Mission/Cannes — A small delegation from the City of Mission recently presented the Waterfront Revitalization Master Plan at Le marché international des professionnels de l’immobilier, otherwise known as MIPIM, during a week-long exhibition, conference, and networking event that gathered over 26,000 attendees in Cannes, France.
The City was awarded the opportunity to attend the international summit by the Economic Development Association of Canada and Canadian Deputy Director of MIPIM. In the adjudication statement, the committee called the Waterfront Revitalization Master Plan Canada’s “most outstanding investment opportunity 2023.”
As part of the award, the City of Mission was provided with an exhibition space and free attendance at MIPIM to showcase the Waterfront Revitalization Master Plan.
“Our experiences at MIPIM demonstrated that there is a global interest in projects like our Waterfront Revitalization,” said Mayor Horn. “In addition to the leads we collected while there, we also took away important lessons for how we can work with landowners and stakeholders to market these lands and to incorporate environmental and social elements that will make the project appealing to investors.”
The feedback and interest in the plan was tremendous. Throughout the conference, staff answered questions, held meetings, and engaged in conversation about investing in Mission.
“It was clear that the development community is daunted by working with government, so many of our contacts were impressed and encouraged to see that this project has such strong Council and Provincial support,” Horn added. “Many expressed to us that they would be hesitant to consider investing in a project of this magnitude if there was no clear municipal vision.”
Following the success of the experience, the team will be following up on leads and planning the upcoming local waterfront landowners and investors forum.
“As a result of MIPIM, we are better prepared for our next steps, which will include connecting property owners to the marketplace,” said Horn. “We met with investors and international realtors who want to interact directly with landowners in the area.”
