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Silkwind property listed for sale

The Silkwind property, zoned to become one of the tallest high-rise developments on Vancouver Island, has been put up for sale.

The 0.55-hectare residential property at 2708 Wale Rd. is listed for $10.3 million by Cushman & Wakefield, an international real estate firm with an office in Vancouver.

The $44-million, 23-storey glass and steel convex tower that was approved for the site would have offered 173 residential units, but the development was stalled after the foundation was excavated in 2007.

For three years the property went untouched until the City of Colwood gained permission to send a contractor onto the site to stabilize the south-slope of the excavation pit and move fencing around the property off public land in December.

Contractors returned to the site this month to stabilize the west-slope next to a townhouse complex where stress fractures had developed.

Rocks excavated from a nearby development in Langford were stacked in layers to create a four-metre thick wall up the side of the slope.

City engineer Michael Baxter said the slopes will continue to be monitored to ensure public safety.

The two remediation projects cost around $200,000, which the City tacked onto the owner’s property tax. Baxter said if the land changes hands the City will still be reimbursed for the work.

“We’d get our money as part of the sale,” he explained, noting that the Edmonton-based owner, identified as 1210609 Alberta Ltd., still has outstanding property taxes from 2009 and 2010, which would also be settled as part of the sale.

Colwood Mayor Dave Saunders said he was pleased to see the land go on the market.

“It’s always been the City’s desire to see that property developed,” he said. “There’s a lot that could be done with that location, whether a new owner goes ahead with the current building design or re-zones it for something different.”

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