Campbell River Indian Band wins Economic Developer of the Year

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It doesn't take much to fall head over heels for Campbell River. Though a busy little place, it's not unusual to have members of the local deer population wander into your back yard to nibble on the vegetation. Time well spent is to surrender the evening watching men in hip boots slip into the Queen Charlotte Strait to do some fly fishing, or watch a cruise ship sail into the night.

But the day: That belongs to the Discovery Harbour Centre, one of the largest shopping malls in the province and owned, in partnership with the Northwest Group of Companies, by the Campbell River Indian Band.

This 360,000 sq. ft. mega-mall project has taken the big-box style of shopping centre and turned it on its ear. Tenants of the centre - Superstore with 100,000 sq. ft, Zellers with about the same, Canadian Tire with 50,000 sq. ft. and Staples with 25,000 more - made modifications to their usual store designs to incorporate the West Coast theme of the centre. Each of the building sports Native reliefs on walls or hand-carved columns or welcoming poles in front. What results is a very attractive business centre with friendly neighborhood appeal.

It was a massive undertaking for the Campbell River Indian Band, which had been planning the mall project for about 20 years. The project itself cost $60 million, including a $1.2 million Native art gallery and craft store that is magnificent in cedar construction. Three totems, carved by Bill Henderson, grace the outside entrance to the gallery, but the inside is the real tribute to the talented Native artists and carvers of the Island.

The mall project has created upwards of 1,000 jobs for the Campbell River band and has garnered them the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers Economic Developer of the Year Award, presented to the band at the CANDO President's at the annual conference held in Vancouver in November last year.

"First there were the construction jobs and First Aid training. The tenants sponsored cashier or teller training programs. These initiatives put band members into jobs in the bank and in most of the retail outlets," said Bob Duncan, business manager for the band. "Band members found 800 to 1,000 jobs over the life of the project, many of them ongoing. Long-range and future job prospects are very good, with professional possibilities," he said.

Klaus Richter, president of the Northwest Group of Companies, is pleased with the success of the partnership. The biggest challenge was the shear size of the project, he said. But it's all behind them now.

The mall is about 98 per cent leased with tenants doing very well, despite the small market, he said. He is just catching a breather before the next big project comes his way. The Campbell River Indian Band however is working on developing its Discovery Harbour Marina, which will have 1,000 berths when completed.