Two decades of change: Chilliwack

This is one of a series of articles using satellite imagery to chart the changing face of Fraser Valley communities—and the land on which they sit.

Previously: Abbotsford | Langley | Mission

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Chilliwack has gone through a rapid transition in the last two decades from a town still struggling in the wake of the closure of CFB Chilliwack to a rapidly growing community drawing newcomers in search of some semblance of affordable living.

Other important factors driving change have been the growth of the University of the Fraser Valley’s Chilliwack campus (among other occupants of Canada Education Park), the redevelopment of downtown Chilliwack with the city-driven District 1881 project, and major developments on several First Nation reserves.

• These images are best seen using a computer or tablet. You can click each image for a larger version.

Garrison and the Base

The development of Garrison Crossing has been potentially the story of the last 20 years in Chilliwack. The high-end development occupants a massive swath of land has become the place to live for the city’s professional class.

More recently, the city has seen large developments just to the east of Garrison, much of it driven by Tzeachten First Nation. The new arrivals in Garrison and elsewhere have also required more amenities to add new amenities. In the above aerials, you can see the addition of GW Graham in the small circle in the centre of town, along with the Sardis Library and school improvements on the left-most edge of the image.

Industry and Eagle Landing

This image of western Chilliwack just north of the Lickman and Evans exits shows both the addition of Eagle Landing—another development on First Nation land—and the significant growth of the city’s western industrial areas. The centre-most bottom circle shows another major change: the intensification of industrial land, with buildings replacing parking areas.

Canada Education Park

This aerial image reveals major housing developments in the west and northeast, along with major additions to Canada Education Park, including UFV’s Agriculture Centre of Excellence (bottom-central) and the recently constructed Stitó:s Lá:lém Totí:lt Elementary / Middle School. The southeast part of the image shows the recently constructed Vedder Bridge.

The Brewery

This image shows the largest recent industrial project in Chilliwack: the new Molson Coors Brewery. That brewery wasn’t the only addition to the city’s touted ‘agri-business park.’ Berryhill Farms also constructed a new facility, and the site will soon be home to a Red Bull production site. In the northeast segment of the image, the Chilliwack Airport’s new hangars can be seen.

Promontory

Promontory was Garrison before there was Garrison, and in the image above, we can see how much more Chilliwack’s last big sprawling neighbourhood has grown over the past 16 years. Central areas have mostly all been filled in and homes are creeping ever higher up Mount Thom.

The growth also shows why roadways into and out of the area have become so much busier in recent years.

Downtown

Finally, compared to seven years ago, Chilliwack’s downtown looks relatively similar—from the air at least. Downtown areas, as we’ll see in this series, have been changing slower than other areas, mostly because there aren’t usually as many places to build.

In the above image, we can see District 1881 at the heart of Chilliwack’s downtown. For years, the old Safeway site has been a gaping hole at the heart of the area, but we can see development well underway. On the east side of the image, we can see Ruth and Naomi’s Mission Family Centre. And at the north end, we can see a fairly unique aspect of downtown life in some Fraser Valley communities: the demolition of homes to eventually create more surface parking.