YVR airport just got a little bigger

Passengers arriving at YVR.
Passengers arriving at YVR.

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Need-to-know news and insight for Wednesday, Jan. 14

Travel is broadening
Finally, something to look forward to in air travel. YVR’s expanded Domestic Terminal, the A-B Connector, features new gate capacity, an expedited baggage system, seismic upgrades and more dining and shopping options. The new $213-million expansion of the original areas of the 1968 terminal is the first major infrastructure project completed as part of YVR’s 10-year gateway strategy announced in 2012 to keep the airport competitive and an economic generator for B.C. The expansion was built using funds collected from the Airport Improvement Fee, retail sales and airplane landing fees. The A-B Connector will be used primarily by WestJet, Central Mountain Air, Air North, Hawkair, Sunwing and Air Transat.

Burnaby drug trade
Burnaby-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, known for developing an experimental Ebola drug, is turning its attention to another deadly disease. Tekmira has merged with U.S. company OnCore Biopharma Inc. to focus on a treatment for hepatitis B, a viral infection that attacks the liver. The combined company will be based in Burnaby. Tekmira CEO Dr. Mark J. Murray said in a press release, “We believe that the merger between Tekmira and OnCore has the potential to transform the HBV treatment landscape by bringing together the technologies and science needed to eradicate the virus and develop a cure for this debilitating and deadly disease.” Tekmira’s Ebola drug is expected to enter Phase 2 in West Africa in early 2015.

Going old school
While school districts sometimes sell off surplus school buildings, now a private school has gone on the market—perfect for anyone wanting to invest in their own education facility. (Note that in the past decade, private school enrollment has grown by 14.6 per cent, according to Erin Millar’s story “the Private School Effect” in this month’s BCBusiness.) Colliers International has listed a former North Vancouver boarding school, Westside School at 2420 Dollarton Highway, for $33.8 million. The 6.5-acre property includes a late-1980s building with classrooms, 350 dorm rooms and a cafeteria.