Tag: Village Square

Getting Groceries to the VillageGetting Groceries to the Village

January 9, 2024 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

It is rare that any event goes exactly according to plan and, no matter how much you might attempt to expect the unexpected, there is almost always something that comes up. This was certainly the case for the opening of the Whistler Grocery Store, Whistler’s first dedicated supermarket, in January 1981.

The Grocery Store was scheduled to open on Thursday, January 22, 1981. At the time, there were few businesses open in the Whistler Village and, while the buildings around Village Square were recognizable to those familiar with the Village today, many of the other buildings were still under construction or yet to be started. The Blackcomb Lodge, the first major lodging to open in the Village, had opened on December 29, 1980, and its restaurant Russell’s opened in January, though the Brass Rail Lounge in the same building was still unfinished. Smaller businesses in the finished buildings had begun operating late in 1980 and Tapley’s Pub was slated to open in January, followed by Stoney’s Restaurant the following month.

Stoney’s Restaurant with a clear view to the mountains, where today there are buildings. Whistler Question Collection

Delays to the various openings in the Village began in December, when it began to rain on December 24 and kept raining. By December 26, flooding was occurring around the Lower Mainland and other areas of British Columbia and Highway 99 had been washed out around Culliton Creek and north of the Rutherford Creek junction, cutting Whistler off from the rest of the Sea to Sky. The road reopened by the beginning of 1981, but closed again on January 21 when the detour around the Culliton Creek washout was washed out.

The rain also caused problems on the mountains, particularly on Blackcomb Mountain, which had only begun operating on December 4. Higher elevations had good skiing and both mountains worked hard to make snow when possible and move snow around in order to get skiers to the lifts, but there was very limited terrain and there were long lines to download each afternoon (Blackcomb reportedly even began handing out lemonade to those waiting to download Lift 2). Whistler Mountain was able to continue operating in a limited capacity, but Blackcomb temporarily shut down operations and laid off staff.

One of two destroyed power lines when flood waters washed out footings south of the Tisdale Hydro Station. Whistler Question Collection, 1981

Both the Blackcomb Lodge and Tapley’s Pub delayed their openings for a few days to a week because of the weather and road closures. The Grocery Store’s manager Ted Pryce-Jones, however, decided to open as scheduled on Thursday, January 22, though not exactly as planned.

According to the Whistler Question, Pryce-Jones decided to open “when it became apparent that the Whistler and Pemberton residents were in danger of running out of certain foodstuffs.” Even though the Grocery Store had no fresh meat or produce, residents “flooded” the store to buy milk, bread, cereal, and other foods. In order to meet the demand for milk, Pryce-Jones organized daily Dairyland deliveries by rail, which was also being used to supply restaurants and other goods. Deliveries were limited by the availability of freight space and by the time the highway reopened on Monday, January 26, the Grocery Store and other stores that carried food had run out of fresh produce and milk.

Ted Pryce-Jones, manager, poses near the pop in the new grocery store soon to open in the Village. Whistler Question Collection, 1981

Because of the lack of supply, Pryce-Jones decided to delay the Grocery Store’s Grand Opening Sale until they could restock, but the store did offer various “In Store Specials.” By the end of the month, regular deliveries had resumed and the Grocery Store did very good business, especially in fresh produce, where Pryce-Jones reported “people buying the vegetables and fruit almost as fast as it could be put out.” The store was open seven days a week and, perhaps, unsurprisingly, was busiest between 4:30 and 6:30 pm, when skiers had come down from the mountains (it did begin snowing by the end of the month).

The Grocery Store was able to offer its Grand Opening Sale from February 5 – 8, just a little later than expected and continued to be busy as the only full-service grocery store in Whistler. Despite a somewhat shaky start, the Grocery Store continues to operate today out of the same space in the Hearthstone building over forty years later.

Whistler at 22% Interest – Part 1Whistler at 22% Interest – Part 1

June 28, 2022 Whistler Museum 4 Comments

In the early 1980s, just as the development of Whistler Village was starting to boom, the economy bottomed out and interest rates skyrocketed. Whistler Village was left with 27 unfinished lots as owners, developers, and contractors were going bankrupt at unprecedented levels. Remembering the mess left behind as construction halted, Drew Meredith said, “Imagine standing in Village Square looking up towards Mountain Square and all you see is half finished concrete foundations with rebar sticking out of it. Rusty, dirty rebar. The stroll was there but on both sides of the stroll was just chaos. Very tough to sell that to anybody who wants to come for a holiday.”

*Construction in Whistler Village halted when the economic crisis of the 1980s reached Canada leaving many lots unfinished. Eldon Beck Collection.*

Canada’s inflation had accelerated throughout the 1970s, reaching over 10% in 1980. To curb inflation, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates to a peak of 21%, however inflation remained high. During this time interest rates for home loans reached 22% and Canada went into a recession. To top it off, in November 1981 the federal government ended the Multiple-Use Residential Building (MURB) program of tax credits. With multiple-use residential on the second and third floor of every building, much of Whistler Village was constructed with the understanding that MURB would provide tax incentives for investors. With the MURB program coming to an end many investors poured the foundations quickly to make use of these incentives before it was too late.

While some developments in the new Whistler Village had opened, most were just a foundation as the economic crunch really hit. Whistler had prioritised small developers in the building of the Village and many struggled to continue and could not pay their land taxes.

*Aerial view of the construction in Whistler Village, December 1980. Whistler Question Collection.*

The Whistler Village Land Company (WVLC) was a non-profit arm of the municipality incorporated in 1978 to oversee the sale and development of the Village. As land was sold, the WVLC would use the income to pay their liabilities, including loan repayments and development costs for municipal assets, notably the Arnold Palmer Golf Course and the Resort Centre intended to host a pool and ice rink (eventually the province dictated that the Conference Centre would be built instead). However, in the early 1980s when more lots were placed on the market they would not sell. To further financial woes, in July 1982, only 60% of taxes were paid to the municipality on time and they could charge a maximum of 10% on late payments, less than the bank’s interest rates. Between 1981 and 1982, the municipality’s capital budget was almost halved from $1 million to $650,000 and in 1982 municipal staff took a 2.5% pay cut.

With finances in dire straights, WVLC staff were let go and WVLC operations transferred to the municipality. With debts of approximately $8 million, no way to pay them, and creditors knocking, concerns were mounting that the banks would repossess assets worth far more than the loan amount. Banks could then sell these lands independently to developers, while the government would get nothing for the sale and still have to pay liabilities.

Bringing in the big guns. New Mayor Mark Angus takes Lands Minister Anthony Brummet and Assistant Deputy Lands Minister Chris Gray for a tour of the rebar with WRA Executive Director Earl Hansen in January 1983. Whistler Question Collection.

Whistler went to the provincial government for assistance. On January 6, 1983 it was announced that Whistler Land Company Developments, a new Crown corporation, had acquired the assets and liabilities of WVLC for $1. Government studies showed that all outstanding debts would be paid with future land sales and continued development would create many jobs, plus the expected revenue from tax and tourism. While there was uproar at the time about a taxpayer bailout, the provincial government went on to recoup far more than the initial investment through the land sales of Village North, and today Whistler brings in 25% of BC’s annual tourism revenue.