Person

Chan, Caleb

fl. 1980s-

Caleb Chan is the founder and CEO of Burrard International (a real estate company based in Vancouver) and owner of GolfBC. Burrard International properties include the Burrard Building in Vancouver, Village Farm Greenhouse in Delta, 455 Market in San Francisco, and Crystal Lodge and Nicklaus North Golf Course in Whistler. Caleb Chan's father, Chan Shun, was born in Guangzhou, China and founded Crocodile Garments in Hong Kong, moving to Vancouver in 1989. As a Seventh-day Adventist, he began founding charitable Christan foundations which have funded projects around the world since the 1980s. Caleb Chan grew up in the San Francisco area and took an interest in golf as a teenager. He founded Burrard International in 1979 and pursued real estate experience in urban, resort, and recreation properties. He rekindled this interest as a real estate developer when buying a property in 1989 which happened to have a golf course, Gallagher's Canyon, but it was building Nicklaus North in 1996 that got him back into golf again in a meaningful way. Burrard International is the owner of GolfBC, which is Canada's second largest golf management company and contains ten golf courses in BC and Hawaii. The Chan family has also set up the Chan Foundation to facilitate the family's charitable giving. Funds have been donated to aid in medical research and for educational initiatives in developing countries. More locally, a more public example of the foundation's work has been the establishment of the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC in Vancouver and the donation of 40 million dollars for the new Vancouver Art Gallery construction. As Burrard International owns Crystal Lodge in Whistler Village, it is also the landlord for the retail, food and beverage establishments located in the building. In 2008, local outcry arose when the lease was set to expire for long-time local restaurant and bar, Citta', with Burrard International indicating they would not offer it for renewal. The restaurant began a campaign in Whistler to save it's location on the Village Stroll, and was successful in prolonging its lease in the lead-up to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games hosted in Whistler. However, as the lease expiry date again arose in 2014, a campaign was not enough to save the establishment. Burrard International had plans to renovate and open a new eatery in the location (eventually opening Beacon Pub & Eatery), forcing Citta' to close its doors in May 2014.

San Francisco, CA
Vancouver

Real Estate
Golf course management

1) https://burrard.com/company/
2) https://www.ngcoa.ca/Userfiles/File/GBC/2002/Summer/Feature%20CalebChan%20Summer2002.pdf
3) https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/canada-150/canada-150-intensely-private-caleb-chan-one-of-brothers-who-contributed-10-million-to-chan-centre-at-ubc
4) https://biv.com/article/2019/01/chan-family-donates-40-million-help-build-new-vancouver-art-gallery
5) https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler-news/citta-bistro-fighting-to-survive-2480808

RAD, July 2008 version. Canadian Council of Archives.

Catalogued March 2021.