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Musqueam Chief Ernie Campbell on the site of a new cultural pavilion.LAURA LEYSHON

On the north bank of the Fraser River, a building crane symbolizes the big plans that are unfolding on Musqueam land.

The Musqueam is the only native band within Vancouver, but the scope of their real estate holdings goes well beyond city limits. The band has decided the time is right to realize the potential development of their properties and become a major real estate player.

For a group with a population of about 1,200, it's a vast undertaking.

"We need to get out in the business world, and do things - I've said that for years and years," says Musqueam Chief Ernie Campbell, standing on the building site for a new cultural pavilion. "What we need to strive for is self-sufficiency, and no more [of]what I call government handouts."

Howie Charters is the Colliers International managing director who's been put in charge of launching the real estate projects that will enable the band to run like a full-fledged business.

"When I tell my friends what these guys are up to, their jaws drop. They say, 'You've got to be kidding,' " Mr. Charters says.

Real estate, he says, is the new Musqueam economy.

"An urban band isn't going to be doing a lot of hunting and gathering out in Point Grey - they are focusing on real estate development."

The band has a large asset base outside of the reserve, much of which was acquired through the reconciliation agreement they made with the province in 2007, which gave them the 59-hectare University Golf Course and an eight-hectare parcel of land adjacent to it.

They now have a 15-year plan to develop the parcel, starting with a hotel in the next year or so. The Marriott chain, which has built about 60 hotels on campuses throughout the United States, has shown interest, Mr. Charters says.

If the community consultation gives the green light, the project - worth about $200-million to the Musqueam - will follow with office buildings, rental apartments and 99-year prepaid-lease condos and townhouses that will use the same lease agreement model that the University of British Columbia currently uses.

On the public relations front, the band will open its own doors a little wider.

The Aboriginal Pavilion from the 2010 Winter Olympics is to be relocated to the reserve for use as a cultural centre open to the public for school tours. There is a plan for a soccer field that will also be shared with Vancouver soccer clubs.

For the long term, there are other, even bigger, plans.

The band is looking at providing their own wireless Internet and television service from a Sea Island tower to serve reserve residents.

There is a joint plan with a developer to create a marina, at a cost of about $15-million, although it's too early for the band to say where the marina will be located. The band's Fraser Arms Hotel property in Marpole will undergo a $2-million renovation. The Musqueam are also looking at developing 142 hectares in Ladner for commercial use.

The band's biggest prize is Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, which is located on some of the most prime real estate in the city. But they have an agreement in place with the golf course tenant for the next several years, and Mr. Charters says the band has enough real estate ventures to deal with at the moment.

"If there wasn't a golf course there right now, we'd be talking about real estate worth $1-billion," he says. "If the numbers worked out, you probably could get an early exit strategy for Shaughnessy to move out of there, but nobody is putting their mind to it right now," Mr. Charters says. "We have to make sure we have the capacity to deal with what's on the table right now."

Part of the undertaking includes a new awareness that the usually low-profile band needs to open the lines of communication with the non-native community. They learned a valuable public relations lesson after the 2007 transfer of the University Golf Course, which caused anger because people feared it would mean the end of the golf course in the prestigious area.

It's time for an image update.

"The non-Indians just need to get to know us," Mr. Campbell says. "I think this will be a good opportunity for that. We want to give the public the opportunity to come back and learn from our point of view, our perspective, what the Indians are really like.

"We don't hide anything. I think if we educate people, then they will understand us."

The Musqueam also recently purchased the Nokia Building in Burnaby, which will bring in about $1.75-million annually for reinvestment. It's clear title, Mr. Charters says, "and we will put some financing on it and acquire more real estate."

"We do all right," Mr. Campbell says. "I think we probably supplement our budget $3- to $4-million a year. But it's still not adequate. We were short-changed historically when they designated reserves.

"I don't consider this a reserve because this has always been our territory since time immemorial. We go back [8,000]or 9,000 years. To me, it's not a reserve. It's … our home."

When you own hundreds of hectares of prime real estate, you make friends with the development community. On the reserve itself, Aqulini Developments has recently built more than 40 new residences. EcoPlan International has created an overall community plan for the more than 162-hectare Musqueam reserve.

Kevin Hoffman, development manager for Aquilini, will spend three years working full-time from an office on the reserve as an in-house project manager.

"I would think it's a unique relationship," he says. "But it's about developing relations and being comfortable working with them and them working with us."

Aquilini is the major development company behind residential projects including condo tower Richards and the Maynards Block.

"Obviously, we would be very interested in working in the future with Musqueam to explore opportunities that might come up - for sure that's what we want to do," Mr. Hoffman says. "When it's time to develop those other properties, I hope they ask us to work with them."

For Mr. Campbell, building business relationships is essential.

"We have a very good relationship with some of the biggest land developers in the country. When we go into a joint venture partnership, then everybody makes money," he says.

Mr. Charters puts it like this: "I'll make you a bet that within 24 months Musqueam is a member of the Board of Trade."

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