PORT PLACE PLANS IN FRONT OF COUNCIL MONDAY
Here’s the tower proposed for the northeast corner of the site. Front Street across from Cameron Island.
This link will take you to the detail of what will be in front of Council on Monday.
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NANAIMO PORT AUTHORITY VIDEO: CRUISE SHIP FACILITY
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Posts and Comments on Nanaimo Governance 
Very nice. I think this is the right thing to provide a customer base to the merchants in the area. Granted, more of this is good but not without public space at the base since this is what is the major mistake with Cameron Island.
Cameron Island is completely surrounded by public space and walkways. No one is cut off from the waterfront . All walkway are totally public. A major portion of the grassed area is property of the Port Authority. There was no mistake with Cameron Island
Cameron Island’s model of low-rise at the base of a tower with some ground floor units fronting onto the public harbour walkway has served Vancouver well and has become known as “Vancouverism”.
The high density housing on our waterfront from the foot of Cypress to Cameron Island has created an urban waterfront neighbourhood that works nicely for the people who live there and those strolling by.
The developer of the Port Place Mall tower is bringing no public amenity to the table — where’s the walkways and public spaces that are among the arguments you often hear in favour or towers?
A fair percentage of original Cameron Island purchasers were people from other areas who retired to Nanaimo and into Cameron Island. Friends of mine from elsewhere who did exactly that had only one concern, and that was the presence of Harbour Park (as it was called then). In their minds, that was the one drawback on the scene. They, and some of their neighbours there, would certainly never consider living “over the store”, so to speak. If the developers are looking at the same demographic as potential purchasers, there may be some reluctance to live above retail installations. Many of the people who originally purchased in the Cameron were not people who would have been swayed in their decisions to purchase by the fact that having retail stores beneath them might reduce their strata fees. That would have been, in their minds, a deal breaker. So if the developers are looking at targeting the same demographic as originally purchased in the Cameron, those retail stores would devalue the residential condo properties above.
I am, however, becoming concerned about the number of highrises which may, eventually, block more of the waterfront view which we have blithely taken for granted. Blocking the waterfront view may very well bring the “gentrification” of some areas of the south end to a grinding halt.
Wendy, I see the gentrification of the South End issue a little differently. I see a steady stream of people on foot walking down to Port Place Mall daily to do their shopping. Others are going to the food court to while away hours, nursing a cup of coffee. For most of these people, Port Place is a familiar and comfortable place.
The re-development of Port Place is a little unnerving for many of these folks. Yes, the grocery and drug stores will remain. But Field’s…the closest thing to a department store for miles around…and the communal gathering area that is the food court will be gone. I’m sure that the tower, and any other residential that is part of the development, are geared toward a more upscale market, and so the stores will be, too.
In a way, it’s sad that the development could not have included a slice of low-income housing as part of the redevelopment agreement, as has happened in many similar rezoning applications in Vancouver.
I have the sense that many years down the road, the regentrification of both the South End and Nob Hill will be accelerated by the Port Place redesign. The stores and the common area will be geared toward the newer upscale tower/condo residents. Those who want to live in an urban setting, in a character house with an ocean view, and within walking distance of the best restaurants in the city, will choose those neighbourhoods. Early adapters have already “gotten” in early, just like in Vancouver’s False Creek, Mount Pleasant, or Strathcona.
So where will the low income people go…to live? to shop? Perhaps they will be spread out more evenly around the city, as Social Planner John Horn envisions (which would be a magnanimous move from the city’s other neighbourhoods.) Or perhaps they will end up in pockets around existing shopping centres in other parts of town? That, I don’t have the answer to.
One might think that as one of the “early adapters” and “regentrifiers”, I would be more supportive of this redevelopment. But a huge part of me is heavy-hearted…it’s been years since I have lived in such a diverse neighbourhood full of authentic folks who, for the most part, embody everything that a good community stands for. I fear losing it as they eventually move out….which they will, they will have to.
But for now, I will enjoy the steady stream of folks walking past my home on their way downtown. They all say hello. It’s heartwarming.
There are many cases where the result of commercial mixed in to a Strata Corporation has been an increase, not a decrease in Strata fee. Don’t oversimplify a very complex issue. The legal issues with Strata ownership involving commercial unless the commercial is spun into a separate corporation are likely the biggest reason to avoid the purchase. If you spin the commercial space into a separate Corporation, which is the most desirable, the commercial fee have no impact on increase or decrease of Strata fees. It can be a total nightmare. Read the case law. There is lots of it. It can work but can also Living “over the store” is very desirable. The concept of commercial on the ground floor with strata units above is very desirable especially where the City is encouraging nodes such as Bowen and Northfield. The townhouse complexes proposed at Ports Place are commercial and office on two floors with residential above.
Why is it, that the ‘new’ residents, drawn to the upscale digs won’t be ‘authentic’ people who also say hello?
I sure would have liked to have seen a steady stream of people daily doing their shopping in Port Place when I was working there. Many days the money I took in for my employer didn’t even cover my wages. The only steady stream was going into the casino. I spent most of my working day trying to protect my employer from every junkie that was trying to shoplift merchandise to support their habit.
My employer had to go out of business within a year. The losses from theft were just too much. The promise of customers from Cameron Island, various foot ferries that never materialized, and cruise ship tourists were just empty dreams.
Port Place needs something drastic to change, and I welcome the redevelopment. Otherwise it will always stay an empty, ugly hole downtown.
Some place I read this whole project to revamp Port Place Mall was a 15 year plan.
That being the case I wonder why the push to allow a 26 story tower, which clearly is not likely marketable currently. I wonder if the whole development doesn’t hinge on the inclusion of the tower. In other words, if there is no tower, the rest of the project might not proceed either?
Note to webmaster.
Your sorting by date, seems a little off on this thread?
Jim: this WordPress template lets you reply mid-thread directly to another response if you want… helps make it clear what point you’re responding to but then it puts it out of date sequence doesn’t it.