January 2017 | Business View Magazine

138 139 mining activity in the NW region. On Highway 37, towards the Yukon border, there are several mines in development, and others have start- ed full operation in the last few years. So, we provide service and supplies to these regional industries. LNG has garnered the big media coverage, but there is a lot of other positive activity and diversity in the regional economy.” Terrace, itself, is directly focused on strength- ening their industrial tax base; primarily fo- cused on industrial land development. One exciting opportunity came as the result of a major sale of 1100 acres to a Chinese inves- tor. Work is underway to develop the property into an industrial Park. Block explains, “The city supports the investor developing that site. We expect it to have service parcels ready for in- dustrial investment in the summer of 2018. It’s all being done privately– the investment was in the land. We are coordinating closely with them, but they’re doing the design, construc- tion, and installation. They are working with an engineering design firm on the civil works. And looking at installing roads and sewage/water system infrastructure in 2017.” Coinciding with these industrial develop- ments and LNG activity, interest in land for residential development has increased, as have housing starts. Single family homes and multi-family developments are underway, and the first phase of a 35-unit townhouse complex was just completed. The population of Terrace in 2015 was just under 12,500, though the regional district has between 17,000 and 18,000 residents. Dod- dridge notes, “We actually service an area of communities with a combined population of anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000, depending on where you draw the circle.” While forestry is no longer a main industry, logging and lumber is still an active sector. The sawmill is undergoing proposed expansions; upgrading equipment to handle smaller-sized logs and a more diversified fiber supply. Ter- race-based businesses also supply and service the mining industry to the north. “We have a lot of professional consulting services – sur- veying, geology, labs that do mineral testing for resource exploration,” says Block. “Kitimat has a large aluminum smelter –Rio Tinto– that went through modernization and was back online last year with the new production. We are re- sponsible for much of the supply and service to that huge industrial operation, including basics like laundry.” Professional services, materials equipment, in- dustrial and commercial supply for institutional health and education are others key compo- nents in the city’s regional role. Terrace is home to the largest campus of Northwest Community College and has a University of British Columbia satellite campus. Also, the biggest hospital in the area is located here, with the highest con- centration of medical services. In that regard, TERRACE, BRITISH COLUMBIA InnovatIve Qu alIty SolutIonS Cont aCt us: n Geotechnical Engineering n Materials Engineering n Environmental Engineering n QA/QC Materials Testing n Specialty Testing n Quality Management n archaeology n Environmental Consulting n Land and Regulatory services n unmanned aerial Vehicles n Geographical Information Systems n Contaminated sites LoCaLLy ownE d and opERatEd www.northerngeo.ca terrace Fort St. John 250.641.1746 250.261.6615 www.roynorthern.com terrace Fort St. John 250.635-6973 250.261.6644