British Columbia, a place of snow-capped mountains and Meandering Rivers. Sure, the tagline best place in the earth. Didn't last very long, but beautiful bcos seen a bit better. Anyways, Rice home to over 15,000 grizzly bears and the largest blue whale skeleton in Canada. Also there's this scene of the first Canadian Train Robbery that was done by a guy called Billy Miner. It was like 10 to September 1904, it's actually there the Billy mine.

Sorry, I'm getting carried away. What I meant to say was I am currently suspended over a raging River and if you know anything about the Lower Mainland Fraser Valley or the sea, the sky, you might think that I'm currently in North Vancouver or Squamish or even Whistler but you would be wrong because this is Mission

This is Cascade Falls and this is a very wobbly suspension bridge and I just remembered I'm not particularly fond of heights.

We got there for a sec, just not great.

Mission BC, the armpit of the Fraser Valley is what I've heard other people say about it. Me, I just want to find out what the people do live here, think about their rather unflattering nickname, which is why today? We've teamed up with fish, local and realtor Hotshot Taylor. McPherson to find out what the June. The valley really does, have to offer starting at the newly developed, RAM and ravan will be heading back in time to the historic Heritage Park for any art or

In the hustle and bustle of downtown Mission. We want to find out Mission past present and future and really crack open the heart of this community. So grab your brother. He's because this is an all weather tour and we're not gonna let a few drops rain on our parade Rowley is Umbrella by the way. Tell it thank you so much for taking us on this Mission Adventure. I'm curious how is Mission broken down or segregated? Okay, so

We got West Heights, Central Mission Cedar Valley, Ferndale steelhead, Stay Falls hat, sick hat sick, Prairie hats like Island Miracle Valley. Yeah well Mission small but it has lots of little sub-areas will say it's a really sneaky Community because a lot of the time people, all they see is the low heat highway when they come through town. But you know, once you actually bench her up into the hills here, where we are in Mission

You come to discover that there's quite a large community here, it's a place where people kind of come to get away from from the city lifestyle. People like me people like you. Yeah, Taylor, what's your connection to Mission better?

I'm kind of a third-generation Mission. I ate. Is that the actual face? It's a night Mission. I yeah, love it. Yeah, and my dad was born here and my mom ended up getting into real estate here in Mission and has been the number one agent in the Fraser Valley, real estate board for almost 40 years and here I am. Now Tanner. I've Loved driving around but I want to know what the first point we're going to be stopping at today is all about. So we're going

Stop it, red and Rabin. It is 130 unit condo development, mixed commercial and it's something brand new to Mission. We don't really have anything like it. This is the future. This this is. This is the future of mission. Exactly.

Okay, Stephen. So, welcome to rent and Raven. This is the future of mission that you were telling me about, that's correct. Yeah, this this development here. This is kind of the gateway to West Mission. This 130 unit mixed commercial residential development here and basically from here to the West heading towards Maple Ridge, you have the Silverdale Development Area and that's going to increase the population and Mission by about 50 to 60 percent.

Sent 50 to 60 percent of an increase. How is that even going to happen? You know, when you're going to add 25 thousand people to a community, it's going to take time. This is going to be about a 15 to 20 plus year project. We're just in the infancy of it. It's like I say, it's just starting now. So you know, In Our Lifetime, we're going to see some big changes here in Mission who is coming into Mission there. So you're going to have. I think a lot of people moving in from the city, right? People

Who are looking to upsize into a house, you know, people who want a yard, who want a garage, who don't want to pay rent anymore, who want to start saving for the future, it sounds very appealing. What is someone sacrificing by leaving the city in coming to Mission and what are they gaining? But doing us. Well they're going to, they're going to sacrifice that proximity, right? So yes, you're going to have to drive. That's the unfortunate thing. But you know, the gain is that you're going to own.

Something, right? You're going to put a roof over your head that you can call your own. I think that's what everybody wants, right. You know, we all want to, we want we want to call something around as someone who grew up in Mission, what excites you about this development? It's the first of its kind. There's, there's nothing else like this here and for us little Misha nights. You know what I mean? This might be something that people from Vancouver see every day. But you know, for a small town like this, it's just a sign of things to come and it's it is quite exciting this blend.

