Innovative, environmentally friendly exterior panels are being installed at a nine-storey hotel under construction beside the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

notable project

Innovative green technology fast-tracks long-awaited Nanaimo hotel

Jan 24, 2022 | 5:22 AM

NANAIMO — A unique form of exterior siding is helping the Courtyard by Marriott hotel site, beside the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, take shape.

Seven hundred and fifty pre-fabricated panels made with 3D software are now being installed at the hotel under construction at 100 Gordon St.

Nexii Building Solutions executive vice president Gregor Robertson said the panels are installed at a much faster pace than traditional methods.

“It’s precision-manufactured with sustainable, low-carbon material that fit together into an airtight building envelope, so the energy use going forward is reduced,” Robertson told NanaimoNewsNOW.

PEG Developments estimated the innovative shell for the building would speed up construction of the nine storey, 172 room hotel by upwards of ten weeks.

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Robertson said having the panels built and fitted off-site streamlines installation.

“It accelerates the construction process and basically eliminates construction waste on the site as well,” Robertson said the the alternative to concrete siding.

Vancouver based Nexii Building Solutions is partnering with a Vancouver Island company to manufacture their panels throughout the Island, Robertson said.

Demand for their environmentally friendly panels is high, particularly in British Columbia.

“Most people don’t know that buildings are even worse than transportation for climate pollution and we have to fix that,” Robertson said.

The Courtyard by Marriott hotel is expected to open later this year. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The Courtyard by Marriott hotel is scheduled to be completed later this year, which the City said aligns with its 10-year property tax exemption incentive offered for new and significantly renovated hotels.

Construction crews arrived on scene late in 2019 to ensure a building permit deadline did not lapse.

A new hotel beside the publicly owned conference centre is seen is integral to maximizing economic benefits of the facility.

Several unsuccessful suitors produced plans to build a hotel near the conference centre, but none came to fruition until shovels hit the ground with the current PEG Developments project.

The $22 million hotel will include a pool, lounge and fitness centre.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes