Pamela Anderson sticking her toe into green condo project in Ladysmith

By IAN BAILEY AND SARAH MACWHIRTER - Globe & Mail

Pamela Anderson, who found global stardom for her role as lifeguard C.J. Parker in TV’s Baywatch, is taking

another shot at development in her hometown of Ladysmith.

 

Ms. Anderson, also prominent in the animal-rights movement, told The Globe and Mail she is hoping to break

ground on a small “eco property” in Ladysmith, where she tried to develop a condominium-townhouse project in

2008.

 

“I hope to break ground really soon,” she said during a cocktail party before a sold-out $500-a-plate dinner and

private concert for the David Foster Foundation last week.

 

However, Ms. Anderson did not provide any further details on the project in Ladysmith, located between Nanaimo

and Duncan. She noted that she had started a sustainable design firm.

 

Ms. Anderson said she does not know how much longer she wants to stay in “the business” of entertainment, but

that she will do a few films for Canadian friends.

 

Ms. Anderson follows the pattern of other B.C. entertainment celebrities who got into real estate. Michael Bublé

and Jason Priestley are among those who have backed such projects in recent years.

 

This is a second shot at a development in the Ladysmith area for Ms. Anderson. In 2008, she teamed up with a

friend, former NHL player Geoff Courtnall, to plan an 83-unit development on family property.

 

The project called for 72 condominiums in three separate buildings and three other buildings with 11

townhouses. There would also have been moorage for 16 to 18 boats.

 

Mr. Courtnall has said Ms. Anderson backed out after the market slowed down. In April, 2011, he told The Globe

and Mail he hoped the timing would be right eventually for another such effort.

 

Bill Drysdale, a city councillor in Ladysmith, said on Wednesday that he expected any proposal from Ms. Anderson

would get a fair hearing before council whenever it was submitted.

 

“They will come in with their proposal and we will have a look. I am pretty sure we will look at it positively,” Mr.

Drysdale said.

 

Mr. Drysdale said Ladysmith is well aware of Ms. Anderson’s links to their community of about 7,000. “We have a

picture of her in our new museum on First Avenue to highlight that she is a daughter of Ladysmith,” he said.

 

He recalled that Ms. Anderson and Mr. Courtnall were diligent about modifying their earlier proposal to

accommodate concerns by Ladysmith residents. Council eventually backed the project.

 

It isn’t clear whether Ms. Anderson is aiming to develop her new project on the same property.