After acquiring the Whistler Racket Club and some of the vacant land surrounding it eight years ago, Vancouver-based developer Beedie is eager to get the long-dormant redevelopment plan moving and believes it has the right team to transform the site.

The Northlands project is set for an 11.6-acre site comprised of 4500 Northlands Blvd. and 4711 Settebello Dr., which is located between the Sea-to-Sky Highway and Blackcomb Way, north of the main village of Whistler, one of British Columbia’s most popular resort municipalities.

The site was originally zoned in the 1990s for hotel use and owned by Park Georgia Realty. Its project did not come to fruition, however, and the site was acquired by Vancouver-based Holborn Group. It held the property for about 15 years, couldn’t move forward for a project either, and sold it to Beedie in 2017, Beedie executive vice-president of residential development Curtis Neeser told RENX in an interview this week.

When Beedie acquired the site, along with the nearby 13.5-acre parcel at 4700 Blackcomb Way, the municipality was reviewing its Official Community Plan so Beedie couldn’t move forward with an application until 2021.

Whistler Northlands

Beedie is now proposing a master-planned community with 288 residential units and about 8,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The residential component is to be split between 65 townhomes and 223 apartments and include 70 units of employee housing. Full build-out is expected to take around six to eight years.

“As part of the OCP, our site is actually the terminus of the village, so there is a need and requirement for some commercial retail and we think it’s really gonna add to the experience of the site,” Neeser explained. “Our vision for the site is one of connectivity — the Valley Trail comes right through our site, so connectivity into the trail and connectivity into the village — and to be a real positive addition to Whistler.”

Northlands is one of the largest projects the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has seen in some time, thus the project is being advanced through an “enhanced” rezoning process. Phase I entailed establishing guiding principles for the project and Phase II consists of setting key directions and the development concept. The second phase is about to wrap up and the project is set to move to Phase III early next year when the finalized plan proceeds through the approvals process.

“We need to get going,” Neeser observed. “There’s obviously an election next year, which we don’t want to be a part of. We’d like to get through our approvals next spring, if possible. We’ve owned the site for eight years and been at this actively for five years. There’s been very robust public engagement and we’d like to get moving.”

The economic and community impacts

As part of the project, Beedie commissioned Vancouver-based MMK Consulting to conduct an economic impact study. The final report, which was shared with RENX, estimates the direct economic impact during the design, construction, and marketing phases at $337 million in total output, $163 million in GDP, and 1,281 person-years of employment.

At the end of the day, after the project is fully realized, the total impact is estimated at $25.9 million in annual spending by residents and visitors when including both on-site and off-site spending, and up to 209 direct and indirect jobs. Post-occupancy, the project is also expected to generate $3.6 million in property taxes each year.

“Most of the design and planning will be undertaken in the BC Lower Mainland, with approximately one-fifth being undertaken at RMOW,” the report states. “During construction, approximately half of the employment is expected to take place within RMOW, mainly on the Northlands construction site, with significant offsite BC employment in supplying materials and equipment. Marketing and sales activities are expected to be undertaken approximately equally in RMOW and the Lower Mainland.”

For Beedie, total project costs prior to occupancy are estimated at $511.9 million, including $374.7 million toward development, construction and marketing; $82.7 million toward property and financing costs; and $54.5 million toward development cost charges and community amenity contributions (CACs). The $47.1 million CACs package includes the 70 units of employee housing, the donation of 4700 Blackcomb Way, construction of new childcare space, a $10 million contribution towards off-site recreation facilities, and more.

Beedie's development timeline

“It’s a big site in that it’s 11.6 acres, but it’s only 288 units, so it’s not huge and we can phase it fairly sequentially so that there’s not these huge presale requirements," Neeser said. "We have presales, of course, but the buildings are 80-ish units, not 300 units, plus there’s a significant portion of townhomes, which we can start and build through.”

Beedie rose to prominence as a developer of industrial properties before expanding to residential in 2011 under the Beedie Living brand. The company continues to develop industrial properties, including in Ontario, but is also actively developing several large residential projects across BC. 

It isset to advance rezoning on a new project in West Vancouver called Cypress Estates, but its biggest project is the 96-acre Fraser Mills project in Coquitlam.

Neeser says Beedie expects to bring the first offering at Cypress Estates to market in spring 2026. At Fraser Mills, the first three residential phases — Debut, Encore, and Chapter — have begun construction or are set for construction by the end of the year, as are some of the parks and new wharf.

The next phase will include a large grocery component and applications have already been submitted for future phases. Right now, however, Beedie is particularly eager to get Northlands moving as well.

“Our goal would be to get through approvals next year and to be in a position to launch sales as soon as possible,” Neeser said. “This site has sat idle for 35 years.

"We think we’re the right company to come in and do this now and we’d really like to get moving.”