Of residential and Commercial is really exciting to see coming into Mission. This is a new, how to check out the old. You know what? I got, just the spot. Well, a little bit mysterious.

Increasing a community by 50% is an ambitious task, but if you are one of those people who want more space at a much more affordable, price point then ran and Raven and its commitment to build both residential and Commercial units. May very well, be the prime place for you. What is one thing you wish people really knew about wishes?

It just offers a lot of outdoor opportunity and and you know, being in places where there isn't a lot of people. You know, that's I think what people kind of want is to go where the people aren't. And that's one of the best things about mission is, it's kind of low-key. It's not just the amperage, it's a head shoulders, knees and toes. So okay, exactly, exactly.

Seeing such a push for new blood in the mission Community. I knew I had to check out the more established neighborhood of Heritage Park. Where Taylor tells me the views are to die for

Stephen, welcome to Heritage Park. This is beautiful. What is Heritage Park? This is the heart of mission. This is a place where people come to make memories a place to make memories. Is this park? Common in mission? Is this an outlier? Yeah, this, this this park here. This is one-of-a-kind. You're not going to find anything else like this you know with proximity to homes, you know, very easy to get to and yeah, just

A really great place to have events, because it has the capacity for that. This is a heart of the community. You got it.

Heritage Park. How far does it stretch? And what type of property or people do? We see living in this area Heritage Park goes from Mary Street here and it does flow through all the way to hats, like bench. And on each side of it. You do have nice 60s, 70s 80s, built residential homes, nice size, Lots creates. Just this super convenient kind of setup. And a very desirable place to live. Is what we see what we get or is there a potential for

Developments in any capacity. Come in here. This is it. This is protected land. This is always going to be this way and so yeah, you will, you know, you know that you can come here for the next 50 years and and it'll be, it'll be, you know, what you see is what you get are we seeing the blend of commercial at all in this area. All right? You having to drive to get to anything you need. Exactly. There's there is the only thing you have here is the

Canteen and the Blackberry kitchen if you know you wanted a bite to eat. But other than that, yeah, it's just purely residential. And I think the people here like it that way, you know, they have to put up a bit with the traffic for well, you know, all the events happening at the park, but it's worth it. We're sitting here, stunning views, Chilliwack Abbotsford Langley. What in your opinion sets Mission apart from all? Those are the communities, you know, it's just it's a very comfortable place to live. It's just very

Singing. And this is the kind of place that you see in movies that, you know, it's just, it just has this quaintness to it, right? And it's a really great Community to raise a family in and it just feels like a little step back in time. I mean, Heritage is beautiful. This place is saying as it is, I really want to go check out the hustle and bustle of downtown Mission, though, let's go check out the hustle and bustle of downtown missions when you say it with hustle and bustle. Like that, it makes me think that this isn't going to be as exciting, but a place looks so

So cool when I was driving through earlier, one of the cool things about Heritage Park that we didn't quite capture on camera, is its multi-purpose, use these Mission Ides can really crank it up when they want to like the three-day camping. Festival that called Heritage Park home every year full of Earth, Benders folk music and Good Vibes.

I have you only live in Mission or have you traveled further far, right? Yeah. I I wasn't Mission till I was about 18 left mission for about six years. Had a little stint in Whistler and met my wife there and then as the Olympics were starting to come to Vancouver and Whistler area. It just felt like a natural transition for me to move back and go to University study agriculture at the University of the Fraser Valley. And

Slipping into a career farming for about five to seven years. Tell me a little bit about moving from farming to Rena sex. Well you know, selling a house and selling a carrot, isn't that different right? So no I'm joking, you know, I was introduced to gardening and stuff like that as a kid and always sort of like that. And then thought it, you know, we had a property that would sort of that could I could take that to another level. Just kind of came to discover that I hadn't bit of a knack for sales. I really did enjoy conversing with people.

People going to the Farmers Market on Saturdays. It was sort of a natural transition deciding to get into real estate because yes, they are two very different worlds. But, you know, the commonality is working with people, right? Despise the air quotes, I am genuinely excited to see downtown. I mean, it's not every day you have a highway cut through the center of a town and I want to know how that affects the community for better and For Worse.

