The City of Cranbrook will work with BC Hydro to attract energy-intensive industrial customers to the province.
City officials said industrial properties will be promoted to businesses looking to set up shop in B.C.
“Our responsibility is to develop the land and once we have an investor ready, we’ll move them into becoming a tenant in the available employment lands that we have,” said Darren Brewer Cranbrook’s economic development officer. “We’re able to tell the story of Cranbrook to potential investors. Once we’ve made that contact, the goal is to get them to move their business and take advantage of BC Hydro’s power and build their operations in Cranbrook.”
City officials said streamlined regulations combined with investments from the B.C. government will make attracting potential businesses easier.
“Cranbrook is an excellent location for companies looking to establish clean and sustainable operations in B.C.,” said Mike Matejka, engineering and development services director. “We invite businesses to take advantage of this opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint and operational costs while building a low-carbon business.”
Brewer said new industrial investments will be a welcomed addition to Cranbrook.
“It’s quite a significant partnership. A lot of smaller towns struggle to attract those anchor tenants to bigger businesses. The reason why is, in part, the lack of investment-ready land,” said Brewer. “This partnership and commitment from BC Hydro to have the power readily available, means our lands are investment ready. It moves us up quite a few years in our investment attraction activities. We can say now that the power is there and BC Hydro is working with us to bring it to market.”