As one of the West Shore’s most recognizable landmarks, the Royal Bay quarry in Colwood has played an important role in the Colwood community for over a century. Read more about the history of the gravel pit.

GableCraft Homes, who owns the land, will now close the old quarry entirely and reclaim the land to enable their development plans. This work is authorized under their Mine Permit issued by the Province. 

The Latoria South area of Royal Bay is now rapidly transforming into an active construction area as GableCraft prepares the land for the next chapter of Royal Bay. Development plans have been accelerated by the two announcements of a School District 62 Elementary School Site purchase, and the Royal BC Museum Collections and Research Facility.

Extensive site preparation is getting underway

Starting this week, GableCraft Homes will have more people, trucks, and equipment on-site preparing the land for development. Grading and removal of some trees within the development lands along the boundary of Latoria Creek Park will occur to allow for soil remediation.  

Over the next year, GableCraft will undertake extensive land preparation as the big machines prepare the entire 158-acre site for development. Old Latoria Road Trail was recently closed to the public, and various access points into the land from Latoria Creek Park are now being closed to the public to ensure construction activities can occur safely. To ensure public safety, we ask that the public refrain from accessing the fenced lands of Latoria South.  

Work will occur within the noise bylaw requirements, and GableCraft will be working with the contractor to mitigate construction nuisances. 

Creating a seaside village

A new retail village, including a grocery store, coffee shop, restaurant and pharmacy is planned for the Royal Bay Commons, with brick and mortar construction to start in the Spring of 2021.

Over time, new roads, parks and trails will will provide access to the new shops and services, as well as areas of Latoria Creek Park and other recreational amenities,

The museum site will be prepared by June 2021, ready for the Province to then build the facility itself.  

If you have questions

Several Frequently Asked Questions are answered below. If you have additional questions about this phase of construction, please contact the GableCraft Homes Development Team:
Phone: 250.590.9918      Email: development@royalbay.ca

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is mine reclamation?

Mine reclamation is a thoughtfully-planned site management process being undertaken by GableCraft Homes, where formerly mined lands are redeveloped to return the lands to a beneficial community use. Specifically, the remediation will include measures to stabilize slopes and control soil erosion, as well as improve stormwater management. The site-wide planning is done under the guidance of a team of professionals including biologists, arborists and engineers, and meets the Provincial requirements for mine reclamation.  BC’s mine reclamation laws ensure that land, watercourses and cultural heritage resources are returned to a safe and environmentally sound state. GableCraft Homes has a Mine Manager that works directly with the Province.

The mine reclamation process and development of this site will provide an enormous community benefit by restoring and renewing these lands and turning them back into usable space. The development approach will also apply site adaptive planning principles to enhance the protection of valuable environmental features, such as Latoria Creek.

2. What will be done to improve these lands, from an environmental perspective? 

• The Royal Bay neighbourhood continues to be reclaimed, repaired and restored as per the Mine Reclamation Plan under provincial permit.
• The Commons and Quarry will undergo a similar transformation to what is being realized north of Latoria Boulevard, to complete the vision of a vibrant urban community for Colwood.
• This transformation is guided by a development approach which responds and adapts to the site conditions and supports protection and enhancement of the local ecosystem, including geotechnical remediation of the former mine site
• Nearly 17 acres of the South Latoria will be dedicated as neighbourhood parks, natural parkland, trails and greenways
• Latoria South enhances the protection of riparian areas, Latoria Creek and linear greenways by expanding natural buffer areas.
• The redevelopment will improve stream protection through the use of integrated stormwater management infrastructure, including a series of inter-connected urban plazas with both above-ground and below-ground stormwater treatment facilities.

3. How long will the land clearing take and when will construction start? 

Land clearing will occur over several months, with construction planned for 2021.

4. Why do trees need to be removed?

The trees and shrubs being removed have established themselves over the years on highly disturbed gravel piles. The land must be cleared and graded to allow for redevelopment, and will allow for improvements to the overall environmental health and functioning of the property. 

5. Will any trees in Latoria Creek Park be removed?   

No trees will be removed from the Park. In fact, three acres of new forested area will be added to the Park once the mine reclamation has occurred. Trails in Latoria Creek Park will remain open, however no public access will be available to the adjacent Latoria South lands in Royal Bay. Building on their demonstrated commitment to environmental remediation and creating new greenspace in first phase of Royal Bay, where over 2,000 trees and 5,000 native shrubs have already been introduced, GableCraft is committed to rejuvenating these mining lands for community benefit.