Historic Tranquille sanatorium in Kamloops hits real estate market for $15M

A historic Kamloops property eyed for a massive redevelopment for decades is listed for sale again.

Sprawling nearly 500 acres on the western edge of the city, the Tranquille sanatorium and surrounding property is listed for $15 million.

The current owner, Ignition Group, had been planning to build the area out into a subdivision that blended residential neighbourhoods with farm land, but the company has faced delays in recent years. It blamed the province for its challenges while also going up against demands from Secwepemc First Nations for archaeological and environmental assessments.

Now the property — which includes several farms, residential and medical buildings from the Tranquille village and sanatorium — is up for sale. Of the 476 acres, 299 acres are currently leased for cattle grazing.

It’s not the first time the property has been for sale. The vacant tuberculosis sanitorium-turned-psychiatric hospital was also listed in 2016 for nearly $16 million.

In 2000, BC Wilderness Tours bought the property in a court-ordered sale for $1.15 million after the previous developer defaulted on a provincial government-backed mortgage. BC Wilderness Tours later partnered with Ignition to plan an agri-tourism and residential community, and the overall agriculturally-focused concept was enshrined into the City’s official community plan in 2012.

There have been tours of the former tuberculosis sanatorium and village in the following years, the site has hosted film crews and Ignition commissioned a vineyard study on the property, but no redevelopment has started in the 40 years since the province sold the property.

According to the real estate listing, the five-title property is ideal for a private estate, or for subdivision to acreages or phased sales.