historic Tranquille sanatorium and surrounding pasture in Kamloops. The developer behind the planned subdivision saw no end in sight for the years of delays and stepped away from the project.

The massive property is now up for sale, priced at around $15 million, with Ignition Tranquille Developments Ltd. reluctantly backing down from what’s been envisioned as a subdivision that blends waterfront residential properties with farmland.

Company president Dan Fritz told iNFOnews.ca leaving the project behind was “one of the most difficult and disappointing” decisions he has ever made.

It would have brought affordable housing to the area, opened up the Kamloops Lake waterfront to the community, cleaned up “one of the province’s biggest eyesores” and continued agriculture on three-quarters of the land.

“Suffice it to say that after six-plus years (and no foreseeable end in sight) of special interests paralyzing the provincial government’s willingness to provide workable development entitlements, I finally decided to move on and devote my time and resources elsewhere,” Fritz said in an emailed response to questions from iNFOnews.ca.

From a historic Secwepemc village site, a ranch, a tuberculosis sanatorium and a psychiatric institution, the 476-acre property has been lived many lives. Since the late 1980s, it’s been little more than a developer’s dream.

Despite the challenges faced by Ignition Tranquille Developments Ltd. to get the project off the ground, realtor Mark Lester said it’s not off the table.

“A developer has to look at it and say this will work for them,” he said. “I’m not going to say somebody is going to do it and make it work. For whatever reason, previous attempts have not succeeded, and that may be a function of the market, availability of capital or other hiccups.”

Ignition’s overall plan for the area, which included plenty of protected agricultural land, was to develop a farm-centred residential community. Over the past two years, the company blamed the province for delaying the project while it also faced resistance from local Secwepemc First Nations.

Fritz wouldn’t go into details when reached for comment on the delays or “special interests” he said hampered progress at the Tranquille site.

Lester said it doesn’t mean the next owner couldn’t take the reins on the same project, and he added that it could be sold in separate parcels. There are five different titles on the property, so there could be multiple buyers.

“If somebody wants to buy the whole, fantastic. We know there are some challenges given what’s there… but the investors and shareholders, they want to move on,” he said.

It was listed last week and Lester said there has been interest in the property, but no offers yet.

BC Wilderness Tours has owned the property since a judge ordered it to be sold in 2000 after a previous developer, who named his concept subdivision for the area “Padova,” defaulted on a provincial government-backed mortgage. BC Wilderness Tours scooped it up for $1.15 million and later partnered with Ignition to develop Tranquille on the Lake.

Though it has been posted for sale over the years, it was intended to only be sold as a single property. That’s different this time as BC Wilderness Tours looks to potentially sell it off in pieces.

More information is on the real estate listing here.