If you buy and sell stocks, you are taking on a certain amount of risk. If you are an art collector who is looking to sell for profit, you hope your piece has increased in value.
When you buy your home, you will naturally hope that its value appreciates so you can make a profit if you decide to sell or so your heirs enjoy the value of your foresight and generosity.
Recently the Corporation of Delta completed a land transaction that saw 78 acres of fallow land in the ALR consolidated in deals with the Delta School District and with Century Group.
This land, though in the ALR, was not suitable for farming and in this case the Corporation of Delta paid the bill to activate the land so that Snow Farms can expand its
current organic farming operation.
For its part, Century sold 18 acres for $1.55 million. This is around fair market price.
This transaction met with no protests or negative press. Rather, it was heralded as a success for Delta and the community, and for farmers as a whole, as it should be.
If the community were to value the Southlands proposal now under consideration in the exact way in which this recent deal was completed, you would see that fair market price for the 425 acres being considered as a donation to Delta would normally cost approximately $36 million.
This is a far more attractive deal than the one just brokered. In addition, Century has pledged $9 million to irrigate, drain and bring soils up to Class 1-2 grade so the land can be properly farmed.
On this Thanksgiving weekend, let's take a minute to reflect on what Century is offering our community. There is vision here that needs to be carefully considered.
We should be thankful for the sincerity of a developer who wants to build a community around agriculture. The social and educational benefits of such a concept are a once in a lifetime opportunity for South Delta.
Small-scale community farms are not going to save the world.
They are, however, a step in a direction that will help us better understand and benefit within the local food economy.
There is no reason why community-based agriculture can't co-exist with traditional large-scale agriculture in the right context and on the right parcels of land.
Integrating the urban/rural edge can only be a good thing from my perspective and this Southlands proposal accomplishes that on so many levels.
I agree with Century president Sean Hodgins when he says, "This is an opportunity that happens once in the history of a community."
Realizing the benefits of a bold vision requires guts. I suggest our community has them.
I have followed the process and have watched the incarnations of the proposal evolve and I, for one, am very excited about the opportunity that Century Group is giving us in its Southlands proposal.
Come out to the public hearings Oct. 28 to 30 and have your say.
Happy Thanksgiving!
