Chinese developer buys Canadian ghost town

Updated: 2015-01-22 10:48

By Wang Ru(China Daily USA)

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A Chinese real estate company recently bought a "ghost town" in British Columbia, Canada.

John Lovelace of Sutton Seafair Realty, the real-estate agency based in Richmond, BC, announced on its official website on Jan 2 that Zhong Ya Group Hebei Canada-China Co, the company from China's Hebei province, bought Bradian, an abandoned town located in the Bridge River Valley north of Whistler.

The ghost town named Bradian, a 20 hectare community once built for a successful gold-mining operation, with streets, fire hydrants, vacant lots, and all of its 22 homes, was vacated in the 1970s after mining waned.

"We had an unbelievable response from potential buyers all over the world," said Lovelace in the official news release. "But at the end of the day we feel that the Chinese company will be a good fit.

"The company told us they plan to rehabilitate the town but I think they are prepared to take the time to plan everything out first," he said. "That planning process will undoubtedly take considerable time," he added.

Michael Mills, the spokesperson for the Bradian town project, speaking on behalf of the real estate agency, told the Huffington Post that the company would start to rebuild and upgrade the infrastructure in the first stage of the development.

Last August, the Globe and Mail said in a report, citing the agency, that "any buyer would face a lot of work upgrading the property and its fixture."

The infrastructure, such as plumbing and electricity, dates back to the 1930s when they were installed. Any customer would have to spend more money to deal with these issues than to buy the town.

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