It’s official – a Tesla sales, service and delivery centre is coming to Langford, a first-of-its-kind facility for Vancouver Island.
“This is a big day for Langford,” said Mayor Stewart Young, as he addressed the crowd at Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony.
“It’s pretty exciting news, and it’s a step in the right direction for climate change and the type of green technology and the high-tech jobs that will be here for this building.”
Young says construction on the 35,000 sq. ft facility will start next week and should wrap up by June 2023, in partnership with the city, Tesla and Seacliff Properties.
“They’re going to start shovels in the ground—we don’t play around here in Langford,” explained Young. “This is going to be a fast build.”
The Tesla facility will be located on City Gate Boulevard, off McCallum Road, near Costco. It’s “just a great location,” according to Young.
“You don’t have to go to Vancouver, and this will be the place to come get your electric vehicles fixed,” he said, “and we’re hoping that we see more types of facilities like this in Langford as the need for electric vehicles grows.”
GROUNDBREAKING | A #Tesla sales, service & delivery centre is coming to #Langford, near Costco. Mayor Young says construction on the 35,000 sqft facility starts next week and should wrap up by June 2023. @victoriabuzzes pic.twitter.com/ND2sWjn15u
— Ethan Morneau (@EthanMorneau) March 3, 2022
Heather Kellington from the Tesla Owners Vancouver Island group echoes Young’s comments, saying local electric vehicle owners have been looking forward to a service centre of their own.
“I’ve been waiting for five years,” said Killington. “It will mean that we no longer have to pay extra money to take a ferry, and the service will be great.”
And with a facility of this magnitude comes more jobs, says Langford Economic Development Committee chair Dale Gann.
“We’re excited to see what that does in job creation,” said Gann. “When you attract a bunch of talent and build an amazing facility, there’s always going to be something else that comes.”
For Mike Reilly, past president of West Shore Chamber of Commerce, a Tesla facility in Langford means “young people can come here, buy a house, set up a business and have a family, and now be able to get somewhere economically and ethically.”
Today’s announcement comes as the City of Langford looks to phase out remaining gas or hybrid vehicles from its fleet, transitioning to fully electric by 2027.
West Shore RCMP is following the same path, with plans to add Tesla and Ford’s Mustang Mach-E to its marked front-line cruiser lineup in an effort to be net-zero by 2050.
In fact, the detachment’s Superintendent Todd Preston says West Shore RCMP’s first Tesla is currently being retrofitted in Ottawa, noting officers “couldn’t be more excited.”
“Hopefully by sometime later this year … we will be in action; we’ll be on the ground with these vehicles,” added Preston. “We’re currently putting the power stations up at the detachment.”
