Nanaimo council has chosen a city-owned industrial waterfront property on Port Drive for a new arena and events centre.
The city’s mayor made the announcement in a special council meeting on Monday.
“We’ve been through the entire site including the water lots that we own there and we have a pretty good idea, a pretty good feel about everything we know about that site,” Bill McKay said.
It was between the city-owned property and the Howard Johnson Harbourside Hotel on Terminal Avenue.
The city says 1 Port Dr. is better suited for technical issues, transportation requirements and cost.
“We know what we have down at Port Drive, there are many unknowns up at the Howard Johnson site,” McKay added.
The next step is engaging with the Snuneymuxw First Nation over the site and any potential archeological concerns.
“We have come across some items that we would consider as part of archeological root or history,” McKay said. “We need further discussion with Snuneymuxw on that.”
Council will hold a meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre for first three readings of a borrowing bylaw.
Members will also vote on a referendum question.
Once the question is nailed down, the people of Nanaimo will get their say at the ballot box on Mar. 11.
