Record Staff
A new roof, new flooring, new paint and new wiring are just a few of the upgrades the Baird family did before deciding to sell their building on McPhee Avenue near Cumberland Road.
The family bought two side-by-side properties at 883 and 871 McPhee Ave. a couple of years ago to house son Reo Baird’s automotive repair shop called Vector Automotive out of the building at 883 McPhee Ave. The adjacent lot is empty.
According to Reo Baird’s father Roger, Reo also fulfilled one of his dreams while running the business.
“His passion was drifting so he built a drift car there,” explained Roger, adding his son still has the car, though he left his life in auto mechanics to study engineering at the University of Victoria.
Roger is in charge of selling the properties — 883 McPhee, on which the 4,000-square-foot building sits on, and the empty adjacent lot. Roger noted the empty lot could easily be used for parking allowing space for up to 30 vehicles for the combined sites.
The building has undergone considerable upgrades including: new flooring in the offices and showroom; new lighting everywhere in interior and exterior security lights; installation of a cement pad and drainage around the building; a new membrane roof with a 100-per-cent 15-year warranty; new wiring and panel; upgrade to three-phase electric power; raised roof on rear 1,600 sq. ft. of building; walls brought up to earthquake proof standard in raised roof area; installation of 2×12-foot overhead doors at back of building; installation of new windows to bring in lots of natural light in raised roof area; and installation of a modern kitchen with appliances.
The building also includes three bathrooms, one of which has a shower. The interior was painted about two years ago.
According to Roger, the lots’ location is ideal because they’re close to the downtown core. He added the lots feature “very rare industrial zoning this close to the city core,” and have “high visibility and easy access.”
Roger also noted a wide variety of uses are permitted within the current zoning (Industrial Two Zone). Before the Baird family bought the properties, the building housed a health club.
He added there’s opportunity for residential expansion on the building.
“It can be expanded upon — it’ll take residential on top, which is something I was going to do but never got around to,” he said.
The lots also underwent an environmental inspection in July and were given clean bills of health.
Two large car hoists, a large compressor and various mechanic tools can be purchased separately if desired.
For more information on the properties, call or e-mail Lyle and Kathleen Larson at Royal LePage at 250-339-7421 or larson@comoxvalleyhomes.com. To view the properties, visit www.comoxvalleyhomes.com.
