Abbotsford – With COVID hitting everyone hard financially, no one is immune.
After careful consideration, the City of Abbotsford commissioned an RFP to gauge market interest in the Fraser Valley Trade and Exhibition Centre (TRADEX) as the first step towards transforming the property into a revenue-generating asset for the City and its residents.
At the May 31 Abbotsford City Council meeting, Devencore Company Ltd. was deemed to be the highest ranked proponent for the new task.
When the RFP closed on May 5, 2021, the City had received 10 proposals in total. In the first stage of the evaluation, 5 were deemed not to meet the requirements of the scope of work. The remaining 5 proposals were evaluated by 4 evaluators from the City’s Finance, Legal, Real Estate and Airport Divisions. The evaluation was facilitated by the Procurement Department.
Devencore won over Avison Young.
Although both final proponents are highly professional with impressive experience and strong teams, Devencore Company Ltd. has the additional advantage of significant aerospace expertise and past projects that strongly parallel the Tradex building. This experience provides advantages such as navigating issues around airport properties including zoning compliancy. Devencore Company Ltd.also provides consulting services at no additional fee.
In March the city released information on an FRP to manage Tradex – As part of its ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility, the City of Abbotsford continually reviews its asset portfolio to identify potential risks and opportunities to maximize revenue. According to financial projections, the TRADEX property under a new tenant or tenants, could generate significant return on investment over the next 25 years while the municipality retains land ownership through a long-term land lease or facility rental model. Through a competitive RFP process, the market will determine the best use and value for the property.
In the meantime, TRADEX will continue to be operated by the Tourism Abbotsford Society on behalf of the City and all current programming at the facility will continue without interruption.
The City acquired the TRADEX facility from BC Pavilion Corporation in 2003 but does not collect any revenue from its activities. The Tourism Abbotsford Society currently manages the facility on the City’s behalf and all revenue generated by TRADEX activities is reinvested in the property and Tourism Abbotsford operations.
The City recognizes that TRADEX has been an important regional venue for numerous business and community events. This process may generate questions and concerns from a variety of stakeholders, and the City is committed to supporting impacted stakeholders as best it can through this transition.
Tradex is normally the home for shows including the annual RV and Motorcycle shows and the Agriculture exposition.
