Twilight Drive-in to close after huge jump in property value

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Langley’s Twilight Drive-in Theatre — the last of its kind in Metro Vancouver — will be no more in 2024.

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On Thursday night, the drive-in operators posted on Facebook that they would close at the end of the showing season next fall due to unrelenting property tax hikes that were being passed on to the business.

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“It is with heavy heart that we announce today that next season will be the last for the drive-in due to a 260 per cent increase in property taxes over the last three years,” the statement read.

“With a 72 per cent increase in this year alone our landlord has informed us that they will not be renewing our lease.”

The drive-in theatre was opened in 2005 on 260th Street just off Fraser Highway and offered moviegoers a taste of what was once a North American institution from the 1950s to 1980s with people able to watch a movie from the comfort of their vehicle.

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The drive-in still offers couple’s nights at $45 for a vehicle, two people, a large popcorn and two medium drinks. It is open seven nights a week and located at 3350 260th Street in Aldergrove. The other business on the lot is Sunrise Trailer Sales.

According to B.C. Assessment Authority records, the drive-in occupies the top half of an 11-acre lot zoned for industrial use that was valued at $38,944,000 on July 1, 2022. One year earlier it was assessed at $25,827,000, so the lot increased in value by 50 per cent in one year.

By contrast, a similarly sized lot directly north of the drive-in is worth just $2.8 million because it is on agricultural land reserve.

dcarrigg@postmedia.com

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