The massive Westhills development in Langford has taken an indefinite time-out due to reverberations from the U.S. financial meltdown.

Westhills broke ground this summer on eight single family homes and eight townhomes for a demonstration neighbourhood, due to open spring 2009. That’s on hold until world financial markets turn around, said Jim Hartshorne, the lead consultant for Westhills.

The 6,000-unit project on 209-hectares west of Glen Lake is planned as a pilot “green” neighbourhood under the U.S. and Canada Green Building Council, under the Leadership in Energy and Design-Neighbourhood Developments program.

Westhills is envisioned as three pedestrian-friendly neighbhourhoods constructed over 20 years to stringent environmental standards under “Built Green” criteria. About 83 hectares is planned as greenspace.

“A project of this size, scale and scope has to keep a more vigilant eye on and be responsive to the broader economic climate than smaller projects do,” Hartshorne said in a release. “While we remain optimistic for the relative economic health of the region, we have determined that it is prudent for the privately-funded Westhills project to wait for more certainty in the global markets before proceeding.”

Westhills Corp. is laying of 27 employees in management, administration, construction and marketing.

Hartshorne stressed that work is not immediately grinding to a halt. The homes, townhomes, roads and other servicing infrastructure will be completed, while a fence will be erected around the active construction area, he said.

Hartshorne said he hopes the time-out is brief, but their timeline is up in the air. “Our plan is to prepare the project for a quick turnaround in the event the markets find their footing and it makes economic sense to proceed,” he said. “We are pushing things back to try and open on the terms we want.”

Westhills was also prepping a piece of its land for all-weather field No. 2 at Langford’s City Centre Park, near the closed Glen Lake elementary school. The City is responsible for installing the turf, lighting and seating, and had expected a spring 2009 finish, but that too is on hold.

“It’s developer land,” said Jason Parks, Langford’s parks manager. “Until they finish we won’t start.”

Westhills was championed by Langford and held up as the model for future development in the city within its official community plan. With a build-out over two decades, Mayor Stew Young said a pause on Westhills part isn’t a cause for worry.

“Putting it off six or eight months until market volatility comes down is prudent on their part. The climate has got to be right for everything,” Young said. “ Job loss in B.C. and Canada is more a concern if there is a slowdown in building.”

Prolific property developer Les Bjola said it’s still “full steam ahead” with his projects in Langford and Colwood, including the redevelopment of Colwood Corners and the continued build-out of Bear Mountain, Goldstream Meadows and Langford Lake Landing.

“Westhills has the luxury of halting due to being a very long-term player,” Bjola said. “A year or two is no big difference to their time horizon.”

Bjola said Townline Group’s purchase of the $160-million Radius project in September – currently a big hole in the ground on Herald Street in Victoria – brought renewed confidence to the local property development market.

Bjola said he’s weathered three serious economic storms in past decades, but the one emerging out of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis isn’t as gloomy in nature.

“In previous ones the economy was dead, interest rates were high, everyone was in despair,” he said. “Now the banks are in despair, and they’re the cause of their own problems.”

Now loans and credit requests are scrutinized all that much deeper and the paper work is that much harder, he said. “Fortunately all my projects are funded and I’m moving forward.”

Colwood Corners, a billion-dollar project that includes 11 towers, could be underway next summer. They are still securing tenant agreements and will soon apply to Colwood for a building permit, Bjola said.

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