Nelson Star, May 13, 2015

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PM41537042

Free

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Vol. 7 • Issue 90

Earth stands still The scoop when Corazón sings from LVR See Page 14 See Page 10

Our greenhouse is now open! Come and see all our plants, veggie and flower starters and our hanging baskets!

More than just a farmers store

524 Railway St Nelson (250) 352-5375

Get Summer Ready at Habits.

New stock arriving daily! 579 Baker St Nelson 250-505-1120

Sincerest Apologies, We will never keep up with our big competitors and their steady increase in service charges and bank fees. We’re not a bank… we’re so much better.

AFFORDABLE BIKE REPAIRS THIS WEEKS NEW ARRIVALS BMX, HYBRIDS & CRUISERS QUALITY TRADES WELCOME HUGE SELECTION OF PARTS ALL ELECTRIC BIKES AND SCOOTERS SOLD AT COST CAMPING GEAR IS HERE BACKPACKS ARE 1/2 PRICE MAKING SPORTS AFFORDABLE AND RECYCLING SINCE 1996 BOOMTOWNSPORTS.COM 510 HALL ST. 250-505-5055

Shambhala Music Festival founder Jimmy Bundschuh and partner Jenna Arpita gave the Star a tour of the Savoy Hotel last week. The pair were overseeing the completion of Bloom, a night club on the ground floor that will open in June. Will Johnson photo

Savoy Hotel blooms again WILL JOHNSON Nelson Star ight years after a devastating fire reduced Nelson’s historic Savoy Hotel to a derelict state, local entrepreneur Jimmy Bundschuh is ready to resurrect the venue with an ambitious development that will include a night club, cafe and music lounge. “I never thought I’d have this opportunity. To have a piece of Baker St. is pretty huge,” Bundschuh told the Star last week, while sitting on the roof overlooking downtown. Best known to the community as the founding owner of Shambhala Music Festival, he purchased the property in 2013. “Our intent is to create a miniresort right on Baker St. We want to cater to outdoor-oriented, culturally savvy visitors by providing healthy go-to food, an eveningoriented music lounge, a 12-room hotel with rooftop chill-out space, and a state-of-the-art night club.” Bundschuh’s partner Jenna Ar-

E

pita said the development pairs nicely with their annual festival. “It’s about keeping the vibrancy and the culture of Shambhala going for the rest of the year. We’re trying to create a hub, a place of connectedness and openness and bliss.” In June the Savoy will unveil the first stage of their development when they open Bloom, a night club with a 300-person capacity. Situated on the lower floor, the space will boast state-of-the-art visual effects and a world-class entertainment system installed by PK Sound.

Vertical garden When the Star visited on Thursday, construction crews were busy preparing the night club for its opening in a few weeks. Arpita expressed enthusiasm for the space, which will feature a living garden on one wall. “This is really Jimmy’s brain-

child. I just get to grow and maintain it. It’ll be a 30-foot (9 m) long floor-to-ceiling vertical garden with tropical plants, begonias, that sort of thing. It will bring a lot of life into the environment, and oxygen.” She noted this means the venue will literally “bloom” and she can’t wait to hear what the community thinks of their vision. “It doesn’t matter what generation you’re from, almost everyone in Nelson has had some sort of festive experience here, whether it was Kips, Twilight, Utopia, the Savoy Pub, Mazatlan …everyone has a night of memories from this place. I think it’s going to be really special for a lot of people to come back here.” Originally a stable, the space is surrounded by historic stonework complete with coal chutes. “The mortar was deteriorating so we chiseled it all out and

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DEENPTS SKIN E L TREATM

MEDICA son nay St, Nel 601 Koote Medical Centre) ay (at Kooten

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Ancron medical centre rezoning approved BILL METCALFE Nelson Star Nelson city council approved the rezoning of the Ancron medical clinic site Monday following a public hearing. Council gave the green light to changing the zoning of the property on View St. across from the emergency ward from low density residential to institutional, along with a corresponding amendment to the official community plan, to allow Dr. Andre Kirsten to construct a two-storey building for a medical centre. At the hearing, the main speakers were Kirsten, along with his architect Cal Meiklejohn, and the project’s main opponent, Dr. Trevor Janz, who is an emergency room physician at Kootenay Lake Hospital and a residential neighbour of the new development. Rezoning applications require a formal public hearing so neighbours and other people who may be affected can have their say. The Ancron project has already gone through a lot of discussion at council, in the city planner’s office, and at an open house. During the hearing, Meiklejohn and Kirsten outlined the concessions they have made to neighbours over the past year including increasing setbacks and landscaping, lowering the building height to two stories in front and one in the back, reducing ventilation and heating noise by putting those systems inside the building, commissioning a traffic study that found congestion would not be a problem, commissioning a business study that found no disadvantages for Nelson businesses in moving Ancron from its present downtown office to the View St. site, agreeing to create a sidewalk along View St. adjacent to the building and also a crosswalk, putting some of the parking underground, and agreeing to more parking spaces than required by the city. Kirsten explained his clinic and the adjacent hospital would create a medical “campus” on View St. that would attract visiting specialists so patients did not have to travel so far. Janz argued specialists aren’t likely to visit

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ALL 2014 BIKES SALE PRICED

Kona Demo Tour Friday, May 15 2 - 7 pm

Nelson Cycling Club members get

10% off regular priced parts & accessories

THREE EQUAL PAYMENTS. NO INTEREST!!!

Purchase your new bike in

702 baker st

250.354.4622

Kona is coming to town and we are demoing their 2015 bikes. We provide a ride up to Mountain Station for you to get in a lap on the bike of your choice!

www.gericks.com

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