A render of what the downtown Gordon St. hotel could look like if the project goes ahead.

By Spencer Sterritt

Late check-in

First major deadline passes for delayed downtown Nanaimo hotel

Dec 7, 2019 | 12:34 AM

NANAIMO — A proposed hotel reinvigorating downtown Nanaimo and boosting the nearby conference centre has now missed a crucial deadline , while no timeline for construction is in place.

Undeveloped property at 100 Gordon St. remains untouched, despite a building permit for s $23-million, 172-room hotel being issued earlier this year.

Dec. 7 marks the two year deadline of when the property was transferred from the City of Nanaimo to PEG Developments for the project. The company was to have spent $1 million in physical improvements at the site by then.

Bill Corsan, director of community development with the City, explained councillors now have the option of buying back the Gordon St. land for the $750,000 PEG paid for it.

“In the new year we’ll go back to council and seek some direction if things haven’t moved forward,” Corsan told NanaimoNewsNOW. “Council is in a position where anytime after Dec. 7 they can exercise that option or not.”

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Dec. 7 is the first of two critical deadlines for the long-gestating project.

The building permit expires on Dec. 31. If no work is done on the site at that time, PEG Developments would have to re-apply for a permit, which can take a significant amount of time and money.

Ali Monsen with PEG said they would “carefully examine all of our options” before moving ahead with another building permit.

“While another round of steep permit fees could impair the viability of the project, we are committed to exploring creative solutions.”

PEG reps will be in town to meet with City officials on Dec. 16 following bi-weekly discussions between the two parties.

A building permit issued for a downtown Nanaimo hotel adjacent to the Vancouver Island Conference Centre is the closest the long-in-the-works project has come to fruition.

Several unsuccessful proposals have come before Nanaimo council since the conference centre opened in 2008.

An adjacent hotel was a key pillar in the original business plan of the centre. A City-commissioned study found a lack of “quality” hotel rooms led to lost business for the conference centre.

PEG Developments previously told NanaimoNewsNOW they hoped to have shovels in the ground by the fall, already a date pushed back from early 2019.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit