LOWER COLUMBIA REGIONAL PROFILE 2017 CONTENTS 03 DISCOVER THE LOWER COLUMBIA – INVEST IN OUR REGION 04 LCIC OVERVIEW 05 2018 ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 06 COMMUNITIES OF THE LOWER COLUMBIA 07 GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE 08 DEMOGRAPHICS & ECONOMY POPULATION --- 08 UTILITIES 15 LABOUR FORCE --- 08 ELECTRICITY --- 15 BUSINESS LICENSES --- 09 WASTE MANAGEMENT --- 15 MAJOR EMPLOYERS --- 10 WATER &SEWER --- 15 NATURAL GAS --- 16 11 TRANSPORTATION TELECOMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA --- 16 HIGHWAYS --- 11 TRADE AREA AND PRINCIPAL MARKETS --- 11 BUSINESS SUPPORT CONTACTS 17 PORTS --- 12 CUSTOMS & BORDER CROSSINGS --- 12 EDUCATION 18 RAIL --- 13 AIR --- 13 APPLIED RESEARCH & INNOVATION 19 13 LAND USE QUALITY OF LIFE 20 RESIDENTIAL --- 13 INDUSTRIAL --- 14 SERVICES 21 CROWN LAND--- 14 2 DISCOVER THE LOWER COLUMBIA – INVEST IN OUR REGION iving in the Lower Columbia region, one has border crossing within 15 minutes. easy access to a healthy outdoor lifestyle, high- BC's Lower Columbia is home to a major regional quality health care and a resilient economy L hospital that serves more than 80,000 people. built upon a hard-working and diverse workforce, The KBRH offers specialist, core medical, and great accessibility, a reliable logistics sector and advanced diagnostic services to the residents companies with strong customer, supplier and throughout the region. Medical tourists come to employee relationships. These factors make the area access cosmetic and other health care offered by particularly well suited for economic development. local specialists with hospital privileges. With The region is a hotbed of metallurgical activity: them, families come to visit. The region's very smelting and refining of zinc and lead, reclaiming accessible health care will become even more metals from end-of-life electronics, producing gold, attractive in the future as our population ages. silver, and a vast array of other metals; recycling zinc, In addition to all the medical professionals and lead and lithium found in dead batteries, support staff it directly employs, the spin-offs manufacturing germanium-based optical lens; and include all the construction work required by growing high-quality indium antimonite-based constant facility upgrades. crystals. The Lower Columbia is also home to the new Directly related to these activities are two centre for Metallurgical Industrial Development hydroelectric stations in the region, on the Pend Acceleration and Studies (MIDAS). This sector- O'Orielle and Columbia Rivers, that generate targeted applied research and commercialization hydroelectric power. centre is providing downstream metallurgical The Lower Columbia also has a robust transportation expertise, a digital fabrication laboratory, and infrastructure including the Trail Regional Airport b u s i n e s s d e v e l o p m e n t s upport for the region. which offers daily flights to Vancouver via Pacific The Lower Columbia is well known for recreation. Coastal Airlines, Canada and USA rail access and two From skiing at RED Mountain Resort to fishing on the Columbia River to back country experiences in the Monashee Mountains, the region attracts and retains a skilled, enthusiastic workforce. The quality of life is yet another reason to visit, invest or relocate to the Photo Credit: Ryan Flett/Tourism Rossland Photo Credit: Ryan Flett/Tourism Rossland Lower Columbia. 3 LCIC OVERVIEW The Lower Columbia Initiatives Photo Credits: Brian Findlow Corporation (LCIC), the regional economic development office, is a partnership between the cities of Trail and Rossland, villages of Warfield, Montrose, and Fruitvale as well as Electoral areas A & B of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary. VISION LCIC works to develop a creative, dynamic and competitive business environment that fosters economic growth. To be the regional economic development agent that LCIC works collaboratively with the businesses within these communities, to supports and drives growth develop and implement strategies to strengthen our local economy. and prosperity. LCIC shares information with potential investors, existing businesses, and other service providers to advance local projects and economic priorities. MISSION LCIC assists existing business and industry to maintain a healthy economic climate, while identifying and pursuing new economic opportunities. To drive Economic This regional profile identifies and examines economic and demographic trends Development in the Lower to provide up-to-date information for business planning. Columbia. The Lower Columbia Initiatives is committed to a cohesive, comprehensive, region-wide approach to the challenges and opportunities of economic development in the Lower Columbia Region. VALUES LCIC STRATEGIC PRIORITIES The LCIC values innovation, Attract new investment by promoting competitive advantages of existing assets creativity, collaboration, and lifestyle. partnerships, honesty, trust, Drive economic development by advancing identified opportunities with respect for diversity and the existing businesses; and leveraging strategic partnerships. opinions of others. Cultivate expertise through awareness of economic development trends, innovation and best practices. 4 The Lower Columbia's main economic drivers include the world's largest zinc and lead smelter, 2018 ECONOMIC OUTLOOK Teck Metals, a Regional Hospital, significant summer and winter tourism, and hydro generation on the Columbia River. The 2018 Economic Outlook is highlighted by a significant number of public and p rivate sector investments in capital and infrastructure projects. The following outlines key investments in the Lower Columbia, as well as current investment opportunities. REGIONAL INVESTMENTS $174 M New Acid Plant at Teck Trail Operations. $700 K Recreation Facility Projects & Investments. $8.4 M New integrated Library and Museum in Trail. $1.9 M Planned Utilities Projects & Investments. $16.6 M New Emergency Department at Regional Hospital. $34 M Josie Hotel at Red Mountain The region is experiencing a period of significant growth that is anticipated to continue well into 2018 and beyond! The City of Trail recently completed $9M worth of upgrades to the airport to build a new terminal building with improved parking. Fruitvale scheduled $4.4M worth of infrastructure upgrades in 2017, as well as added an expansion to the seniors’ gym ($70K) and completed improvements to the RV Park ($80K). The City of Rossland saw infrastructure upgrades in the amount of $4.4M, as well as $1.5M worth of projects including a new skatepark, renewal of the museum and restoration of the Minors Hall. KC Recycling operates the largest lead-acid battery recycling plant in Western Canada and has recently entered into the BC EPRA electronic waste recycling program. Now processing about one quarter of BC’s program volume, KC hired approximately 20 more employees this year and invested in new methods to efficiently process e-waste. i4C Innovation Centre (an innovative Internet of Things company), in collaboration with MIDAS and the LCIC, has created 19 new jobs, relocated 8 new companies, and commercialized over $2M of new investment into our economy, all since opening their doors in May 2017! Along with growth comes confidence in the economy, which brings other investment. This is evident by the fact that investment inquires by businesses and professionals looking to relocate to the region have doubled in the last year! The area also saw significant investment from the municipalities with major infrastructure investments throughout the region. Our local business leaders also contributed substantially to the economy with the new Josie Hotel in Rossland, the demo and rebuild of the Crown Columbia Hotel and major investments into the Trail Memorial Centre, to name a few. The region is visibly prospering and we couldn’t be more excited! Waneta Expansion Lands: Situated in the industrial/rural area located on Highway 22A, approximately 4 km north of the US/Canada Waneta Border Crossing. Trail Industrial Airport Lands: Located 5 km south of Trail on the Waneta Highway, these COMMERCIAL affordable lands are currently zoned Industrial 2 in the RDKB Area A. INVESTMENT Rossland Midtown Transition Area: Located within the heart of downtown Rossland, Opportunities the properties are conveniently located within a five minute walk of most amenities. 5 COMMUNITIES OF THE LOWER COLUMBIA In 1942 Leon Simmons developed Woods Flats, an area of about 220 acres situated above the Columbia River east of Trail. The name Montrose was chosen after a popular place in Scotland. The land was surveyed into lots and shortly thereafter the Montrose Improvement Association was formed. The Montrose Improvement Association developed into a Council with a MONTROSE Chairman and four Commissioners. The Montrose Recreation Commission was formed soon after and continues today as it serves its 1,000 residents. The City of Trail was settled in the 1890's in support of the developing gold/copper mines in Rossland. In 1895 a small smelter called the BC Smelting and Refining Company was constructed at Trail Creek to refine the ores from the Rossland mines. Over the years, the small smelter grew TRAIL into one of the world's largest metallurgical complexes, as well as one of the region's largest employers. The City of Trail, also known as “the Silver City”, is nestled along the mighty Columbia River and is home to over 7,700 residents. Trail also boasts a vibrant amateur sports community with a long history of excellence that earned it BC's Sports Town in the 1990's. Fruitvale was originally