Gateway 286 brings new life to old Merritt, B.C. rest stop

The once-busy Merritt, B.C., rest stop that sat empty for the last four years should soon be infused with new life.

Ground was broken Tuesday for  Gateway 286, a project that’s expected to bring 30,000 square feet of commercial retail space to lands adjacent to the old Merritt rest stop, which will also be redeveloped.

More than just commercial space, the project is being heralded as a new chapter of economic development and cultural celebration for five Nicola Valley First Nations who took the land over two years earlier.

“We’re looking at jobs and construction, but also making sure that our culture is out there as well, too,” Chief Lee Spahan from the Coldwater Indian Band said Tuesday.

“I’m hoping that when people come through they recognize the culture of the five Nicola Valley bands.”

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The rest stop transfer and transformation was part of an 11-hectare transfer of Crown land to the Nicola Valley First Nations in 2020. The deal was part of the province fulfilling a promise made in March 2019 to work together to grow the regional economy and advance reconciliation with the First Nations, who had been seeking the move years earlier.

The Coldwater Indian Band, Lower Nicola Indian Band, Nooaitch Indian Band, Shackan Indian Band and Upper Nicola Indian Band, as a collective of local First Nations, sought the transfer of the Gateway lands for more than two decades and now their vision is taking shape.

Spayum Holdings, the First Nations-owned development company which owns the land on behalf of the five First Nations, said it will be working with the City of Merritt and their local industry partners to complete on-site work and extend water and sewer lines to the property, as well as for detailed design.

Troika Developments is working with the First Nations collective to get the project up and running, providing development management oversight to the project. Kelowna Mission MLA Renee Merrifield is the company CEO – both she and company president Rich Threlfall were there for the event.

“The seven-acre site is the first phase,” Threlfall said. “It’s a commercial site. We anticipate about 30,000 square feet total of commercial space, including, restaurants, a drive-thru, there’s a gas station with a convenience store.”

Other features Threlfall mentioned were a dog park and a large electric car supercharging station.

In addition to the province’s role in returning the land to First Nations, the federal government is contributing a portion of the funding towards project development and the City of Merritt is providing permitting support and a mechanism of financing for site servicing.

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