SFN Chief Michael Wyse addresses a land transfer ceremony at SFN's Health and Wellness Centre. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW staff

major gains

Top Stories of 2025: Hotel demolition, land transfer & casino acquisitions represent bright future for SFN

Dec 23, 2025 | 9:53 AM

NANAIMO — With a universally despised eyesore removed this past fall, a fresh slate is available for Snuneymuxw First Nation (SFN) to develop a high-profile property on the edge of the downtown.

While it took crews nearly a year to prepare, knock down and remove the rubble, the former Howard Johnson Hotel at the corner of Terminal Ave. and Comox Rd., is was gone over the summer and represents a step in the right direction.

Closed and abandoned since 2018, the hotel on the 6.6 acres along the Millstone River had been the site of seemingly endless lawlessness, including break-ins and fires during the demolition process.

Hope to rejuvenate the property was made crystal clear at a July 2024 news conference, where the province transferred ownership of the property to the First Nation as part of a $28.5 million dollar purchase agreement.

Only small piles of rubble remain from the former Howard Johnson Hotel site. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Land transfer
Pledged by the federal government nearly two years ago to hand over nearly 200 acres of property to land-starved SFN, the deal was made official in the fall.

A mid-October ceremony hosted by SFN outlined general plans for the land, with about half of the property known as te’tuxwtun, bordering the Nanaimo Parkway, Fifth St. and Nanaimo Lakes Rd., opposite from Vancouver Island University.

“This is no small development; it is the largest development the central Island has seen in modern times. A multi-billion-dollar project that requires decades to plan and build out,” SFN Chief Michael Wyse declared.

Conceptual construction plans for the heart of the development zone across from VIU are subject to a vote of membership, but include an entertainment resort, commercial uses and housing of various forms and densities.

Site map of newly transferred lands and potential future development. (Snunymuxw First Nation)

Casinos
Building on the official confirmation of a significant land transfer from the federal government earlier in the month, capping off October was the complete opposite of spooky for SFN.

An Oct. 30 announcement outlined the acquisition by SFN’s economic development arm of a pair of casinos: River Rock Casino in Richmond, and Chances Casino in Maple Ridge.

In addition to purchasing Casino Nanaimo last year, SFN also purchased Elements Casino in Victoria in 2024 as well.

Chief Michael Wyse said the most recent purchases represent a transformational step for the First Nation.

“We are moving towards financial independence and sovereignty with sustainable, Nation-led revenue. We reinvest this revenue into what matters most: projects that strengthen our people, that honour our way of being and build opportunity for future generations.”

A fifth property purchase was announced Friday, Dec. 19 as Chief Wyse confirmed a purchase agreement for Great Canadian Casino Vancouver, in Coquitlam.

Also confirmed as an ownership share with Musqueam First Nation.

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