By Dominic Abassi

Land deal removes final road block to reshaping Nanaimo’s waterfront

Sep 25, 2018 | 4:40 PM

NANAIMO — A land deal many years in the making is seen as the final step to spur ambitious redevelopment plans for Nanaimo’s south downtown waterfront.

The City agreed to pay Seaspan Ferries nearly $1 million and trade land in return for access to a key piece of the property between the Assembly Wharf and Garbiola Island ferry terminal, across from Port Place Shopping Centre. The deal requires final approval from Council, which is expected at the Oct. 1 meeting.

Bill Corsan, the City’s deputy director of community development, said the deal is the culmination of many years of negotiations and without it any plans for the City-owned waterfront land would have been stalled.

“Over the last three-to-four years we’ve done all the environmental and archaeological work and a master plan for the site. Removing the right-of-way is really the final piece which lets the City start to move forward with redevelopment.”

While the City purchased the entire area in 2013, Seaspan maintained a perpetual right-of-way for more than half of the land.

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Corsan said if the deal receives final approval, it will trigger exciting and significant changes in 2019.

He said the goal is to complete an extension of the waterfront walkway through the area by summer of next year, as well as a road extension which will connect Front St. through the industrial land to Port Way. A recent secondary access study recommended a future connection be built at Farquhar St., joining with the Front St. extension to create a loop through the waterfront.

“It gets the public back down to the water on a piece of land they haven’t had access to for many years now.”

The Seaspan exchange also puts the incoming Council in a position to begin making serious decisions and plans for redevelopment of the northern section of the land, Corsan said.

A recently adopted draft master plan providing a guiding vision for the south downtown waterfront called for mid-rise residential with some commercial shops and office space on the ground level. The current Council agreed in principle to lease a piece of land further south, directly opposite Port Place, to the group proposing an Ocean Discovery Centre.

Corsan said exactly how the land is developed will be up to the next Council.

“Our recommendation would be that we sell the land with a commitment from a developer to build consistent with the master plan and in a certain time frame so we can see some positive change happen quickly down there.”

In 2017, Seaspan began moving the majority of their operations to Duke Point, helping to advance negotiations. The land was previously pegged as the location for the ill-fated events centre proposal.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi