by Roger Stonebanks, citizen reporter

The doors will close on Tru Value Foods supermarket in Cordova Bay on or before March 31 – leaving the Red Barn Market at Mattick’s Farm as the community’s only local grocer.

“With proposed future redevelopment coming to the Cordova Bay Plaza, it has become necessary for Tru Value Foods to respond to the current conditions,” states a notice posted at the door.

An application is expected to be filed with Saanich later this month by architect Alan Lowe for a Development Permit that would see the plaza demolished and replaced by three buildings including a new grocery more than twice the present size as well as small shops and 80 condos. Two of the buildings will be four storeys high if the permit is approved. (See earlier SVO story). The plaza is owned by Your Family Food Mart.

“We are excited to see what the future holds for the plaza and while we continue to pursue participation of the proposed redevelopment it is with regret that we will be closing our current store no later than March 31, 2017,” the posted notice states.

“At this juncture we wish to thank all of our staff for their dedication and loyalty. We have had some wonderful people work for us since we opened and are saddened to be parting ways in this manner.

“We also thank the community of Cordova Bay and our many customers that regularly shop with us. We know that come March many of you will miss this store but hope you join us in looking towards the future at Cordova Bay Plaza.”

 Tru Value Foods has grocery stores on Pender Island and Mayne Island and two stores on Quadra Island. After its store in Central Saanich closed, it moved to Cordova Bay Plaza five years ago and replaced Food Forum as the anchor tenant in the small strip mall that was built in 1960.

Owner and general manager Phil Greenhalgh told Saanich Voice Online in an interview on Jan. 9 that Tru Value’s lease at the plaza is due to expire in early 2017. With redevelopment planned, it received notice to vacate. While there was a thought to extend the lease, this did not happen. As well, store staff began to leave.

“So we decided not to seek a month-to-month extension,” he said. “It’s too bad, it’s been great in this community.”

As to the future with the redevelopment, Greenhalgh said “we are in negotiations with the new developer. We are excited about that. It is something we are involved with in negotiations with James Gardiner.”

Aside from Tru Value Foods, current tenants at the plaza are Scotiabank, a fabric shop and a dollar store. Three premises are vacant.

UPDATE – January 27, 2017

A Development Permit amendment (to the 1998 Development Permit application) has now been submitted to the District of Saanich and was posted today (Jan. 27, 2017) on the district’s website. It is for 86 apartments (condos) compared with 80 announced earlier – and the 16 that were sought in 1998 in a proposal approved by Saanich council but which did not proceed because of underground gasoline pollution from a neighbouring property. Proposed retail space now is 3,482 square metres compared with 3,586 square metres in 1998.

Site Plan [PDF – 131 KB]
Elevations [PDF – 636 KB]
Landscape [PDF – 358 KB]