Creston Valley Millennium Park Brownfield Feasibility Study

Creston Valley Community Housing Society (CVCHS) will complete phase II testing on a former sawmill site owned by the Town of Creston, with the intention to eventually build affordable housing on site if conditions allow. The Town of Creston is located in the southeast corner of BC, and serves an area stretching from Yahk in the east to Riondel in the north with an additional population of 10,000 residents. The Town was given the site of the former Crestbrook sawmill in 1993, when it ceased operation. A creek used to run through the site but was filled in by the 1950’s, presumably with wood waste. Over the last 20 years, various portions of the site have been developed into affordable housing for seniors and a dog park with walking trails. The town has agreed to lease the southeast corner of the site, bordered by Millennium Park and the railways tracks, to the Creston Valley Community Housing Society to build affordable housing for families. The town identified the strong need for affordable housing through a needs assessment conducted in 2011. Based on the phase I analysis, the area may be contaminated with light extractable petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy extractable petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds. CVCHS will perform phase II testing on the site, including environmental fieldwork, digging test pits, drilling for groundwater testing, and performing geotechnical and lab-based field tests. Based on the results, they will consider preliminary options for remediation. Once the remediation is successfully completed, 0.28 hectares of land will be made available for productive use through eight new units of affordable housing for families. CVCHS plans to retain an architect with experience in LEED building to design the housing and incorporate energy efficient features, as budget allows. Environmental testing on the site would demonstrate a successful partnership between the municipality and a not for profit (CVCHS), with the support of BC Housing and the Columbia Basin trust. As many municipalities in BC have decommissioned sawmills or similar sites, lessons learned will be shared through the Union of BC Municipalities and the BC Non Profit Housing Association. (Project description from original funding application)