Last night, Waterfront West staff attended the "West Fest" event promoting business ties between the Comox Valley and Edmonton. The event was held at the Courtenay Museum with Mayors from the Comox Valley (Courtenay. Comox and Cumberland) as well as other dignitaries and numerous business people from both Edmonton and the Valley in attendance.

 
Various real estate agents and developers were at the event, including Island Coastal Resorts, who are currently advertising their luxury spa and resort in Campbell River, The Grand Coastal, and plan to announce further developments in the Comox Valley in the near future. In addition, the Edmonton delegation made mention of several developers who had come to tour the area. Update: Grand Coastal was not built.

One of the most high profile investors from Edmonton looking at further investment in the Valley is Daryl Katz, current billionaire owner of the Edmonton Oilers and chairman and CEO of The Katz Group (Rexall Drugs, Meditrust Pharmacy Inc., etc...). Rexall recently opened a new store at the corner of 17th and Cliffe Ave and it is rumoured that Mr. Katz is seriously considering further investment in the Comox Valley. That's a strong vote of confidence from a man whose net worth is reported to be C2.37 billion (Canadian Business magazine, January-February Issue 2008). It seems everyone is starting to find our little gem of an area and with all of the developments in the works in the Valley already (Sage Hills, Kensington in Union Bay, Trilogy in Cumberland, etc...) we expect the face of the Comox Valley to change drastically over the next 10 years.