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VOL. 25, NO. 56
Hotel game changer for city’s real estate
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INCREASE IN tourists expected to bring more investment in area. BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
Housing experts say progress on Nanaimo’s new conference centre hotel has put the city on the cusp of a real estate revolution. Nanaimo city council recently approved the development permit for a $50-million, 21-storey hotel, featuring retail space, restaurants and walkways. The build – expected to attract 70,000 tourists each year – is considered to be a potential game changer for the Harbour City, not only boosting sales downtown, but providing longawaited upscale rooms for conference centre delegates. It’s also expected to have ripple effects on Nanaimo’s real estate market. Housing experts say Nanaimo is well-positioned for growth in any market, with its centralized location, affordable home prices and natural beauty. But introduce tens of thousands of prospective and possibly affluent Chinese home buyers to the city each year and Nanaimo is bound to see a spike in commercial and leisure real estate sales, higher home prices and new development. There is also an expectation the new build will trigger interest among retailers and developers to buy up commercial property downtown and ramp up schedules for projects cur-
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Paige Turner, Wellington Secondary School student council president, left, Caitlin Jakobsen, vice-president and Claudia Thompson, secretary, are bringing some fresh ideas along with their support of the city’s first advisory youth council.
Youth on board with advisory council BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
I
t’s time for Nanaimo youth to have a voice in civic politics. That’s the word from several Wellington Secondary School students, who support the creation of the city’s first-ever advisory youth council. “It’s a great idea,” said Caitlin Jakobsen, vice-president of the Wellington student council. “It’s going to be our world. Decisions being made
by adults now are affecting their present, but it’s our future ... [and] we need to have a voice in our future.” Nanaimo city officials agreed Monday to look at establishing a new advisory youth council, with aims of inspiring greater civic participation and boosting election turnout. The move is the brainchild of city councillor George Anderson, who said that young people tend to be under-represented despite them bearing the future weight of financial decisions
made on issues like infrastructure and transportation. Other communities like Victoria and Saanich have already established similar youth advisory bodies, which have reportedly been successful in creating community ownership and helping municipalities better meet the needs of all their citizens. “Dude, this is a really cool idea,” said Coun. Bill Bestwick. “I think it’s terrific to engage the youth of our community.” ◆ See ‘YOUTH’ /10
rently on hold, including a new casino building and four-storey multi-family housing project at Port Place. Real estate agents, reportedly excited about the opportunities, have already started to investigate office space close to the hotel. Other sellers plan to adjust property descriptions to appeal to the Asian market and contact hotel owner SSS Manhao to offer free tour services. “They are already coming and a lot of properties, especially high-end properties, are being sold to Chinese buyers … but when [there are] 70,000 ... think about it – that’s basically the population of Nanaimo more or less,” said Victor Kiritchenko, a real estate agent with Re/Max Nanaimo. “It will bring your market up enormously.” Kiritchenko believes the hotel is the next stage in the development of the city, likely doing for us what Expo ’86 did for Vancouver – spread the word about Nanaimo and prompt population growth. New visitors brought in by the hotel owners are effectively ambassadors who will pass on information about their experience to prospective immigrants, he said, adding the increased market demand could lead to higher home prices and new development. “[This hotel] is opening the gate to a huge, huge, huge market, which is China,” Kiritchenko said. “It’s like 70,000 agents will come every year.” ◆ See ‘AFFORDABLE’ /4
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