Well, Steven, this is it. Welcome to downtown Mission. This is great host. Ellen, Poulsen great coffee. Also noticing something. I did not expect to see high-rises. Yeah, so something brand new to Mission. We've got a full rentals high-rise building here. Same thing on Third Avenue, we've got another full rental building. So, just offering other options for affordable housing for people.

How have you seen the downtown change over the past couple years? And how do you think it's going to change in the future the downtown since I was a kid has remained a lot the same because we do have a highway coming through downtown Mission so it definitely restricts change. But what you are seeing is a lot of new businesses coming in and, you know, kind of bringing a little bit more revitalization into the downtown and giving it a little bit more of that quaint kind of cutesy look that I think people are kind of into these days. Yeah, I mean, if it comes to this coffee, I'm not

Lena. Yeah. No, I'll come for the coffee all day long. How can we expect a highway ring to a center of a town to affect progress and development of this this community? Yeah unfortunately it's going to handcuff things a little bit on on the main strip here. And with this, you know, it's going to maintain its sort of, you know, Heritage sort of look and and just give it that kind of old-school, kind of vibe that nostalgic, kind of vibe, right?

We have the high rises over here. Yeah. What other properties are available for someone who's looking to live in the downtown core Mission. Yeah, so you have a good variety of, you know, older homes from downtown all the way up to Seventh Avenue. And there you're going to find really cool turn-of-the-century, kind of homes, homes that people are fixing up and making the old new again. Thank you so much for taking me to downtown Mission low, eat Highway postal.

Local shops Community. I hear there is one more thing that we are checking out today. Yeah, it really love to show you a great example of a Heritage style home downtown here. Would you like check it out? That sounds phenomenal. Awesome.

Steven, welcome to a great example of a renovated Heritage home here in Mission. This is so Charming Heritage Home. What does that mean? For a potential home buyer right you're going to get a home with larger bedrooms you know decent-sized kitchen but you may have to rework it a little bit because you know they did things a little different back then but typically you're going to get really good bones. Lots of long

Buddy. You know, these houses are standing because they're standing, right? They've been around for a long time. This one was built in 1928 and it ain't going anywhere. What in your opinion is the benefits of getting a piece of property like this and renovating versus buying some of the new places that we saw a renter Raven. Just just so much more custom option, you know, option for customization, really making it your own. These are the kind of homes that have just that real warm feeling to them. They feel like a home newer homes. Maybe a little more contemporary

Terry that kind of thing. And there's nothing wrong with that but this this kind of Blends, The Best of Both Worlds, where you can kind of have that a little bit of contemporary meet score sort of Heritage Vibe. Who is coming into Mission? I'm buying these types of homes right now. Yeah, I think people who like that kind of Heritage style home who are looking to put their stamp on something, they don't want that cookie cutter. You know, 90s 2000s, built home, they want something with some character, right? And so you're gonna have to have a little

Lil Bit of extra money. You don't inject into these homes because yeah, there is set additional cost but I think the end result sort of speaks for itself, Taylor, thank you so much for taking us around today. It has completely changed my perspective, on what I thought mission was, and what better way to end it than here in authentic Heritage Home Stevens, my pleasure, and you know what? I'd really love to show you a place that's special to me. So we're not ending just yet. No, we're going to. We got one more place to go where we gonna go. It's a surprise.

Mission up until. Now, the only time I visited you was to buy a lens of a guy on Facebook who didn't want to use his real name because he didn't want the government to track him. My return though, has turned up a lot of feelings. These more rural communities. Remind me of growing up back in Ireland. That's how, and where everyone knows, you people stop and chat on the streets, and it's the community pushing to innovate not corporations people from Vancouver. Have a lot to say about

Mission. But hey, as Charles Bukowski once said, wisdom is quiet. Ignorance is loud which kind of exemplifies, Taylor, a former ski bum, part-time farmer, and all-around, wonderful human being, his mom's signs are littered throughout Mission. And I wondered before this tour, how that would impact day. But Taylor stands on his own two feet, Charming knowledgeable, and most of all fun. So

So Mindy, you better watch out because I have a feeling that Taylor is going to be taking that number one spot in the very near future. I mean, the guy raises chickens what's not to love.