Heavy equipment has been seen at the site of the former Howard Johnson Hotel in downtown Nanaimo recently, with  concrete pads surrounding the structure removed on Sunday, Dec. 8. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

wrecking ball

Crews to start tearing down eyesore Howard Johnson Hotel in Nanaimo

Dec 10, 2024 | 5:26 AM

NANAIMO — As advertised by Snuneymux First Nation’s chief, a problematic downtown Nanaimo hotel primed for future redevelopment will be swiftly brought down.

Demolition crews and a hazardous materials contractor are assigned to the dismantling of the decrepit Howard Johnson Hotel site, which formally received a demolition permit from the City of Nanaimo last week.

An official on scene with BROD Demolition on Monday, Dec. 9 stated asbestos removal had to be done prior to the hotel being knocked down in phases, estimating the tear-down work would happen between mid-January and the end of February.

Physically removing the worn down, long-closed hotel at the corner of Terminal Ave. and Comox Rd. riddled with broken windows and vandalism represents a significant milestone in restoring SFN’s traditional village site.

The Nation’s development arm, Petroglyph Development Corporation intends to construct a yet-to-be-revealed mixed-use project on the property lining the Millstone River on the fringe of downtown Nanaimo.

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Various contractors, including hazardous material personnel, had been inside the building in recent weeks, addressing the hotel’s interior prior to the demolition permit’s approval. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

A historic July 15 news conference at neighbouring Maffeo Sutton Park heard the B.C. government had purchased the privately owned property for the purpose of returning the land to Snuneymuxw.

At the event, SFN chief Michael Wyse hoped the building would be flattened within four months and that the site would be redeveloped.

The 6.6-acre property, previously a traditional village site of the Nation, was the source of a contested hotel, residential, and commercial project opposed by SFN.

Primary concerns included environmental issues and, in the words of SFN, failure to satisfactorily address the archaeological significance of the property which was considered inadequate consultation, according to SFN.

The total cost of the purchase was $28.5 million, of which the province covered nearly $26 million.

The Howard Johnson Hotel shut down in the fall of 2018 and has remained closed ever since, leading to on-site social disorder and unsightly vandalism.

For decades, the hotel was a key player in the city’s accommodation industry.

The site once served as a sawmill from the 1870s until about 1930.

Secured gates and fences have been erected around the former Howard Johnson Hotel in recent weeks, preparing for demolition. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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