Five new food service businesses are coming to Brooks Landing Shopping Centre in Nanaimo, part of ambitious long-term plans for the central Nanaimo area which could include high-density residential. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

big changes

Restaurants coming to Nanaimo’s Brooks Landing, ahead of longer-term, higher-density housing goals

Jun 13, 2025 | 4:04 PM

NANAIMO — New construction at a local shopping centre could just be the start of big changes, including higher-density housing options.

Five new storefronts are under construction to replace parking stalls at Brooks Landing Shopping Centre, poised to host quick food service restaurants beginning early next year.

Speaking to NanaimoNewsNOW during a Friday, June 13 site visit, Terracap chief operating officer Brian Crombie said walls will go up for the five units early next week, before a roof is installed in early July at the Island Hwy. site.

“It’s going to have a nice incline to the roof, like an old historic roof with beautiful porticos that will accent the different tenants. I think we’re going to have a Mexican, a Greek…an array of different quick service restaurants and I think it’s going to be one of the top places to come for a quick meal.”

A rendering of design plans for the new construction at Brooks Landing, which wil feature five food services businesses. (Terracap)

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The design of the 7,600 square foot structure calls for a primarily wood-based construction featuring West Coast species.

Crombie said a number of businesses had signed letters of intent, but none had entered lease agreements yet so he wasn’t able to name any specific restaurants coming.

He said it was a mixture of established chains and independent businesses, who’d already expressed interest.

The project is the first new build for Terracap, which manages the Brooks Landing site under a co-tenancy agreement with other investors.

Crombie said expanding Brooks Landing made a lot of sense.

“Nanaimo is growing, lots of people are coming through. We’re close to Departure Bay (ferry terminal) and so in addition to local demand, we get a lot of people coming to the Staples, into the liquor store, Save-On-Foods etc. They get off the ferry and they stop here before they go somewhere else.”

Concrete work was poised to wrap Friday, June 13 before walls and a roof are added through the remainder of June and into early July. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Finding a place for a quick bite to eat might just be the first phase of a more expansive project.

Crombie said they recently acquired all the residential lots on Montrose Ave., on the southern side of the street bordering the shopping centre.

The lots currently hold around around half a dozen single-family homes.

Plans are still conceptual at this stage, but Crombie said it made for an interesting opportunity.

“It’s got attractive zoning associated with it, the B.C. government has recently passed legislation in regards [developments in] proximity to major transit areas that make this an attractive place to develop. The major transit hub in this area is right across the street from Brooks Landing, but what we’re going to do, I don’t know yet.”

All the purchased lots are zoned COR1, or “Residential Corridor”, allowing for “residential, street-oriented, medium density, and office development along or near major roads”, according to City documents.

While exact plans are not known, the management company with Brooks Landing Shopping Centre said newly acquired Montrose Ave. properties had “attactive zoning” for higher-density residential projects. (Google Maps/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Crombie said the addition of more quick food options wasn’t necessarily linked to any residential plans in the future, rather how shopping centres are evolving to meet changing community needs.

With expanding online shopping for products, Crombie said people want more services during their in-person shopping excursions.

“They’re becoming almost more like the the main streets of the past, more community hubs. Fitness is a big trend in shopping centres, food, whether it be fine dining and or quick dining restaurants, groceries have always been there, pharmacies have always been there.”

Meetings continue with the City, including one on site on Friday, regarding long-term residential plans.

“It’s a dynamic community, ripe for growth…and we want to be one of the developers that supplies the good retail, the good multi-family residential, the good offices, etc. to satisfy people’s desires and needs,” Crombie said.

Once complete, Terracap will shift its focus to more long-term goals at the site which could include higher-density residential builds along Montrose Ave. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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