55 years after purchase, Comet Industries breaks ground on new Kamloops light industrial park

KAMLOOPS — A new light industrial park in the city of Kamloops is one step closer to reality.

The ground was officially broken at the Iron Mask Light Industrial Park in the southwest part of the city Wednesday (May 29). The 190-acre plot of land will include about 130 to 140 acres of sellable land, helping bring new businesses to Kamloops and giving existing companies a path to expansion.

The ground-breaking came 55 years after Comet Industries originally purchased the parcel on land off Sugarloaf Road.

“We also can’t forget there is a substantial amount of local Kamloops companies that are looking to grow and expand and they can’t, and that is very big problem,” highlighted Comet CEO and President Mike O’Reilly. “And these are companies that took a risk of Kamloops 20, 30, 40 years ago, that want to stay here and we don’t want them to leave town. We suspect a lot of the clients and users of this park will be those clients.”

The need for more light industrial land in the city of Kamloops was identified in the official community plan following a study more than 30 years ago.

While the project is moving forward, due to the topography of the land, it will likely take another 18 months for the industrial park to be ready for new tenants and even longer than that to reach its full potential.

“We are looking at about a year-and-a-half alone just in earth works to make flat lots. It will be substantial. The horizon and timeline for this entire project is about 10 to 15 years,” said O’Reilly. “It is substantial for Comet Industries, it is substantial for the city of Kamloops. For reference point, we are close to the same size as the Campbell Creek industrial park, so that gives an idea of how big this actually is. We are just not as linear.”