By James Peters / Chad Harris

New headquarters for BCLC could have a familiar location

Aug 25, 2016 | 11:06 AM

KAMLOOPS — The head of BCLC says it’s likely the Crown corporation’s new headquarters will end up right beside its current office in downtown Kamloops.

But President and CEO Jim Lightbody says how that happens isn’t clear, which is why the corporation has hired Avison Young, a real estate advisory firm, to lead the process.

“There are all sorts of other options that we may come up with, with the support of Avison Young, including do we sell the property to a developer and then lease back the building that we would need?” said Lightbody.

Lightbody says BCLC could build on property it owns next to the current headquarters, or it could sell the land to a developer and lease it back.

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“We have a lot to work with because we currently own the land here as well as the building. Now we want to look at how we leverage this opportunity for BCLC’s future head office.”

Lightbody notes Avison Young will start by coming up with a timeline to make a decision.

“That is one of the first things we are going to ask Avison Young, is to build out that timeline for us. I would say we are looking at, to get through all the options, explore all the opportunities, and then come up with a recommendation is probably going to take close to a year.”

He says the firm could come up with other options for BCLC, but the corporation would be hard-pressed to find a better general location than the one it already has.