A remote and abandoned mining town on the shores of a fiord in British Columbia, Canada – which has about 90 houses and duplexes, seven apartment buildings with a total of about 200 units, a shopping center, two recreation centers, a hospital, large works yard and a local dock – is up for grabs.
The entire 322-acre site is expected to fetch an offer in the $7 million range, according to an announcement today by a marketing company and a realty company in British Columbia. A molybdenum mine in the area was shutdown in the 1980s, and the town has been mostly vacant ever since. The announcement states, “A caretaker and his wife are the only residents who remain.”
LandQuest Realty Corp., a real estate company that specializes in rural and trophy properties in the British Columbia province, is no stranger to exotic property sales. The company’s Web site currently features such listings as a deluxe equestrian center, a 2.5-acre island in the Queen Charlotte Islands, a 42-acre “high Country Llama and alpaca farm,” and a 48-acre piece of land on Saturna Island, which has a population of about 300.
Located 500 air miles northwest of Vancouver, and a 3.5-hour drive north of Terrace, Kitsault was once a thriving coastal community on the shores of the Alice Arm fiord, the companies announced. The town is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and is situated on approximately 1.5 miles of oceanfront.
The Kitsault town site includes a 22,000-square-foot shopping center, with “premises suitable for a grocery store, liquor store, bank, hardware store, restaurant, post office, and other specialty stores.” The two recreation centers offer a number of amenities, according to the report, including “a swimming pool, hot tub and whirlpool, locker rooms, gymnasium, a library, curling rink, and even the Maple Leaf pub. The Kitsault General Hospital is equipped with X-ray diagnostic equipment, operating equipment, examination room, waiting/reception area and a suite to house visiting physicians and dentists,” the announcement states.
The town features pavement, curbs and landscaping, and “there is even a complete sewage system with lift stations and sewage treatment plant.” The town will be sold on an “as is” basis.
Rudy Nielsen, president of Niho Land and Cattle Co., which is helping to market the property, said, “This is a spectacular location, and the potential uses for Kitsault are virtually limitless. It could be revitalized as a destination resort or vacation retreat or maybe a cruise ship facility. A buyer could subdivide the property and sell recreational homes. The water, the mountains, everything is here – even a good-sized town. With a little TLC, anything is possible.”
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