Construction to begin this summer on Merritt highway rest stop redevelopment
Construction is expected to start this summer on an ambitious project that aims to bolster First Nations economic development in Merritt.
Gateway 286 is a project slated to take shape on 29 acres of land near the old Merritt visitor information centre — a project that will include a 30,000-square-foot commercial centre featuring restaurants, retail, fuel, a dog park and Western Canada’s largest electric vehicle charging station, according to developers.
On Tuesday, Spayum Holdings and Troika PR Gateway announced they had completed a development agreement for the first phase of the project.
“This is an important milestone for Nicola Valley First Nations, who have invested so much time and effort over the past decade to bring this important initiative to life,” said Susan Roline, former Merritt mayor and chair of Spayum Holdings, a company created by five Nicola Valley bands — Coldwater Indian Band, Lower Nicola Indian Band, Nooaitch Indian Band, Shaken Indian Band and Upper Nicola Indian Band — to develop the project.
“There is more work to do but with the formal commitments contained here, our partner communities are able to see real economic opportunities coming closer to fruition.”
The Merritt visitor information centre was closed in 2018 and, in 2020, the provincial government transferred the land to the five bands.
Not much has happened since then, aside from an announcement in 2022 that site cleanup and prep work had begun.
LNIB Chief Stuart Jackson, speaking on behalf of Spayum Holdings, said the project has been 30 years in the making for Merritt-area First Nations.
“Gateway 286 will provide employment and revenue to our five communities and in addition this development will provide a vital transportation hub for all the east and westbound traffic on Highway 5,” he said.
Seven acres of the Spayum Holdings property has been earmarked for the first phase of the project. According to the developers, a permit application will be filed at Merritt city hall in the coming months and construction is expected to begin over the summer.