Crews are closing Commercial St. on Friday, May 10 for six days, reopening Wednesday, May 15. Businesses on Commercial St. between Bastion St. and Terminal Ave. will also be closed.(Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

major closure

Commercial St. closes in downtown Nanaimo for ‘The Last of Us’ filming

May 10, 2024 | 5:26 AM

NANAIMO — Traffic along the downtown’s main retail corridor is closed for roughly the next week.

Crews working on production setup for HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ have closed pedestrian and vehicle access along Commercial St. between Bastion St. and Terminal Ave., on Friday, May 10 with the closure to last through Wednesday, May 15.

All businesses in the closure zone, which also includes previously shuttered sections of Skinner and Wharf St. will also be closed, while businesses outside of the area remain open under normal business hours.

Filming itself will begin Monday, May 13 with traffic control crews arriving in the early morning hours and crew on scene beginning at 5 a.m.

Two days of filming are planned, each lasting between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. No overnight filming is expected and crews are due off location by 10 p.m.

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Areas expected to feature heavily are Diana Krall Plaza, Skinner St. and neighbouring areas of Commercial St.

Nature is beginning to take back Skinner St., including ivy and long grass being staged along the roadway. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Over recent days, a variety of set dressings have been staged in the area, including signs of a Seattle-based coffee chain, banners referring to Seattle’s “Capitol Hill” as well as vehicles with Washington state license plates.

Two businesses are also confirmed to be interior locations for filming, Quintessential and Red’s Bakery, both on the corner of Commercial St. and Skinner St.

Some possible delays along Terminal Ave. are anticipated both Monday and Tuesday, with a notice applied to Commercial St. business windows saying “intermittent traffic control on Terminal at Commercial” will last upwards of three minutes when actively filming.

Most businesses along Commercial St. are scheduled to re-open on Thursday, May 16 as crews begin the task of tearing down sets and cleaning up.

Vehicle and pedestrian access will be restored by 7 a.m.

Further cleanup work will occur throughout the area until the end of May.

Set dressings in Diana Krall Plaza including building fronts, overgrown grass and other features. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Cast and crew for the hit HBO program are expected to record scenes equating to roughly six minutes in the final episode.

The show stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, while the second season of the show currently under production is expected to introduce Isabela Merced and Kaitlyn Dever as ‘Dina’ and ‘Abby’ respectively.

Based on a 2013 video game, the story follows Pascal and Ramsey as they navigate a post-apocalyptic United States landscape, avoiding a virus which transforms infected people into zombie-like creatures.

Crew are using areas behind the false buildings in Diana Krall Plaza to stage equipment. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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