B.C. Railway Corp. (BCRC) confirmed this week that CN Rail (CNR) officially surrendered the rail shops in Squamish.
When CNR signed a long term lease to take over the operations of B.C. Rail, the company took control of the rail shops in Squamish. CNR decided it didn't need the shops and either relocated or eliminated the work once done in Squamish.
Yvette Wells, vice president of corporate initiatives at BCRC, said the site bordered by Government Road and the Squamish Business Park is 30.76 hectares (76 acres).
Wells said 35 buildings occupy the site. There is a total of about 300,000 square feet of building space on the property.
According to Wells, only a small number of the shops are currently leased. Because the land and buildings are now official surplus to the rail operations, BCRC is reviewing its options for the land.
"Some people have sought options to purchase," Wells said to The Chief. "Letters were sent to the tenants. We want to dispose of the property."
She added that it will be some time before the lands are ready for sale because the property needs to be appraised.
The rail operations at the site in Squamish were slowly being used less and less for railroad purposes over the last decade. By late last year the rail company was no longer using most of the buildings and at least four buildings were leased out for other purposes.
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