WHISTLER'S MARKETPLACE

Whistler, British Columbia

Pivotal in the mid-to-late ‘90's explosion of real estate values at Whistler, Whistler's Marketplace proves that John Evans' twenty-five year prior involvement in Whistler and his foresight with respect to Whistler's rise to international four-season resort status was "right on the money".

At the time of its conception, Whistler Village had no full-service drive-to shopping centre. With a year-round permanent population of less than 5,000 in 1990, Whistler residents and visitors were serviced by a pedestrian-oriented "ski village"with a series of small village shops, often at quite a distance from their vehicles. The idea of a multi-million dollar, mixed use grocery-anchored shopping centre project seemed ambitious at the time, particularly as it was to be situated on an undeveloped acreage to the north of the existing Village.

Since its opening in 1992, Whistler's Marketplace has become Whistler's busiest day-in and day-out retail location. Standing alone when it was built, it has now been completely surrounded by the expanded Whistler Village, representing in excess of a half billion dollars in real estate investment.

Anchored by IGA Marketplace, a B.C. Liquor Store and Pharmasave, retailers that immediately recognized the Centre's preeminent positioning in the market, Whistler's Marketplace is now owned by an Eastern Canadian pension fund and continues to be successfully managed and leased by Trilogy Management Services Ltd. Retail space now commands premium rental rates, while individual condominium investors have seen their property values double and triple.